Community support has been key to success in Ottawa: Speaker Greg Fergus 

Being a Black politician in Ottawa is still an isolating experience, Canada’s first Black Speaker of the House of Commons told an audience on Friday. 

“When you’re the first, you get a little more scrutiny than others,” said Greg Fergus. “You can’t make a mistake because if you do, it’s noticeable.” 

However, Fergus said the backing he has received from Black Canadians has been crucial to his success. 

“The support that I’ve had from the Black community has been exceptional. It could bring me to tears,” he said. 

Fergus delivered his message to Black students from secondary schools and universities at Dalhousie University on Friday.  

Parliamentary Black Caucus

Fergus ran for the Liberal Party and was elected Member of Parliament for the riding of Hull-Aylmer in 2015. Years earlier, when Fergus first worked as a parliamentary page in the House of Commons, there had been only a single Black MP.  The year he was elected to Parliament, there were five. This was when Fergus helped found the Parliamentary Black Caucus.  

The non-partisan Black caucus is made up of MPs and senators who are Black Canadians or allies. The caucus influenced the federal government’s decision to make Viola Desmond the face of the $10 bill in 2018. 

Fergus has three roles in his role as a non-partisan Speaker. He presides over the debates in the House, oversees the administration of the House of Commons, and welcomes delegations to Canada from other Parliaments and other politicians of the government.  

Seen differently

In May, the Conservative Party motioned to find Fergus in contempt of Parliament for partisan conduct outside of the chamber. The move followed the Liberal Party’s publication of an ad for an event in Fergus’s riding that criticized Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The Liberal Party later apologized to Fergus, saying it had inadvertently inserted party talking points into his ad. 

Six months previously, Fergus was criticized by Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs for having worn the Speaker’s robes while recording a video tribute to outgoing Ontario Liberal leader John Fraser. Fergus apologized for the action but also said recognizing a colleague’s career should not be seen as a partisan activity.  

In the end, Fergus survived the motion with the NDP, Liberals, and Green Party voting against it. He was then reconfirmed by the House of Commons. 

“That got blown up and got a lot of attention. And perhaps similar actions by my predecessors wouldn’t get that kind of attention,” said Fergus. “But we move on. And again, it’s thanks to the support of our community that I felt that I had the strength to continue on.” 

Fergus said he defies anyone to see his decisions as partisan.  

He also said the Speaker of the House of Commons has a partisan background by definition, having been first elected as a member of a political party. There hasn’t been an elected speaker who ran as an independent. He questions why officials in Parliament make it an issue when he’s Speaker. 

Fergus said he has always felt isolated as a Black man.  

“I was always the one in the class … when I walk into a room and I’m the only (Black) person, people say, ‘There’s a Black guy,’” said Fergus.  

He said this is something he still feels in Parliament because there are not as many as there should be. He said right now, there are nine Black members in the House of Commons, but there should be more. 

Representation inspires success

Armon Jefferies, a Canadian Armed Forces reservist studying political science at Saint Mary’s University was at the event. For him, discussions like these are important, so Black Canadians recognize they belong in these spaces. 

“Historically, we’ve been kept out. But the Honorable Speaker just reinforced the idea that we’re meant to be in these places,” said Jefferies. 

He said it was important for him to attend the discussion because political knowledge is important. It also reinforces that he’s more than allowed to step into these spaces.  

“Being Black comes first. At the end of the day, no matter what spaces you’ll step into, you’ll always remain Black. And coming into those spaces with confidence is important. You’ve earned your way there,” he said. 

Craig Wellington, CEO of the Black Opportunity Fund, which hosted the event, said discussions like these show the challenges Fergus has faced. They make him more relatable and inspire others to believe that they can do something great too. 

“Visibility is possibility. What you can see, you can be,” said Wellington. “It was not a straight path. He’s made mistakes, he’s bounced back, and that makes it more accessible for young people to say, ‘OK, I can manage, I can do that.’” 

Fergus said we need to create more opportunities for the next generation. It’s not enough to stop now. 

“We didn’t come this far just to come this far; we’ve got to do things with it.” 

“I hope at the end of my days in Parliament, I’ll be able to say I helped contribute to get these people to that spot,” he said.