Lucien Lamoureux, (August 3, 1920 – July 16, 1998) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician and
Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
The speaker of the House of Commons (french: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), they are elected at the beginning of each new parliament ...
from 1966 to 1974. He is the second longest-serving occupant of that office.
After graduating with a law degree from
Osgoode Hall in 1945, Lamoureux worked as a political aide to
Lionel Chevrier
Lionel Chevrier, (April 2, 1903 – July 8, 1987) was a Canadian Member of Parliament and cabinet minister.
Life and career
Born in Cornwall, Ontario, the son of former Cornwall mayor Joseph E. Chevrier, he was educated in Cornwall, at the Un ...
, a
Canadian Cabinet
The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...
minister in the government of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...
. In 1954, he left Chevrier's office to establish a law practice in
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and is Ontario's easternmost city ...
.
Lamoureux was first elected to the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Commo ...
in the
1962 election as a
Liberal Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP). In 1963, he became Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and decided to stop attending meetings of the Liberal
caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
in order to maintain impartiality. Following the
1965 election, Prime Minister
Lester Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968.
Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
nominated him to the position of Speaker of the House of Commons.
Lamoureux served as speaker during two
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...
s, 1965–1968 and 1972–1974, experiences that required him to maintain authority and neutrality in a situation where no party had control of the House.
In the
1968 election, he decided to follow the custom of the
Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and stand for election as an Independent. Both the Liberal Party and the
Progressive Conservative Party agreed not to run candidates against him. The
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ...
, however, declined to withdraw their candidate. Lamoureux was re-elected and continued to serve as Speaker.
In the
1972 election, Lamoureux again ran as an Independent, this time both the Tories and the NDP ran candidates against him. Lamoureux won re-election by a margin of 5,000 votes. Without an all-party agreement to not run against sitting Speakers in general elections, however, Lamoureux's wish for Canada to follow the British precedent was doomed, and future Speakers would not repeat his attempt to run as an Independent. As the election produced a minority government for the Liberals who had only two more seats than the Conservatives, the closeness of it was perhaps the reason why the opposition parties would choose not to follow such a precedent.
In April 1974, Lamoureux became the longest serving Speaker in the history of the Canadian House of Commons, surpassing the record set by
Rodolphe Lemieux
Rodolphe Lemieux (November 1, 1866 – September 28, 1937) was a Canadian parliamentarian and long time Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (1922–1930).
Biography
He was born in Montreal as the son of a Customs officer. After a ...
. In September 1974, Lamoureux announced that he would not run in the
1974 election, and retired from Parliament. He was appointed Canadian
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...
to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
following the election. Lamoureux died in 1998.
In 1998, he was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
.
On October 12, 2009,
Peter Milliken surpassed Lamoureux's record to become the longest-serving occupant of the Speaker's Chair.
External links
*
Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons biography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamoureux, Lucien
1920 births
1998 deaths
Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Officers of the Order of Canada
Politicians from Ottawa
Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada
Franco-Ontarian people
Ambassadors of Canada to Belgium
Ambassadors of Canada to Luxembourg
Ambassadors of Canada to Portugal