# Greg Fergus

Gregory Cristophe Fergus PC MP (born May 31, 1969) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 38th and current speaker of the House of Commons since October 3, 2023. He is the member of Parliament (MP) for Hull—Aylmer.
A member of the Liberal Party, Fergus was first elected in the 2015 federal election and has held a number of portfolios as a parliamentary secretary. Before his election to Parliament, Fergus worked as a political staffer.

## Early life and education

Fergus' paternal grandfather immigrated to Canada from the British colony of Montserrat. His mother is from Jamaica.
Greg Fergus studied at public English elementary schools, Westpark and Sunnydale, and later attended Lindsay Place High School. After a teachers’ strike affected his schooling, his parents decided to send him to Selwyn House School, a private boys’ school, followed by Marianopolis College, and he later earned two bachelor's degrees, one from the University of Ottawa and the other in international relations from Carleton University. At Selwyn House, which he attended from Grade 9 to 11, he was classmates with entrepreneurs Vincenzo Guzzo, Mark Pathy and Michael Penner, who later served as chairman of Hydro-Québec.
Fergus was president of the Young Liberals of Canada from 1994 to 1996, where he attracted attention for supporting the passage of a motion calling on the Liberal Party to support same-sex marriage. After attending university and earning bachelor's degrees in social science and international relations, he worked for Liberal cabinet ministers Pierre Pettigrew and Jim Peterson. In 2007, Stéphane Dion named him the national director of the Liberal Party.

## Political career

In the 2015 federal election, Fergus was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Hull—Aylmer, a traditionally Liberal riding that had fallen to the New Democratic Party in the previous election. The contest was attended by some controversy, as NDP incumbent Nycole Turmel accused Fergus' campaign of spreading rumours that she was terminally ill, which Fergus denied. Fergus won the election by over 11,000 votes in a race that was expected to be close by the New Democratic Party and Liberals.
From March 19, 2021 to September 17, 2023 Fergus Served as Parliamentary Secretary to Justin Trudeau.
On October 3, 2023, Fergus was elected as the 38th speaker of the House of Commons, becoming the first black house speaker. On May 28, 2024, Fergus survived a vote to remove him as speaker of the House of Commons (168 to 142). The Liberals, Greens, and New Democrats voted against removing him, while the Bloc Quebecois and Conservatives voted in favour of removing him.

## Controversies

In February 2023, Fergus was found to have violated the Conflict of Interest Act by writing a letter of support for a television channel's application to the CRTC for mandatory carriage.
In December 2023, Fergus appeared in a video tribute to outgoing interim party leader John Fraser which was played at the Ontario Liberal Party leadership convention, dressed as Speaker of the House of Commons. Conservative Party of Canada and Bloc Québécois MPs called on Fergus to resign for breaching the Speaker's impartiality.
The matter was studied by the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. On December 14, 2023 Committee Chair Bardish Chagger presented a report supported by Liberal and NDP MPs calling on Fergus to "undertake the appropriate steps to reimburse a suitable amount for the use of parliamentary resources" and " issue another apology clearly stating that filming the video both in his office, and in his robes was inappropriate". Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs each issued dissenting reports calling on Fergus to resign.
On April 30, 2024, Fergus ordered the official opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, to leave the House of Commons for calling the Prime Minister a "wacko", and for insinuating that his policies had led to the deaths of thousands of Canadians. The entirety of the Conservative Party followed him. This marked the first time in history that an opposition leader had been instructed to leave the House.
In May 2024, Conservative MP Chris Warkentin wrote a letter criticizing Fergus over language used in an advertisement promoting an event which Warkentin argued was partisan and inflammatory. Warkentin further claimed that these comments rendered Fergus unsuitable for the role of Speaker.

## Electoral record

vte2021 Canadian federal election: Hull—Aylmer :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Greg Fergus | 26,892 | 52.5 | −1.6 | $63,261.55 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Simon Provost | 8,323 | 16.2 | +1.6 | $12,271.08 |
| | New Democratic | Samuel Gendron | 6,483 | 12.7 | −0.9 | $1,357.33 |
| | Conservative | Sandrine Perion | 5,507 | 10.7 | +1.6 | $12,393.59 |
| | People's | Eric Fleury | 1,864 | 3.6 | +2.4 | $2,637.53 |
| | Green | Simon Gnocchini-Messier | 1,459 | 2.8 | −4.2 | $9,342.81 |
| | Free | Josée Lafleur | 375 | 0.7 | N/A | $4,513.90 |
| | Rhinoceros | Mike LeBlanc | 203 | 0.4 | ±0.0 | $0.00 |
| | Independent | Catherine Dickins | 143 | 0.3 | N/A | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 51,249 | 98.7 | – | $109,916.55 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 666 | 1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,915 | 66.5 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 78,032 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | −1.6 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2019 Canadian federal election: Hull—Aylmer :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Greg Fergus | 29,732 | 54.1 | +2.73 | none listed |
| | Bloc Québécois | Joanie Riopel | 8,011 | 14.6 | +8.06 | $2,949.94 |
| | New Democratic | Nicolas Thibodeau | 7,467 | 13.6 | −17.92 | $26,504.52 |
| | Conservative | Mike Duggan | 4,979 | 9.1 | +1.38 | $18,923.80 |
| | Green | Josée Poirier Defoy | 3,869 | 7.0 | +5.13 | $9,958.48 |
| | People's | Rowen Tanguay | 638 | 1.2 | | $638.31 |
| | Rhinoceros | Sébastien Grenier | 195 | 0.4 | | $0.00 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Alexandre Deschênes | 102 | 0.2 | +0.02 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 54,993 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 692 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,685 | 70.4 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 79,072 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | −2.67 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2015 Canadian federal election: Hull—Aylmer :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Greg Fergus | 28,478 | 51.37 | +30.88 | $77,403.19 |
| | New Democratic | Nycole Turmel | 17,472 | 31.52 | −27.26 | $73,823.88 |
| | Conservative | Étienne Boulrice | 4,278 | 7.72 | −2.33 | $3,208.51 |
| | Bloc Québécois | Maude Chouinard-Boucher | 3,625 | 6.54 | −2.14 | $5,830.63 |
| | Green | Roger Fleury | 1,035 | 1.87 | −0.14 | $6,523.33 |
| | Christian Heritage | Sean J. Mulligan | 291 | 0.52 | – | $5,299.81 |
| | Independent | Luc Desjardins | 160 | 0.3 | – | – |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Gabriel Girard | 101 | 0.18 | – | – |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 55,440 | 100.0 | | $213,352.22 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 391 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,831 | 70.8% | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 78,773 |
| | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | 28.92% |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||