Dean of the House (Canada)

In Canada, the Dean of the House is the Member of the House of Commons with the longest unbroken record of service who is not a member of cabinet. The Dean is responsible for presiding over the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons at the beginning of each Parliament. The position is the equivalent of the Father of the House in the British House of Commons.

The current Dean of the House is the Honourable Rev. Bill Blaikie of the New Democratic Party, who has sat in the House continuously since 1979. He has announced that he will not seek re-election, making Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon the likely next Dean of the House.

The title is apparently taken from that of the Dean of the United States House of Representatives, a similar job with similar qualifications, currently held by John Dingell.

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