Prior to becoming Speaker he was chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development and previously served on a variety of House of Commons committees; namely, the committees on Public Safety, Canadian Heritage, Transport, and Government Operations and Estimates. He was also chair of the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, a committee created pursuant to a 2015 Liberal election platform commitment on electoral reform. In 2024, he served on the Special Joint Committee Medical Assistance in Dying mandated to study "the degree of preparedness attained for a safe and adequate application of medical assistance in dying where mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition."[1]
From 2011 to 2021, Scarpaleggia served as the chair of the National Liberal Caucus, an eventful period in Canadian politics that saw the Liberal Party of Canada move from third-party status in the House of Commons (second opposition party) to forming government in one election cycle under the leadership of Justin Trudeau.[2]
Early life
Scarpaleggia was born in 1957, the son of Maurice Scarpaleggia, a businessman turned college administrator, and Lois Doucet. His paternal grandfather, Frank Scarpaleggia, was a Montreal barber and barbershop owner. His maternal grandfather, Louis Doucet, worked in building services at Montreal's historic Sun Life Building. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Italy and his maternal grandmother immigrated from Ireland. His maternal grandfather was French-Canadian born in Quebec.[citation needed]
Following graduation from business school, he joined the private sector working for Petro-Canada and Comterm, a Quebec-based microcomputer and keyboard-terminal manufacturer and local-area-network software developer. He subsequently entered Montreal's pharmaceutical industry as a corporate financial analyst working for Bristol-Myers Squibb, and transitioned to education, teaching business administration at Montreal's Dawson College.[citation needed]
Political career
Scarpaleggia's involvement in politics began as a volunteer in the riding of Mount Royal during the 1981 Quebec election, working for the Liberal incumbent John Ciaccia, who was re-elected to the provincial legislature. Following the election, which saw the separatist Parti Québécois elected for a second term, he remained active as a grassroots provincial Liberal organizer, notably serving as the youngest riding president (Mount Royal provincial riding association) in the Quebec Liberal Party at the time. In 1984, he became involved in the Liberal Party of Canada in the federal riding of Mount Royal.[citation needed]
Prior to being elected, he worked from 1994 to 2004 as legislative assistant to Clifford Lincoln, a former environment minister in the Quebec government who then served, after entering federal politics, as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of the Environment and then as chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.[citation needed]
Scarpaleggia was first elected to Parliament in the 2004 Canadian federal election following a competitive local nomination contest.[4]
Since first being elected, he has focused on issues of freshwater protection, introducing various water bills and motions in the House of Commons, including a bill to ban bulk-water exports. As a member of the House of Commons environment committee, he has initiated water-focused studies such a study on the Alberta oilsands industry's impacts on the Athabasca River watershed.[5][6]
In 2005, Scarpaleggia was among a minority of Liberal MPs who voted against Bill C-38, legislation that formally legalized same-sex marriage in Canada.[7] The following year, in 2006, he again broke with the Liberal Party by voting in favour, with the Conservatives, on a motion that called on the House of Commons to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage, while preserving civil unions and respecting existing same-sex marriages.[8] Scarpaleggia today supports same-sex marriage.[9] On abortion, he is pro-choice.[10][11] He has been publicly critical of the Constitution's notwithstanding clause, especially its pre-emptive use.[12]
In 2025, during the Liberal leadership race following Justin Trudeau's resignation as the Liberal leader, Scarpaleggia endorsed Mark Carney.[13]
On May 26, 2025, Scarpaleggia was elected as the 40th Speaker of the House of Commons, one of six MPs, including incumbent Speaker and fellow Liberal MP Greg Fergus, seeking the position.[14]
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