Anthony Rota

Anthony Rota MP (born May 15, 1961) is a Canadian politician who is the 37th and current Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, he currently serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming. He previously represented Nipissing—Timiskaming as MP from 2004 to 2011. On December 5, 2019, he was elected by the House of Commons to be the Speaker in the 43rd Parliament.[1]

The Honourable

Anthony Rota

MP
37th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
Assumed office
December 5, 2019
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor General
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byGeoff Regan
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Nipissing—Timiskaming
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byJay Aspin
In office
June 28, 2004 – May 2, 2011
Preceded byBob Wood
Succeeded byJay Aspin
Personal details
Born (1961-05-15) May 15, 1961
North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Chantal Piché-Rota
ResidenceNorth Bay, Ontario
ProfessionAdministrator, Business advisor

Early life and career

Born in North Bay, Ontario, Rota holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Wilfrid Laurier University, a diploma in finance from Algonquin College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Ottawa.

Prior to his election, Rota worked for the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) as regional manager for Ontario. He has also served with the Canadian Technology Network in Ottawa, and has worked in the private sector. Rota is fluent in English, French, Italian and Spanish. He is a political science sessional lecturer at Nipissing University.

Political career

Rota began his political career at the municipal level, serving as a city councillor for North Bay City Council and chairing the city's planning and economic development committee. He won the federal Liberal nomination for Nipissing—Timiskaming in early 2004, defeating rival candidates Susan Church, Hugh McLachlan and Joe Sinicrope with 52% on the second ballot. In the general election held in June of that year, he narrowly defeated Conservative candidate Al McDonald.

Rota was re-elected in the 2006 election, defeating the Conservative Party's Peter Chirico, the NDP's Dave Fluri, and the Green Party's Meg Purdy. In the 2008 election, he was again re-elected. He served as the Liberal Party caucus chair, and as critic for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.

He ran again in the 2011 election, but lost by just 14 votes to Jay Aspin of the Conservative Party.[2] Due to the narrow margin, however, an automatic judicial recount was required, confirming the margin at 18 votes.[3] After his 2011 loss, Rota began teaching at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario.

In the 2015 election, he was again the Liberal candidate, defeating Jay Aspin (who defeated him in 2011) and once again becoming the MP in the 42nd Canadian Parliament.[4] On December 9, 2015, he was appointed Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole.

Rota was re-elected in the 2019 election.[5] He was also elected as 37th Speaker of the House of Commons on December 5, 2019, by winning a ranked ballot between himself, Joël Godin, Carol Hughes, Geoff Regan (the Speaker during the previous Parliament) and Bruce Stanton.[1] Following Rota's win, the Conservatives said that he had them to thank for his new position. They had made the decision to unseat Regan as a show of strength during a caucus meeting. They did so by ranking Regan further down on the ranked ballot.[6][7]

On June 17, 2020, Rota ordered that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh be removed from the House of Commons after referring to Bloc Québécois MP Alain Therrien as a racist.[8]

Electoral record
2019 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalAnthony Rota19,35240.55−11.33
ConservativeJordy Carr12,98427.20−2.11
New DemocraticRob Boulet9,78420.50+4.26
GreenAlex Gomm3,1116.52+3.95
People'sMark King2,4965.23n/a
Total valid votes/Expense limit 47,727100.0
Total rejected ballots 407
Turnout 48,13464.6
Eligible voters 74,527
Liberal hold Swing −4.61
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]
2015 Canadian federal election: Nipissing—Timiskaming
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalAnthony Rota25,35751.9+15.41–
ConservativeJay Aspin14,32529.3−7.11–
New DemocraticKathleen Jodouin7,93616.2−4.93–
GreenNicole Peltier1,2572.6−3.37–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 48,875100.0   $217,533.50
Total rejected ballots 2240.45−0.05
Turnout 49,09969.32+8.82
Eligible voters 70,820
Liberal notional hold Swing +11.26
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2011 Canadian federal election: Nipissing—Timiskaming
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeJay Aspin15,49536.7+4.4–
LiberalAnthony Rota15,47736.6−8.0–
New DemocraticRona Eckert8,78120.8+5.0–
GreenScott Daley2,5186.0−0.8–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 42,271 100.0–
Total rejected ballots 225 0.5+0.1
Turnout 42,496 60.5+6.8
Eligible voters 70,244––
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +6.2
This vote was subject to mandatory recount because of the margin of win being less than 1/1000 of the total votes.
2008 Canadian federal election: Nipissing—Timiskaming
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalAnthony Rota18,51044.6–0.1$77,997
ConservativeJoe Sinicrope13,43232.3–2.2$81,801
New DemocraticDianna Allen6,58215.8–1.5$8,409
GreenCraig Bridges2,8086.8+3.3$10,803
Canadian ActionAndrew Moulden2040.5–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 41,536 100.0$87,383
Total rejected ballots 167 0.40.0
Turnout 41,703~58.2−9.4
Liberal hold Swing +2.1
2006 Canadian federal election: Nipissing—Timiskaming
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalAnthony Rota21,39344.7+2.4
ConservativePeter Chirico16,51134.5–2.6
New DemocraticDave Fluri8,26817.3+0.3
GreenMeg Purdy1,6983.5+0.4
Total valid votes 47,870100.0
Total rejected ballots 211 0.4−0.1
Turnout 48,08167.6+5.2
Liberal hold Swing +2.5
2004 Canadian federal election: Nipissing—Timiskaming
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalAnthony Rota18,25442.3
ConservativeAl McDonald16,00137.1
New DemocraticDave Fluri7,35417.0
GreenLes Wilcox1,3293.1
Canadian ActionRoss MacLean2040.5
Total valid votes 43,142 100.0
Total rejected ballots 2220.5
Turnout 43,36462.4

References
  1. Tunney, Catharine; Zimonjic, Peter; Harris, Kathleen (December 5, 2019). "Liberal MP Anthony Rota elected Speaker of the House of Commons". CBC News. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  2. "Sudbury-area voters part of orange wave". Sudbury Star, May 2, 2011.
  3. "Official recounts triggered in two Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2011.
  4. http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/results-2015/
  5. Taschner, Eric (October 22, 2019). "Incumbent Anthony Rota re-elected for 5th term". CTV News. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  6. "Liberal MP Anthony Rota elected Speaker. You're welcome, Conservatives say". National Post. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  7. "Liberal MP Anthony Rota upsets Regan to become Speaker in minority Parliament". Burnaby Now. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  8. "Liberal MP Anthony Rota Boots NDP from House".
  9. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  10. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  11. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Nipissing—Timiskaming, 30 September 2015
  12. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
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