The Latest: MPs vote on new Speaker as Ottawa prepares to welcome King and Queen

By Canadian Press on May 26, 2025.

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

Parliament also opened Monday and MPs are voting on who will become the next Speaker of the House of Commons.

Here’s the latest. All times Eastern.

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Newly elected MPs have gathered in the House of Commons to vote for their next Speaker and two candidates have already withdrawn from the running.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