The MHA for Humber-St. George’s was ‘reluctantly’ guided into the House of Assembly this afternoon after being elected as Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Scott Reid took the position after being voted in this afternoon by MHAs.

Reid was up against former Speaker Perry Trimper for the role.

The PCs previously indicated they could not support Trimper as Speaker after a controversy that played out over the summer.

Trimper resigned from cabinet just one week after leaving the Speaker’s chair. He stepped down after a conversation he had with an unnamed woman was recorded on a member of the Innu Nation’s voice mail that contained some racist remarks.

Ceremony Lives on in Speaker Election

The Speaker is brought reluctantly into the House of Assembly in an old British Parliamentary tradition that goes back centuries.

Reid explains that it stems from a time when the Speaker would be directed by the House to send a message to the King. If the King didn’t agree, he would send back a note—often with a side message to cut off the Speaker’s head, which was sometimes sent back to the House as well.