The Latest: MPs elect new Speaker as Ottawa welcomes King and Queen

By Canadian Press on May 26, 2025.

OTTAWA — King Charles and Queen Camilla touched down in Ottawa today to begin their first visit to Canada since the King’s coronation two years ago.

Parliament also opened today and MPs voted to select the next Speaker of the House of Commons.

Here’s the latest. All times Eastern.

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1:15 p.m.

The plane carrying the King and Queen lands in Ottawa. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon are on hand to greet the King and Queen at the airport.

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12:30 p.m.

Dozens of First Nations leaders from across the country gather in front of Parliament Hill with a message for the King: respect your treaty partners. The leaders say they also want the Liberals to take action on reforming the child welfare system, protecting traditional lands and building infrastructure desperately needed in Indigenous communities.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Vice Chief David Pratt says King Charles, and in turn Canada, should uphold and respect the treaty relationship they began with his ancestors. He says the relationship between First Nations and the Crown was not intended to be one-sided and that the Crown should not be dictating to them on how to live their lives.

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12:20 p.m.

MPs hold a moment of silence in the House of Commons for the victims of the April 26 car ramming in Vancouver, which killed 11 people and injured many others.

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12:15 p.m.

A large crowd of journalists has arrived at the Ottawa airport to await the arrival of the King and Queen.

Groups of schoolchildren have gathered inside the Canada Reception Centre about an hour before the plane is set to touch down.

A military band has been warming up.

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11:59 a.m.

Members of Parliament have chosen Quebec Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia to be their next Speaker of the House of Commons.

His election follows an unusually dramatic race that saw the only Conservative contenders drop out of the running at the last minute.

In his speech to the House making his pitch for the job, Scarpaleggia compared adjudicating parliamentary proceedings to hockey. There’s nothing wrong with a “board-rattling, polemical bodycheck in the corners,” he said, but the “problem is when sticks go high.”

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10:35 a.m.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has issued a statement welcoming the King and Queen to Canada.

“The Royal Visit is a reminder of the bond between Canada and the Crown — one forged over generations, shaped by shared histories and grounded in common values. A bond that, over time, has evolved, just as Canada has, to reflect the strength, diversity and confidence of our people,” Carney said in the statement.

The prime minister said that tomorrow’s throne speech will describe the government’s plan “to define a new economic and security relationship with the United States, to build the strongest economy in the G7, to bring down the cost of living, and to keep communities safe.”

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9:31 a.m.

The candidates for Speaker each have been allotted five minutes to address the House before members vote by preferential secret ballot.

The vote is being presided over by Louis Plamondon, currently the longest-serving MP.

Liberal MP Greg Fergus, the last Speaker, is seeking to win the role back — although critics accused him in the last Parliament of being overly partisan.

He has presented himself as an experienced hand who has learned and grown into the role.

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9:02 a.m.

Newly elected MPs have gathered in the House of Commons to vote for their next Speaker and two candidates have already withdrawn from the running.

Conservative MPs Chris d’Entremont — a former deputy Speaker — and John Nater had put their names forward but withdrew at the last minute.

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8:51 a.m.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says the presence of the King and Queen “at this pivotal moment in our history holds profound significance.”

She says their role in Canada is more than symbolic, and serves as a “cornerstone of the democratic freedoms and rights we cherish.”

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8 a.m.

Newly elected MPs will vote by secret ballot when Parliament returns today to decide who will become the next Speaker of the House of Commons.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025.

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press