Peter Milliken
Encyclopedia
Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, UE (born November 12, 1946) is a Canadian
lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons
from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House
for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario
riding of Kingston and the Islands
as a member of the Liberal Party
. On October 12, 2009, he became the longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons in Canadian history. His Speakership was notable for the number of tie-breaking votes he was required to make as well as for making several historic rulings.
Milliken chose to stand down from Parliament at the 2011 federal election. His successor as presiding officer of the House of Commons, Andrew Scheer
, was elected on June 2, 2011
.
Milliken is the cousin of John Matheson
, a former Liberal Member of Parliament
(MP) best known for his prominent role in adopting the red maple leaf
as the Flag of Canada
.
, Ontario, the eldest of seven children to a physician father, and is a descendant of United Empire Loyalists who left the new United States of America after the American Revolution
. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Political Science
and Economics
from Queen's University
(1968), a Bachelor of Arts
(1970) and Master of Arts
(1978) in Jurisprudence from Oxford University in England
, and a Bachelor of Laws
(1971) degree from Dalhousie University
. He was active in student politics, and served a year as speaker of the student government's assembly at Queen's. In 1967-68, he worked as a special assistant to federal cabinet minister George J. McIlraith.
Called to the Ontario Bar in 1973, Milliken was a partner at the prestigious Kingston law firm, Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham, before entering political life. He also lectured on a part-time basis at the Queen's University School of Business from 1973 to 1981, became a governor of the Kingston General Hospital in 1977, and has been a trustee with the Chalmers United Church
. As a consultant, he produced the Milliken Report on the future of Queen's University athletics in the late 1970s. A fan of classical music, he has sung with the Pro Arte Singers and the Chalmers United Church Choir as well as serving on the board of the Kingston Symphony
. He also often canoes, taking week long trips in northern Canada. In 2001, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam
. He is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada
, and an Honorary Patron of Choirs Ontario.
Milliken has long been active in political matters, having served as president of the Kingston and the Islands provincial Liberal Party Association in the 1980s. He subscribed to the Canadian House of Commons Hansard
at age sixteen, and once wrote a thesis paper on Question Period
. Unlike most MPs, he was already well-versed in parliamentary procedure
at the time of his first election.
Liberal nomination in 1988 over local alderman Alex Lampropoulos, and defeated well-known Progressive Conservative
cabinet minister
Flora MacDonald by 2,712 votes in the 1988 general election
. The Progressive Conservatives won the election with a majority government
, and in early 1989 Milliken was named as the Liberal Party's critic for electoral reform, associate critic for senior citizens, and whip
for eastern and northern Ontario. Shortly thereafter, he was named to the parliamentary standing committee on elections, privileges, procedures and private members' business. He supported Jean Chrétien
for the federal Liberal leadership in 1990.
He was easily re-elected in the 1993 election
, as the Liberal Party won a majority government, and was named to a two-year term as parliamentary secretary
to the Government House Leader
in December 1993. He also became chair of the Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee. Milliken was a leading candidate for Speaker of the House in January 1994, but lost to Gilbert Parent
.
Milliken supported fellow Kingstonian John Gerretsen
for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party
in 1996, and moved to the camp of the eventual winner, Dalton McGuinty
, after Gerretsen was eliminated on the second ballot. In the same year, Milliken and fellow Liberal MP John Godfrey
introduced the Godfrey-Milliken Bill
as a satirical response to the American Helms-Burton Act
. The Bill, which would have allowed the descendants of United Empire Loyalists to claim compensation for land seized in the American Revolution, was drafted in response to provisions in the Helms-Burton Act which sought to punish Canadian companies for using land nationalised by Fidel Castro
's government in Cuba
. Godfrey and Milliken gave a twenty-minute presentation on their bill in Washington, D.C.
in early 1997, and were greeted with warm applause from local Helms-Burton opponents.
Milliken was re-elected for a third term in 1997 election
, and became Deputy Speaker
of the House for the parliament that followed.
. He was widely praised by government and opposition MPs for his rulings, which were considered very fair. He also brought new life to the chair in delivering his rulings and remarks with a sarcastic humour. Elected for his fifth term in 2004
, he was the unanimous choice of MPs to be re-elected Speaker for the next parliament.
In 2005, Milliken prevented an early federal election by breaking a tie vote on the second reading of Bill C-48, an amendment to the 2005 federal budget, which was a confidence motion
. The vote was 152 in favour and 152 against prior to his vote, and he voted in favour of the bill. The Speaker
does not vote except in the case of a tie, and must vote, by precedent, in such a way as to keep the matter open for further consideration if possible (i.e. passing C-48 to allow further debate for a third reading). This was the first time in Canadian history that a Speaker used his tie-breaker vote on a confidence motion.
Milliken won his riding for a sixth time in the 2006 election
, as the Conservative Party won a minority government nationally. Though his party was no longer in government, he was re-elected as Speaker of the House for the 39th Parliament
on April 3, 2006, defeating fellow Liberals Diane Marleau
and Marcel Proulx
on the first ballot. With his re-election, he became only the second Speaker chosen from an opposition party in the history of the House of Commons (James Jerome
being the other).
In February 2007, Milliken rejected the Conservative government's challenge of an opposition bill that commits the government to implement the Kyoto Accord. The government argued that the bill introduced new spending, and could not be introduced by someone who was not a minister. Milliken ruled that the bill did not specifically commit the government to any new spending, and was therefore in order. The bill was approved by the house, despite government opposition.
Milliken was re-elected for a seventh term in the 2008 federal election
. On November 18, after five ballots, he was elected for the fourth time as Speaker. On October 12, 2009, he became the longest serving Canadian House of Commons speaker in history.
The Speaker only votes in order to break a tie. Speakers of the House of Commons have only needed to vote eleven times in Canadian parliamentary history. Milliken had done so on six occasions, more than all previous Speakers combined.
On March 18, 2010, the three opposition parties asked Milliken to make a pivotal ruling on a question of privilege (specifically the power to send for persons, papers and records), in regards to Parliament's request for documents on the transfer of Afghan detainees, a notable issue in 2009 and 2010. On April 27, 2010, Milliken ruled that Parliament had a right to ask for uncensored documents. He asked that all House leaders, ministers and MPs to come to a collective solution by May 11, 2010 "without compromising the security and confidentiality contained.".
On March 9, 2011, Milliken made two historic rulings holding the government of Stephen Harper
in contempt
of Parliament. The determinations led to the fall of the government on March 25, 2011 in a non-confidence vote. Prior to the vote, the last House of Commons which Milliken would preside over, the Speaker was praised by MPs from all sides of the House. Conservative Government House Leader John Baird
paid homage to Milliken’s career, recalling a meeting he’d had with the Speaker of the British House of Commons
. “The Speaker of the Commons there said that he and Speakers from all around the Commonwealth look to you as their leader and their inspiration as someone who has conducted himself very professionally.” “For a Canadian to hear that from a British Speaker is a pretty remarkable … assessment of your role as Speaker.” Baird predicted that Milliken would “go down in history as, if not one of the best Speakers, the best Speaker the House of Commons has ever had.”
Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff
said of Milliken: “You have taught us all – sometimes with modest rebuke, sometimes with stern force of argument – to understand, to respect and to cherish the rules of Canadian democracy, and for that alone all Canadians will be grateful to you.”
in order to decide whether or not to amend the party's constitution in order to allow the party's leadership convention to be delayed until 2013.
Later that month, Milliken joined Queen's University
as a Fellow
at the School of Policy Studies where he will teach and conduct research.
. Italicized expenditures from elections after 1997 refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available. Expenditures from 1997 refer to submitted totals.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
riding of Kingston and the Islands
Kingston and the Islands
Kingston and the Islands is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968....
as a member of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. On October 12, 2009, he became the longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons in Canadian history. His Speakership was notable for the number of tie-breaking votes he was required to make as well as for making several historic rulings.
Milliken chose to stand down from Parliament at the 2011 federal election. His successor as presiding officer of the House of Commons, Andrew Scheer
Andrew Scheer
Andrew Scheer is a Canadian Member of Parliament and the Speaker of the House of Commons. At the age of 32, he is the youngest person to serve in this capacity in Canadian parliamentarian history.-Early life and career:...
, was elected on June 2, 2011
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons election, 2011
An election for Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons was held on June 2, 2011, at the beginning of the first session of the 41st Canadian House of Commons, following the 2011 federal election. Andrew Scheer won the election after six ballots, becoming the youngest Speaker in Canada's history...
.
Milliken is the cousin of John Matheson
John Matheson
John Ross Matheson, OC, CD, QC is a Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician who helped develop both the maple leaf flag and the Order of Canada.- Early life :...
, a former Liberal Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) best known for his prominent role in adopting the red maple leaf
Maple leaf
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree, and is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.-Use in Canada:At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements of New France had attained a population of about 18,000...
as the Flag of Canada
Flag of Canada
The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...
.
Early life and career
Milliken was born in KingstonKingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Ontario, the eldest of seven children to a physician father, and is a descendant of United Empire Loyalists who left the new United States of America after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
(1968), a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(1970) and Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(1978) in Jurisprudence from Oxford University in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
(1971) degree from Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
. He was active in student politics, and served a year as speaker of the student government's assembly at Queen's. In 1967-68, he worked as a special assistant to federal cabinet minister George J. McIlraith.
Called to the Ontario Bar in 1973, Milliken was a partner at the prestigious Kingston law firm, Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham, before entering political life. He also lectured on a part-time basis at the Queen's University School of Business from 1973 to 1981, became a governor of the Kingston General Hospital in 1977, and has been a trustee with the Chalmers United Church
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
. As a consultant, he produced the Milliken Report on the future of Queen's University athletics in the late 1970s. A fan of classical music, he has sung with the Pro Arte Singers and the Chalmers United Church Choir as well as serving on the board of the Kingston Symphony
Kingston Symphony
The Kingston Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Kingston, Ontario. The orchestra was founded in 1953 under the name the New Symphony Association of Kingston. It was renamed the Kingston Symphony in 1963 with the formation of its new umbrella organization the Kingston Symphony Association...
. He also often canoes, taking week long trips in northern Canada. In 2001, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam
State University of New York at Potsdam
The State University of New York at Potsdam, also known as SUNY Potsdam, or, colloquially, Potsdam, is a public university located in the Village of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York. Founded in 1816, it is among the 50 oldest colleges in the United States...
. He is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
, and an Honorary Patron of Choirs Ontario.
Milliken has long been active in political matters, having served as president of the Kingston and the Islands provincial Liberal Party Association in the 1980s. He subscribed to the Canadian House of Commons Hansard
Hansard
Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
at age sixteen, and once wrote a thesis paper on Question Period
Question Period
Question Period, known officially as Oral Questions occurs each sitting day in the Canadian House of Commons. According to the House of Commons Compendium, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.”-History:The...
. Unlike most MPs, he was already well-versed in parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...
at the time of his first election.
Member of Parliament
Milliken won the Kingston and the IslandsKingston and the Islands
Kingston and the Islands is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968....
Liberal nomination in 1988 over local alderman Alex Lampropoulos, and defeated well-known Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
cabinet minister
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of 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...
Flora MacDonald by 2,712 votes in the 1988 general election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
. The Progressive Conservatives won the election with a majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
, and in early 1989 Milliken was named as the Liberal Party's critic for electoral reform, associate critic for senior citizens, and whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
for eastern and northern Ontario. Shortly thereafter, he was named to the parliamentary standing committee on elections, privileges, procedures and private members' business. He supported Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
for the federal Liberal leadership in 1990.
He was easily re-elected in the 1993 election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, as the Liberal Party won a majority government, and was named to a two-year term as parliamentary secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
to the Government House Leader
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)
The Leader of the government in the House of Commons , more commonly known as the Government House Leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Canadian House of Commons...
in December 1993. He also became chair of the Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee. Milliken was a leading candidate for Speaker of the House in January 1994, but lost to Gilbert Parent
Gilbert Parent
Gilbert "Gib" Parent, PC was a Canadian Member of Parliament. He is best known in his role of Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons between 1994 and 2001....
.
Milliken supported fellow Kingstonian John Gerretsen
John Gerretsen
John Philip Gerretsen is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and a Minister in the Cabinet of Premier Dalton McGuinty.-Early life:...
for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
in 1996, and moved to the camp of the eventual winner, Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
, after Gerretsen was eliminated on the second ballot. In the same year, Milliken and fellow Liberal MP John Godfrey
John Godfrey
John Ferguson Godfrey, PC is a Canadian educator, journalist and former Member of Parliament.- Education :He was born in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Senator John Morrow Godfrey , was a Canadian pilot, lawyer and politician. John Godfrey graduated from Upper Canada College in 1960...
introduced the Godfrey-Milliken Bill
Godfrey-Milliken Bill
The Godfrey-Milliken Bill, officially Bill C-339: The American Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act was a Private Member's Bill introduced in the Canadian parliament by Liberal MPs Peter Milliken and John Godfrey...
as a satirical response to the American Helms-Burton Act
Helms-Burton Act
The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 is a United States federal law which strengthens and continues the United States embargo against Cuba...
. The Bill, which would have allowed the descendants of United Empire Loyalists to claim compensation for land seized in the American Revolution, was drafted in response to provisions in the Helms-Burton Act which sought to punish Canadian companies for using land nationalised by Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's government in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Godfrey and Milliken gave a twenty-minute presentation on their bill in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in early 1997, and were greeted with warm applause from local Helms-Burton opponents.
Milliken was re-elected for a third term in 1997 election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, and became Deputy Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the House for the parliament that followed.
Speaker of the House
Milliken was elected Speaker of the House in late January 2001, after five ballots of a secret vote of all MPs held at the first sitting of parliament following the 2000 federal electionCanadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
. He was widely praised by government and opposition MPs for his rulings, which were considered very fair. He also brought new life to the chair in delivering his rulings and remarks with a sarcastic humour. Elected for his fifth term in 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, he was the unanimous choice of MPs to be re-elected Speaker for the next parliament.
In 2005, Milliken prevented an early federal election by breaking a tie vote on the second reading of Bill C-48, an amendment to the 2005 federal budget, which was a confidence motion
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
. The vote was 152 in favour and 152 against prior to his vote, and he voted in favour of the bill. The Speaker
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
does not vote except in the case of a tie, and must vote, by precedent, in such a way as to keep the matter open for further consideration if possible (i.e. passing C-48 to allow further debate for a third reading). This was the first time in Canadian history that a Speaker used his tie-breaker vote on a confidence motion.
Milliken won his riding for a sixth time in the 2006 election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, as the Conservative Party won a minority government nationally. Though his party was no longer in government, he was re-elected as Speaker of the House for the 39th Parliament
39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
on April 3, 2006, defeating fellow Liberals Diane Marleau
Diane Marleau
Diane Marleau, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. She represented the riding of Sudbury in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien...
and Marcel Proulx
Marcel Proulx
Marcel Proulx is a Canadian politician.Proulx is a former member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, having represented the riding of Hull—Aylmer from 1999 to 2011. Proulx is a former administrator, businessman, claim adjuster, and executive assistant...
on the first ballot. With his re-election, he became only the second Speaker chosen from an opposition party in the history of the House of Commons (James Jerome
James Jerome
James Alexander Jerome, PC was a Canadian jurist and former politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons....
being the other).
In February 2007, Milliken rejected the Conservative government's challenge of an opposition bill that commits the government to implement the Kyoto Accord. The government argued that the bill introduced new spending, and could not be introduced by someone who was not a minister. Milliken ruled that the bill did not specifically commit the government to any new spending, and was therefore in order. The bill was approved by the house, despite government opposition.
Milliken was re-elected for a seventh term in the 2008 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
. On November 18, after five ballots, he was elected for the fourth time as Speaker. On October 12, 2009, he became the longest serving Canadian House of Commons speaker in history.
The Speaker only votes in order to break a tie. Speakers of the House of Commons have only needed to vote eleven times in Canadian parliamentary history. Milliken had done so on six occasions, more than all previous Speakers combined.
On March 18, 2010, the three opposition parties asked Milliken to make a pivotal ruling on a question of privilege (specifically the power to send for persons, papers and records), in regards to Parliament's request for documents on the transfer of Afghan detainees, a notable issue in 2009 and 2010. On April 27, 2010, Milliken ruled that Parliament had a right to ask for uncensored documents. He asked that all House leaders, ministers and MPs to come to a collective solution by May 11, 2010 "without compromising the security and confidentiality contained.".
On March 9, 2011, Milliken made two historic rulings holding the government of Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
in contempt
Contempt
Contempt is an intensely negative emotion regarding a person or group of people as inferior, base, or worthless—it is similar to scorn. It is also used when people are being sarcastic. Contempt is also defined as the state of being despised or dishonored; disgrace, and an open disrespect or willful...
of Parliament. The determinations led to the fall of the government on March 25, 2011 in a non-confidence vote. Prior to the vote, the last House of Commons which Milliken would preside over, the Speaker was praised by MPs from all sides of the House. Conservative Government House Leader John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
paid homage to Milliken’s career, recalling a meeting he’d had with the Speaker of the British House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
. “The Speaker of the Commons there said that he and Speakers from all around the Commonwealth look to you as their leader and their inspiration as someone who has conducted himself very professionally.” “For a Canadian to hear that from a British Speaker is a pretty remarkable … assessment of your role as Speaker.” Baird predicted that Milliken would “go down in history as, if not one of the best Speakers, the best Speaker the House of Commons has ever had.”
Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
said of Milliken: “You have taught us all – sometimes with modest rebuke, sometimes with stern force of argument – to understand, to respect and to cherish the rules of Canadian democracy, and for that alone all Canadians will be grateful to you.”
Post-Commons career
On June 18, 2011, Milliken chaired the Liberal Party of Canada constitutional convention which was held by conference callConference call
A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party...
in order to decide whether or not to amend the party's constitution in order to allow the party's leadership convention to be delayed until 2013.
Later that month, Milliken joined Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
as a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at the School of Policy Studies where he will teach and conduct research.
Electoral record
All electoral information is taken from Elections CanadaElections Canada
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...
. Italicized expenditures from elections after 1997 refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available. Expenditures from 1997 refer to submitted totals.