In Canada, the dean of the House (French: doyen de la Chambre) is the sitting Member of the House of Commons with the longest unbroken record of service. The dean is responsible for presiding over the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons at the beginning of each Parliament. The position is the equivalent of the Father of the House in the British House of Commons.
Following a general election, or the resignation or death of the sitting Speaker, the House meets to elect a new Speaker.[1] This was started in 1986, though Speaker John Bosley presided at the time. The first time the modern election system for speaker was used was in 1994.
During these elections, the Dean of the House takes the role of presiding officer. If the longest-serving member is a Cabinet Minister, party Leader, House Leader or Whip, they cannot act as presiding officer.[2] In 1994, following the 1993 Canadian federal election, Liberal member Len Hopkins filled this role as his caucus mate Herb Gray, then the longest-serving member, was in Cabinet under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.[3] Although Gray was in cabinet, he was still referred to as Dean both in Hansard[4] and by the press.[5] Gray was also the longest-serving dean of the House up until that point, holding the role for 14 years from 1988 until 2002.
The current dean of the House is Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon, who was first elected to the Commons as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party at the 1984 federal general election.[6] In 2023, Plamondon eclipsed Gray as the longest-serving dean of the House, with 15 years in the role. The second-longest serving MP is currently Liberal Lawrence MacAulay, who has served continuously since the 1988 federal election. MacAulay is currently serving as a minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, however, so he would not be allowed to serve as Dean should Plamondon vacate his seat. Instead, MP Hedy Fry, a Liberal first elected in 1993, would act in his place. Upon the resignation of Speaker Anthony Rota in 2023, Plamondon served for the sixth time as presiding officer in the election of the Speaker.[7]
The chart below refers to longest-serving members, some of whom served in frontbench roles and, as such, did not preside over the election of the Speaker.
| Member | Party | Entered House | Became longest-serving member | Left House | Years as an MP | Years as Dean | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Costigan | Liberal-Conservative (until 1906) | 1867 | June 23, 1896 | March 5, 1907 | 40 | 11 | |||
| Liberal (after 1906) | |||||||||
| John Graham Haggart | Conservative | 1872 | March 5, 1907 | March 13, 1913 | 41 | 6 | |||
| Wilfrid Laurier[8] | Liberal | 1874 | March 13, 1913 | February 17, 1919 | 45 | 6 | |||
| John D. Reid | Conservative | 1891 | February 17, 1919 | December 6, 1921 | 30 | 2 | |||
| William F. MacLean | Unionist | 1892 | December 6, 1921 | September 14, 1926 | 34 | 5 | |||
| Rodolphe Lemieux | Liberal | 1896 | September 14, 1926 | July 28, 1930 | 34 | 4 | |||
| Charles Marcil | Liberal | 1900 | July 28, 1930 | March 22, 1937 | 37 | 7 | |||
| Ernest Lapointe | Liberal | 1904 | March 22, 1937 | November 26, 1941 | 37 | 4 | |||
| Arthur Cardin | Liberal (until 1942) | 1911 | November 26, 1941 | October 21, 1946 | 35 | 5 | |||
| Independent (after 1942) | |||||||||
| Charles Gavan Power | Liberal | 1917 | October 21, 1946 | July 28, 1955 | 38 | 9 | |||
| William Earl Rowe | Progressive Conservative | 1925 | July 28, 1955 | April 8, 1963 | 38 | 8 | |||
| Azellus Denis | Liberal | 1935 | April 8, 1963 | February 3, 1964 | 29 | 1 | |||
| Paul Martin Sr.[9] | Liberal | 1935 | February 3, 1964 | June 25, 1968 | 33 | 4 | |||
| John Diefenbaker | Progressive Conservative | 1940 | June 25, 1968 | August 16, 1979 | 39 | 11 | |||
| Walter Dinsdale | Progressive Conservative | 1951 | August 16, 1979 | November 20, 1982 | 31 | 3 | |||
| Robert Coates[10] | Progressive Conservative | 1957 | November 20, 1982 | November 21, 1988 | 31 | 6 | |||
| Herb Gray[11] | Liberal | 1962 | November 21, 1988 | January 14, 2002 | 40 | 14 | |||
| Charles Caccia | Liberal | 1968 | January 14, 2002 | June 28, 2004 | 36 | 2 | |||
| Bill Blaikie | New Democrat | 1979 | June 28, 2004 | October 14, 2008 | 29 | 4 | |||
| Louis Plamondon[12] | Progressive Conservative (until 1990) | 1984 | October 14, 2008 | incumbent | 39 | 15 (as of 2023) | |||
| Bloc Québécois (1990–2018) | |||||||||
| Québec Debout (2018) | |||||||||
| Bloc Québécois (2018–present) | |||||||||