Speaker of the Senate
Speaker's Statement - Expression of Interest for Position of Speaker Pro Tempore
Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 2-4(2), the leaders and facilitators of the parties and groups have been consulted regarding the process for the election of the Speaker pro tempore.
I therefore wish to inform you that, as of today, and until noon (EST) on Monday, June 2, senators wishing to serve in this capacity may indicate their interest in being a candidate by communicating with the Clerk of the Senate. Senators may do this by providing a signed letter to that effect or by sending an email from their Senate email account.
If there is more than one candidate, they will be invited to address the Senate on Tuesday, June 3, during the period set aside for senators’ statements, for a maximum of three minutes each. The order of speakers will be determined by drawing lots. If there are more than six candidates, their statements will continue beyond the time normally allowed, while if there are fewer than six candidates, any remaining time may be used for further statements. If there is only one candidate, that senator will be elected by acclamation, and I will make the announcement on Tuesday, June 3.
Voting will begin one hour after the candidates have finished speaking and will continue until one hour after the Senate adjourns for the day. Voting will resume on Wednesday, June 4, at 11 a.m. (EST) and will end one hour after the adjournment of the Senate, provided that all senators who were in line at that time will be able to vote. The vote will be supervised by one of the table officers and will take place at one of the senators’ workstations adjacent to the reading room. As provided for in rule 2-4(1), if there are more than two candidates, a ranked ballot will be used. Senators will therefore be asked to number the candidates in order of preference on the ballot.
The votes will be counted immediately after the close of voting by the Clerk of the Senate, who may be assisted by a table officer. They will keep all details of the results confidential. I will announce the results at a Senate sitting at the earliest opportunity after the votes have been counted.
Senators will receive more detailed instructions for those who wish to be candidates from the Clerk of the Senate. Reminders will also be sent by email periodically from the Chamber Operations and Procedure Office during the voting period.
If adjustments to the above process are necessary, senators will be informed as soon as possible by a new announcement during a sitting, if possible, or by email.