The Liberal party apologized to House of Commons Speaker and Liberal MP Greg Fergus this week for using “partisan” language to advertise an event in his riding, after the ad triggered new calls for his resignation from opposition parties.
The Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois described the advertisement as another display of partisan behaviour from the House Speaker, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his faith in Mr. Fergus.
The latest call for Mr. Fergus’s resignation comes after a post on the Liberal party website promoting a summer barbecue with the Speaker also featured a critical comment about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
“While Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives propose reckless policies that would risk our health, safety, and pocketbooks, our Liberal team is focused on making life more affordable for Canadians and moving forward with our bold plan,” the post read.
Conservative MP Chris Warkentin addressed the issue in the House of Commons on May 21, saying that Mr. Fergus, during his seven months as Speaker, has repeatedly engaged in “questionable partisan behaviour.”
He said the ad used “inflammatory language” toward Mr. Poilievre and the Conservative party.
“For the good of the institution of Parliament and the enduring interests of the House of Commons, I regret to say that the Speaker must go,” Mr. Warkentin said. “Failing that, it is incumbent upon this House to take action immediately.”
Liberal party national director Azam Ishmael wrote an open letter to Mr. Fergus, originally shared on X, saying that the language used on Liberal.ca was posted without the Speaker’s knowledge and was the result of “a miscommunication” between the party and the riding association.
“The Liberal Party of Canada unequivocally apologizes to you for this mistake, and we take full responsibility,” Mr. Ishmael wrote. The letter has since been removed from social media.
Liberal spokesperson Parker Lund said the language used in the ad was automatically included based on a template for events posted to the website. He said a miscommunication between the party and Mr. Fergus’s riding association led to the wrong text being put on the event’s details.
Calls for Resignation
Mr. Warkentin, deputy whip of the Official Opposition, wrote a letter, a press release, and took to social media on May 21 to demand the Speaker’s resignation.“The No. 1 job of the Speaker is to remain nonpartisan,” he said in a video on X. “It’s like a referee in a game. It can’t take sides. But unfortunately, this Speaker has been found guilty of engaging in serious partisan activity, not once, not twice, but three times.”
The veteran MP asked Deputy Speaker Chris d'Entremont to examine if Mr. Fergus breached privilege in his role as Speaker. Mr. Warkentin said that if it’s determined a breach has occurred, then he intends to “put forward a motion of remedy to vacate the chair and to schedule the election of a new Speaker.”
The Bloc Quebecois joined the Tories in demanding Mr. Fergus resign, while the New Democrats called on the party to apologize.
“This is the third instance where there is clear evidence that the Speaker of the House lacked judgment and breached his duty of impartiality,” Bloc MP Alain Therrien said.
“I have nothing personal against the Speaker and neither does the Bloc Quebecois. However, with all due respect to the Speaker, he does not belong in the chair.”
NDP House leader Peter Julian blamed the Liberal Party for the incident.
“The Liberal Party of Canada has shown profound disrespect by publishing that without the authorization of the Speaker, without the knowledge of the Speaker,” Mr. Julian said.
“They should apologize to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the House of Commons for acting this way.”
The prime minister described the ad as “an unfortunate mistake.”
“The issue was dealt with, was addressed by the party and by the House leader,” Mr. Trudeau said at a May 21 press conference in Philadelphia, during a visit to promote Canada-U.S. relations.
History of Accusations
This is the third time Mr. Fergus has faced calls for his resignation. He was first asked to resign in December 2023 after he posted a video tribute to the Ontario Liberals’ departing interim leader while wearing his Speaker’s robes. The video, which was recorded in his office, was shown at a Liberal party convention.The Conservatives and Bloc called for him to resign, but a January vote in the House allowed Mr. Fergus to keep his job as Speaker.
Conservatives again called for him to resign last month after he kicked Mr. Poilievre out of the House of Commons during question period for calling the prime minister “wacko.”
When Speaker Fergus asked him to withdraw his “unparliamentary language,” Mr. Poilievre said he would “simply withdraw and replace” the word “wacko” with “extremist” or “radical.”
Speaker Fergus subsequently ordered Mr. Poilievre to leave the House of Commons, and the entire Tory caucus followed their leader out.
There were accusations of partiality linked to the incident because the prime minister had also used inflammatory language, earlier accusing the Tory leader of consorting with extremist crowds and saying Mr. Poilievre shows “us exactly what shameful spineless leadership looks like.”
“If you were to do a scale of one to 10, of bad words, wacko comes in at about two-and-a-half, somewhere close to spineless,” he said.
