Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is the presiding officer of the provincial legislature. Since 1994 the position has been elected by MLAs using a secret ballot. Previously, the Speaker had been appointed by motion of the house, in practice moved by the Premier of New Brunswick usually after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Shirley Dysart was the first Speaker to be elected by his or her peers.

Speaker of the
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Président de l'Assemblée législative du Nouveau-Brunswick
Incumbent
Bill Oliver
since October 7, 2020
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Member ofLegislative Assembly
SeatNew Brunswick Legislative Building
FormationJanuary 3, 1786 (1786-01-03)
First holderAmos Botsford

The Speaker is usually a member of the governing party. The only recent exceptions have been Robert McCready and Michael Malley. McCready was appointed by motion of Premier Richard Hatfield following the close election of 1978. Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party had won only 30 seats compared to the 28 seats won by the opposition Liberal Party. McCready was a member of the Liberal caucus and was appointed over the objection of the Liberal Party. The Liberal opposition argued on a point of order before the clerk of the assembly that precedent required that the opposition support the motion appointing speaker, but the clerk allowed the motion to be put and carried by the government. Malley was elected in 2006 while sitting as an independent. Malley had left the government caucus following a cabinet shuffle that had seen the incumbent speaker, Bev Harrison, join the cabinet leaving the post vacant. Malley argued that he should have been included in the cabinet for regional reasons and left the government caucus in protest; to prevent losing control of the legislature in a tenuous minority government situation, the Progressive Conservative caucus supported Malley as speaker. Malley later changed his party affiliation, amid some controversy, back to that of the governing Progressive Conservatives while occupying the speakership.

List of speakers

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No. Name
Electoral district
(Birth–Death)
Term of office Party Legislature
1 Amos Botsford
MLA for Westmorland
(1744/1745–1812)
1786–1812 Independent 1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
2 John Robinson
MLA for Saint John City
(1762–1828)
1813–1816 Independent
3 William Botsford
MLA for Westmorland
(1773–1864)
1817–1823 Independent 6th
7th
8th
4 Ward Chipman Jr.
MLA for Saint John County
(1787–1851)
1824–1825 Independent
5 Harry Peters
MLA for Saint John City
(1788–1870)
1826–1827 Independent
6 Richard Simonds
MLA for Northumberland
(1789–1836)
1828 Independent 9th
7 Charles Simonds
MLA for Saint John County
(1783–1859)
1829–1830 Independent
10th
8 William Crane
MLA for Westmorland
(1785–1853)
1831–1834 Independent
(7) Charles Simonds
MLA for Saint John County
(1783–1859)
1835–1842 Independent 11th
12th
9 John Wesley Weldon
MLA for Kent
(1809–1885)
1843–1850 Independent 13th
14th
(7) Charles Simonds
MLA for Saint John County
(1783–1859)
1851 Independent 15th
(8) William Crane
MLA for Westmorland
(1785–1853)
1852–1853 Independent
10 Daniel Hanington
MLA for Westmorland
(1804–1889)
1853–1856 Independent
16th
(7) Charles Simonds
MLA for Saint John County
(1783–1859)
1856–1857 Independent 17th
11 James A. Harding
MLA for Saint John City
(1820–1893)
1857–1858 Independent 18th
12 John Mercer Johnson
MLA for Northumberland
(1818–1868)
1859–1862 Independent
19th
13 John Campbell Allen
MLA for York
(1817–1898)
1863–1864 Independent
14 Edwin Arnold Vail
MLA for Kings
(1817–1885)
1865–1866 Independent 20th
15 John Hamilton Gray
MLA for Saint John County
(1814–1889)
1866–1867 Independent 21st
16 Bliss Botsford
MLA for Westmorland
(1813–1890)
1868–1870 Independent
(14) Edwin Arnold Vail
MLA for Kings
(1817–1885)
1871–1874 Independent 22nd
17 William Wedderburn
MLA for Saint John City
(1834–1918)
1875–1878 Independent 23rd
18 Benjamin Robert Stephenson
MLA for Charlotte
(1835–1890)
1879–1882 Independent 24th
19 James E. Lynott
MLA for Charlotte
(1839–1890)
1883–1886 Independent 25th
20 William Pugsley
MLA for Kings
(1850–1925)
1887–1889 Independent 26th
21 Albert Scott White
MLA for Kings
(1855–1931)
1890–1892 Independent 27th
22 John Percival Burchill
MLA for Northumberland
(1855–1923)
1893–1899 Independent 28th
29th
23 Clifford William Robinson
MLA for Westmorland
(1866–1944)
1901–1907 Independent 30th
31st
24 Charles J. Osman
MLA for Albert
(1851–1922)
1907 Independent
25 Donald Morrison
MLA for Northumberland
(1852–1920)
1908 Independent 32nd
26 George Johnson Clarke
MLA for Charlotte
(1857–1917)
1909–1914 Independent
33rd
27 Walter B. Dickson
MLA for Albert
(1847–1916)
1914–1916 Independent
28 Olivier-Maximin Melanson
MLA for Westmorland
(1854–1926)
1916 Independent
29 William Currie
MLA for Restigouche
(1862–1934)
1917–1918 Liberal 34th
30 Judson Hetherington
MLA for Queens
(1866–1928)
1919–1920 Liberal
31 Allison Dysart
MLA for Kent
(1880–1962)
1921–1925 Liberal 35th
32 Joseph Leonard O'Brien
MLA for Northumberland
(1895–1973)
1926–1930 Conservative 36th
33 Frederick C. Squires
MLA for Carleton
(1881–1960)
1931–1935 Conservative 37th
34 Hedley Francis Gregory Bridges
MLA for Restigouche
(1902–1947)
1936–1938 Liberal 38th
35 Frederic McGrand
MLA for Queens
(1895–1988)
1940–1944 Liberal 39th
36 Harry O. Downey
MLA for Albert
(1897–1974)
1945–1952 Liberal 40th
41st
37 Elmor T. Kennedy
MLA for Kings
(1885–1953)
1953 Progressive Conservative 42nd
38 Walter Powers
MLA for Victoria
(1895–1954)
1954 Progressive Conservative
39 J. Arthur Moore
MLA for Queens
(1891–1979)
1955–1960 Progressive Conservative
43rd
40 Ernest Richard
MLA for Gloucester
(1922–2006)
1960–1963 Liberal 44th
41 Bernard Jean
MLA for Gloucester
(1925–2012)
1963–1966 Liberal 45th
42 H. H. Williamson
MLA for Gloucester
(1916–1972)
1966–1967 Liberal
43 Robert McCready
MLA for Bathurst
(1921–1995)
1968–1970 Liberal 46th
44 Lawrence Garvie
MLA for Fredericton
(1933–2011)
1971–1973 Progressive Conservative 47th
45 William J. Woodroffe
MLA for Saint John East (until 1974)
MLA for Saint John-Fundy (from 1974)

(1933–2003)
1973–1978 Progressive Conservative
48th
(43) Robert McCready
MLA for Queens South
(1921–1995)
1979–1980 Liberal 49th
46 James N. Tucker Jr.
MLA for Charlotte-Fundy
(born 1934)
1981–1985 Progressive Conservative
50th
47 Charles Gallagher
MLA for Carleton North
(1925–2007)
1985–1987 Progressive Conservative
48 Frank Branch
MLA for Nepisiguit-Chaleur
(1944–2018)
1987–1991 Liberal 51st
49 Shirley Dysart
MLA for Saint John Park
(1928–2016)
1991–1994 Liberal 52nd
50 Gérald Clavette
MLA for Madawaska Centre
(born 1941)
1994 Liberal
(49) Shirley Dysart
MLA for Saint John Park
(1928–2016)
1994–1995 Liberal
51 Danny Gay
MLA for Miramichi Bay
(born 1950)
1995–1998 Liberal 53rd
52 John McKay
MLA for Miramichi Centre
(born 1948)
1998–1999 Liberal
53 Bev Harrison
MLA for Hampton-Belleisle
(born 1942)
1999–2006 Progressive Conservative 54th
55th
54 Michael Malley
MLA for Miramichi-Bay du Vin
(born 1962)
2006 Progressive Conservative
55 Eugene McGinley
MLA for Grand Lake-Gagetown
(1935–2019)
2007 Liberal 56th
56 Roy Boudreau
MLA for Campbellton-Restigouche Centre
(1946–2023)
2007–2010 Liberal
57 Dale Graham
MLA for Carleton
(born 1951)
2010–2014 Progressive Conservative 57th
58 Chris Collins
MLA for Moncton Centre
(born 1951)
2014–2018 Liberal 58th
59 Daniel Guitard
MLA for Restigouche-Chaleur
(born 1959)
2018–2020 Liberal 59th
60 Bill Oliver
MLA for Kings Centre
(born 1959)
2020–present Progressive Conservative 60th

References

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