The first day of the first session of the 44th Parliament of the province of Ontario commenced at 1300 pursuant to a proclamation of Her Honour Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of the province.

Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor entered the chamber and took her seat upon the throne.

Hon. Edith Dumont (Lieutenant Governor): Pray be seated.

Hon. Stephen Crawford: I am commanded by Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor to state that she does not see fit to declare the causes of the summoning of the present Legislature of this province until a Speaker of this House shall have been chosen according to law, but tomorrow, at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, Her Honour will declare the causes of the calling of this Legislature.

Her Honour was then pleased to retire.

Election of Speaker

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): Honourable members, it is my duty to call upon you to elect a Speaker. Are there any nominations? I recognize the member for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock.

Ms. Laurie Scott: I, Laurie Scott, move, seconded by Will Bouma, that Donna Skelly, member for the electoral district of Flamborough–Glanbrook, do take the chair of the House as Speaker.

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): Ms. Scott moves, seconded by Mr. Bouma, that Donna Skelly, member for the electoral district of Flamborough–Glanbrook, do take the chair of the House as Speaker. Does the member for Flamborough–Glanbrook accept the nomination?

Ms. Donna Skelly: I do.

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): Are there any further nominations? I recognize the member for Windsor West.

MPP Lisa Gretzky: I, Lisa Gretzky, move, seconded by Stephanie Bowman, that Jennifer French, member for the electoral district of Oshawa, do take the chair of the House as Speaker.

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): MPP Gretzky moves, seconded by Ms. Bowman, that Jennifer French, member for the electoral district of Oshawa, do take the chair of the House as Speaker. Does the member for Oshawa accept the nomination?

Ms. Jennifer K. French: To serve the House, I will.

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): Are there any further nominations? Are there any further nominations? Seeing none, I declare nominations closed.

At this time, I am going to ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to place the ballot box at the end of the table and ensure that it is empty. I am going to ask that the voting booths be placed on the table, and they will be furnished with the names of the eligible candidates. Once that’s ready, I am going to ask members to make their way to the far end, around behind your seats, and line up in the under-press, where Clerks will provide you with your ballot. As space becomes available, make your way up, legibly write the name of your preferred candidate and then place it in the ballot box. For members who wish to leave before the voting is done, the bells will be rung for five minutes to announce that the results are ready.

We are now prepared to commence voting. Please make your way to the far end of the chamber. Thank you.

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The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): Have all members who wish to cast a ballot had the opportunity to receive a ballot and cast their ballot? Is there any member who has yet to vote that wants to vote? Seeing none, I will declare voting closed for this ballot.

I’m going to ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to take the ballot box to the side office, where the assigned table Clerks will count the ballots in the presence of the scrutineers. It’s one scrutineer from each recognized party. I believe the House leaders have been put forward: Mr. Clark, Mr. Vanthof and Madame Collard. If you would please make your way.

The bells will be rung for five minutes when we have a result to alert all members to return to the chamber. Thank you.

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The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): Honourable members, I will have the bells rung for five minutes to alert other members to return to the chamber.

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The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): Honourable members, you’ve elected Donna Skelly, the member for Flamborough–Glanbrook, as your Speaker.

Applause.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Wow. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Premier. Thank you, MPP Stiles and MPP Fraser. Thank you all.

Jennifer, thank you for putting your name forward and truly making this a genuine democratic process.

I am so honoured and I feel so privileged that you’ve put your trust in me to be the 44th Speaker of the Ontario Legislature. But more importantly, I’m so humbled that I’m the first woman in provincial history—

Applause.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Thank you.

And on that note, is there further business?

Mr. Steve Clark: Speaker, congratulations on behalf of the government. You’re going to do a fantastic job, Speaker. Congratulations.

I move that the House do now adjourn until 1 p.m. tomorrow, April 15, 2025.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The government House leader has moved that the House do adjourn until 1 p.m. tomorrow, April 15, 2025. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

The House stands adjourned until 1 p.m. tomorrow, April 15, 2025. Thank you all.

The House adjourned at 1334.