If you come for the king, you’d best Arnott miss.
PC MPP Ted Arnott will once again be Ontario’s Speaker of the legislature in a surprise victory over caucus mate Nina Tangri, who had public support from the upper echelons of the Ford government.
Arnott was elected on Monday afternoon by 50 per cent plus one of his fellow MPPs. The full tally is unavailable because the vote was a secret ballot.
Arnott, the longest-serving MPP in the legislature, has held the position for the past four years.
The race was unusually contentious and remained that way on election day.
Progressive Conservative house leader Paul Calandra publicly supported Tangri in her bid, for reasons that remain unclear. Premier Doug Ford was reportedly pro-Tangri as well.
The NDP alleged Calandra threatened to deny the party its picks for deputy Speaker roles if its members didn’t vote for Tangri. Calandra’s office denies this but has said he asked for the NDP to support Tangri, who would have been the first woman to hold the role.
After the vote, Arnott said Calandra had “every right to vote for whoever he wants,” adding that if the government house leader wanted to “express publicly how he wants to vote, he has every right to do so.”
Though opposition leaders said it was a free vote, the nominations illustrated the party divides.
Arnott’s nomination was moved by NDP MPP Catherine Fife and seconded by Liberal MPP Lucille Collard, while Tangri’s was brought forward by two PC MPPs: Natalia Kusendova and Vijay Thanigasalam.
Once his victory was announced, Arnott was dragged to the Speaker’s chair by Fife and Collard as he feigned resistance, in a Commonwealth tradition.
Opposition leaders said the results caught them off guard.
“I have to say, I was surprised,” interim Liberal leader John Fraser said. “The government house leader made it very clear that they had a different choice. And he has a lot of power and influence.”
The PCs have a commanding majority with 83 of the legislature's 124 seats. The outcome means many Tories joined their colleagues on the opposition benches in voting for Arnott.
Interim NDP leader Peter Tabuns said Arnott’s win shows Ford doesn’t have control over his party.
“The government has a big majority and yet the premier doesn’t seem to have the support of his caucus on a very substantial question,” he said. “And I think it raises real issues about what’s going on there.”
Tabuns said he’ll find out whether Calandra will follow through on his alleged threat to deny the NDP its deputy Speaker picks on Tuesday when the house leader’s decisions are made public.
Prior to heading into the chamber to vote, Arnott said he had “reason to be cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of being re-elected Speaker once again, based on his conversations with MPPs.
He said Ford hadn’t spoken to him about the election and that he still had no idea why Calandra publicly supported his opponent.
“I think you need to ask the government house leader that question,” he said.
Questions about the election’s partisan nature should be directed to Calandra as well, he said.
Arnott is known among MPPs as fastidiously non-partisan and focused on maintaining decorum. He is unafraid to warn the government, as well as opposition members, for being unruly.
Depending on when the next election is held, Arnott could become the longest-serving Speaker in Ontario history, edging out Charles J.P. Clarke, who served for seven years and 34 days from 1880 to 1887.
After the election, opposition leaders had nothing but praise for Arnott.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner said he had “a lot of respect” for Arnott, who he said has “done a fine job” the past four years.
While Schreiner refused to reveal who he voted for, he did say he was looking for a Speaker who was “going to maintain decorum in the house.”
Arnott and Tangri — who were seated next to each other in the very back corner of the PC benches — chatted and laughed together after the nominations and after everyone retook their seats after voting.
Arnott described the conversation between them as “private and pleasant.” Arnott also praised Tangri for her work as associate minister for small business and red tape reduction.
“I’ve known Nina for quite a few years, even before she was elected to the legislature. I think very highly of the work that she has done,” Arnott said. “I wish her all the very best. Circumstances were such that both of our names were on the ballot, but I look forward to working with her.”
Tangri also had some nice words for her competitor, complimenting Arnott for his job performance in his last term.
“He’s done an excellent job over the last four years. I wholeheartedly supported him last time and, as you see, many people supported him again this time.”
As for what’s next for Tangri, who gave up her cabinet post to run for Speaker, she said she has to wait and see, but she'll continue to be a "great member" of the PC caucus.
Ford said she will "continue to play an important part of our team as we deliver on our plan to build Ontario."
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