About Peter Milliken:
Peter Milliken, a lawyer, has been Speaker of the House of Commons since 2001. He also served as Deputy Speaker of the House and Parliamentary Secretary to the Government House Leader so has extensive knowledge of the rules of parliament and respect for its traditions. A quiet and calm man, Peter Milliken has been interested in parliament since his school days, and his photographic memory gives him a command of the complexities of often archaic parliamentary rules.
Speaker of House of Commons of Canada:
2001 to present
Birth:
November 12, 1946, in Kingston, Ontario
Education:
- Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
- Oxford University, Oxford, England
- Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Profession:
Lawyer
Political Affiliation:
Riding:
Kingston and the Islands
Political Career of Peter Milliken:
- Peter Milliken was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988.
- With the Liberals in opposition, Peter Milliken was the Liberal Party critic for election reform.
- When the Liberals came to power in 1993, Peter Milliken was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Government House Leader.
- Peter Milliken was elected Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House in 1996.
- In 2001 Peter Milliken was elected Speaker of the House of Commons.
- With a new Parliament and a minority Liberal government in October 2004, Peter Milliken was acclaimed Speaker of the House of Commons, after all other candidates withdrew their names from the ballot.
- In 2006, after the election of a Conservative minority government, Peter Milliken was re-elected Speaker of the House of Commons.
- In 2008 Peter Milliken once more ran for Speaker of the House of Commons. There were seven other MPs competing against him this time, primarily because of dissatisfaction with the growing incivility in the House of Commons. Peter Milliken was re-elected on the fifth ballot.
