2000 Speaker of the British House of Commons election for electing a Speaker were changed the following year to a use a secret and exhaustive ballot. This procedure was first used in the Speaker election of 2009. Under the old system for electing Speakers of the House of Commons, a candidate would be nominated and seconded, and alternative candidates would be offered as 'amendments' to that initial motion. In 2000, 11 candidates stepped forward, leading Sir Edward Heath, presiding in his capacity as Father of the House, to have the candidates voted on two at a time. He called Michael Martin to be nominated first. In the event, no
Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada) in the House of Commons, ultimately becoming party leader and Leader of the Opposition. On March 9, 2016 Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger served as honorary Speaker for about an hour to honour his years of service. Speaker Regan resumed his duties for the remainder of the sitting of the House. Mauril Bélanger was initially the front runner for the current role, but declined due to his being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Bélanger died on August 15, 2016, five months after being named honorary Speaker. The Speaker's counterpart in the upper house is the Speaker of the Senate of Canada.