Canadian MPs elected a new Speaker of the House of Commons on Tuesday, Greg Fergus, the Liberal MP for the riding of Hull-Aylmer in Quebec.

Fergus made history as the first Black Speaker of the House of Commons.

It is noted that Liberal MP Anthony Rota, who served as Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019, resigned last Tuesday after inviting Ukrainian Nazi veteran Jaroslav Hunka to attend a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Parliament.

Anthony Rota also resigned from the position of Speaker of the House.

Due to this incident, Rota apologized to Parliament. At the same time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also apologized to Canada, Zelensky, and the groups targeted by the Nazi regime during World War II, such as Jews, Poles, Romani people, the LGBTQ community, and others affected by racism.

The House of Commons is also set to hold a by-election mid-session to select a new Speaker on Tuesday morning, after the position of MP Anthony Rota became vacant last week.

The constitution stipulates that electing a Speaker is the first order of business when Parliament returns after an election.

Technically, the House of Commons will not continue to function until a Speaker is elected.

Rota officially resigned from this role on Wednesday, but the MPs agreed that the House could continue to sit while Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon assumes the role of interim Speaker of the House.

This is known as the Dean of the House – the MP with the longest continuous record who is not a minister or party leader. Plamondon, who was first elected in 1984, will oversee the elections on Tuesday.

On the other hand, there are seven MPs who want to sit as the new Speaker of Parliament, including five Liberals and one from each of the Conservatives, New Democratic Party, and Greens.