page_title: Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
section_title: Election
hierarchical_section_title: Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario / Election
caption_attribution_description: Legislative Assembly
context_page_description: The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
context_section_description: As with other Speakers that are modeled on the Westminster system, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is elected using a secret ballot. Since 1990, the position has been elected by MPPs in this manner. Previously, the Speaker had been appointed directly by the Premier of Ontario after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the third-largest party, and then ratified by the legislature. David Warner was the first Speaker to be elected by his or her peers. This change reflects a similar reform undertaken by the federal House of Commons in 1986. 
  The Speaker is usually a member of the governing party. The only exceptions have been Jack Stokes, Nelson Parliament and Hugh Edighoffer.
  The Speaker is required to perform his or her office impartially, but does not resign from his or her party membership upon taking office. This is identical to the system in place in the federal House of Commons, but stands in contrast to the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The only Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to have resigned his party affiliation upon election was Nelson Parliament, who was elected in 1920.
caption: Chamber of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Speaker's dais is in direct center of image in the front of the chamber.
exif: {"Image Copyright": ""}