MPs gathered in the House of Commons on this date in 1986 and made history, choosing Vancouver South MP John Fraser -- who had served in the cabinets of PMs Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney -- as Speaker of the House of Commons.
This marked the first-time in Canadian history that the Speaker of the House was directly elected by the MPs he would preside over. Previously, the Speaker had been chosen by the Prime Minister of the day. But, that was not the only 'first' for John Fraser: he was also the only Speaker of Canada's House to be born in Yokohama, Japan. John Fraser went on to serve in the Speaker’s Chair until 1993.
Here in Kingston we are proud of our own Peter Milliken. First elected Speaker of the House in 2001 by all MPs, Mr. Milliken went on to become the longest serving Speaker in Canadian history.
Note to readers: Over the years, I have had the honour of having many distinguished Canadians co-lead history-themed walking tours of downtown Kingston with me. The still-growing list of notable Canadians includes: Bob Rae, Jean Charest, Kathleen Wynne, Paul Martin, John Turner, Beverly McLachlin, Jim Flaherty and Marc Garneau. I am pleased to report that former Ontario Premier David Peterson will join me to co-lead a history-themed walking tour of Kingston's downtown on Saturday, October 2nd at 2pm. Anyone who might be in the area will be welcome to join us; the tour will start at the Visitor Information Centre in front of Kingston City Hall. The tour is presented by Kingston Destination Group. Tickets can be purchased online here.
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Portrait of former Speaker of the House John Fraser/caption
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
Portrait of former Speaker of the House John Fraser/caption
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.