The new speaker of the House of Commons will be elected by parliamentarians in a preferential vote in Ottawa on Tuesday.

He or she will succeed Anthony Rota, who was forced to resign after paying tribute to a Ukrainian veteran who fought for the Nazis during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to parliament.

This gesture caused controversy and spread around the world. The elected person will therefore have to work to restore the image of the office, which was badly damaged by Anthony Rota.

The bloc member for Bécancour-Nicolet-Saurel, Louis Plamondon, has been acting as interim speaker of the House of Commons since Wednesday evening until a new speaker is elected.

There are five Liberal MPs, one Conservative, one New Democrat and one Green MP in the race.

Five Liberal MPs in the ranks

The name of Brossard Saint Lambert member Alexandra Mendes was often mentioned. She ran for Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2021 when Anthony Rota was reappointed to the office. On Tuesday she will try her luck again and take over the presidency of the House of Commons. Ms Mendes is known for her openness. He has sometimes expressed critical views about his own party.

Greg Fergus, the Liberal MP for Hull-Aylmer, first elected in 2015, is also among the candidates. Among other things, he was parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister and the President of the Ministry of Finance. He was reprimanded by the ethics commissioner in 2024 for writing a letter of support CRTC for a French-language television station, Natyf Inc., that wanted to broadcast throughout Quebec.

Stéphane Lauzon and Peter Schiefke remain among Quebec’s elected officials and are also on the official list of candidates.

The first has been the Liberal MP for Argenteuil-La Petite-Nation in Quebec since 2015. He is currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizen Services and a member of the Standing Committee on Procedural and House Affairs.

The second Liberal MP in Vaudreuil-Soulanges since 2015 was, among other things, parliamentary secretary for immigration and the environment.

Sean Casey, Liberal MP for Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island since 2011, is also launching his candidacy.

A conservative, a new democrat and a green

Chris d’Entremont, Acadian Conservative MP from West Nova, Nova Scotia, is currently Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. He will try to become president on Tuesday. He is used to chairing debates in Parliament, which he often did when Anthony Rota was absent. The MP presents himself as a neutral person.

On the NDP side, only Carol Hughes is seeking the presidency of the House of Commons. She is the Member of Parliament for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing in northern Ontario and was first elected in 2008. She is the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives NDP since 2015.

Finally, the leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, will also try to be elected by parliamentarians. She is the Member of Parliament for the Saanich Gulf Islands in British Columbia, where she was first elected in 2011.