List of Sergeants-at-Arms of the Canadian House of Commons

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The Sergeants-at-Arms of the House of Commons of Canada is a senior officer for the legislative body appointed by Governor General-in-Council through letter patent under the Great Seal of Canada. [1] The Sergeant-at Arms assists the Clerk of the House of Commons as head of parliamentary precinct services, performing certain administrative and ceremonial functions, and maintaining order and security in the parliamentary buildings. [1]

Contents

Ceremonial functions performed by the sergeant-at-arms includes administering the Canadian oath of allegiance to newly elected members of the House of Commons. [1] Additionally it is the sergeant-at-arms’ responsibility to bring the ceremonial mace into the legislative chambers before the Speaker of the House of Commons enters the chambers. [1] The sergeant-at-arms occupies a bar in the chambers until proceedings are completed, after which he removes the ceremonial mace from the chambers. [1]

Ten individuals have been appointed to the position since Canadian Confederation in 1867. All previous appointees previously held positions in the Canadian military or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; [1] although there is no requirement that requires appointees to be drawn from these services. The current Sergeant-at-Arms is Pat McDonell, who was formally appointed to the position in July 2019. [2]

List of sergeant-at-arms

No.ImageNameBranch/ServiceAppointed [1] Left officeNotes
1 Lieutenant-Colonel Donald William MacDonnell Canadian Militia [note 1] 2 November 1867Appointed to the position during the first session of the Parliament of Canada. Previously served as the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 14 June 1854 to 1 July 1867. [1]
2Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Robert Smith Canadian Militia [note 1] 13 January 189220 September 1917Previously served as Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms for the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1892. [1]
3 Lieutenant-Colonel H.W. Bowie, Sergeant at Arms, in corridor (F1266 it0306) (cropped).jpg Lieutenant-Colonel Henry William Bowie Canadian Militia [note 1] 5 March 1918Previously served as Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms for the House of Commons of Canada from 1891 to 1918. [1]
4 Portrait of Lt. Col. H.J. Coghill.jpg Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Judson Coghill Canadian Militia [note 1] 26 July 19309 January 1934Died in office
5 Milton Gregg, VC.jpg Major Milton Fowler Gregg [note 2] Canadian Militia [note 1] 13 February 1934Gregg was recalled to active service with the Canadian Army during the Second World War, requiring the Clerk of the House of Commons, Arthur Beauchesne to assume the acting role of Sergeant-at-Arms while Gregg was on active duty. [1]
6 Lt. Col. W. J. Franklin 1947 (cropped).jpg Lieutenant-Colonel William John Franklin Canadian Army 24 August 19451960
7 Lt-Col. David Currie Sergeant-at-Arms (cropped).jpg Lieutenant-Colonel David Vivian Currie Canadian Army 7 January 19601978
8 Major General Maurice Gaston Cloutier Canadian Army 27 April 197824 March 2005Left office due to illness after consultating with the Clerk to the House of Commons. After Cloutier's departure, Audrey O'Brien, the Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons, served as the acting sergeant-at-arms from March 2005 to September 2006. [1]
9 Kevin Vickers.jpg Chief Superintendent Kevin Vickers Royal Canadian Mounted Police 1 September 2006January 2015First civilian with no military background to be appointed to the position. Previously served as a chief superintendent with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. [1]
10 Pat McDonell - Sergeant-at-Arms for the Canadian House of Commons - 2016.jpg Assistant Commissioner Pat McDonell Royal Canadian Mounted Police 4 July 2019IncumbentPreviously served as the acting sergeant-at-arms from January 2015 to July 2019, when he was formally appointed to the position. [2]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 The Canadian Militia was renamed the Canadian Army through an Order in Council in November 1940. [3]
  2. Held the rank of major when initially appointed as a sergeant-at-arms. He was later promoted to the rank of brigadier while serving during the Second World War.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons since 1867". www.ourcommons.ca. Parliament of Canada. 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 Paas-Lang, Christian (4 July 2019). "New sergeant-at-arms appointed in Ottawa". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. Stacey, Charles Perry (1955). "The Army Programme for 1941" (PDF). Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War Volume I: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific. Ministry of National Defence (Canada). p. 89.