Amid US House turmoil, Canada elects its first Black speaker

As lawmakers in the House deal with a new push to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), north-of-the-border legislator Greg Fergus became the first Black Canadian to serve as his country’s Speaker of the House of Commons, according to media reports.

“Mr. Speaker, today you are the first Black Canadian to become Speaker of this House,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday to Fergus, a Member of Parliament from Canada’s Liberal Party.

“This should be inspiring for all Canadians, especially younger generations who want to get involved in politics,” Trudeau continued. 

Fergus’s election comes a week after the previous Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota stepped down for saying a Ukrainian who fought with Nazis was a “hero” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting the country. Following an address by Zelensky to the House of Commons, Rota had introduced the 98-year-old as a war hero. 

“I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament by President Zelensky,” Rota later said in a statement to The Hill. 

“That public recognition has caused pain to individuals and communities, including the Jewish community in Canada and around the world, as well as to survivors of Nazi atrocities in Poland and other nations. I am deeply sorry,” he continued.

Fergus, who hails from Quebec, was elected in a secret ballot of the House of Commons’s 338 members.

“The Speaker, to use the old hockey analogy, is nothing more than a referee. And if there’s one thing I know is that nobody pays good money to go see the referee. They go to see the stars — you,” he told lawmakers, according to The Toronto Star.