Manitoba Legislature's new Speaker never even thought he'd be an MLA

Tom Lindsey, Flin Flon's representative in the Manitoba Legislature, never thought he'd be an MLA but now, he's the member responsible for keeping all of his colleagues in line.

On Thursday, Lindsey was acclaimed to the non-partisan role ofSpeaker of the House. The NDP MLA for the northern Manitobariding of Flin Flon let his name stand for the prestigious posting, after a conversation with Premier Wab Kinew. He was the lone nominee for the post.

"He did talk to me about it to see if I'd be interested," Lindsey said. "What the heck, let's give it a whirl and see how it goes."

A former mine worker and union activist, he was first elected to the legislature in 2016 and quickly became known as a vocal advocate for northern Manitoba and for organized labour, while being recognizable for his horseshoe moustache.

He had served as caucus chair and had stints as the NDP's critic fornatural resources and northern affairs before the party won the Oct. 3 provincial election.

Lindsey suspected he might be tapped for the role of Speaker when he wasn't in the discussion forKinew's first cabinet.

"When he called to talk about this, then it kind of all fit together.And so I do accept it as being a great honour to be the Speaker, and I appreciate thathe and others thought that I would be good at [the job]."

MLAs returned to the legislature Thursday to elect the new Speaker,but no secret ballot was necessary since Lindsey was the only candidate.

Once official, his colleagues gave him a standing ovation and hewas then dragged to the Speaker's chair, as is the custom for people taking on the role.

The "dragging" is usually done by the leaders of the governing party and the Official Opposition.

Deputy Progressive Conservative leader Kelvin Goertzenfilled in forparty leader Heather Stefanson, who Goertzen has previously said is on holidayand was not present Thursday.

Big task ahead for Lindsey

Lindsey has a big task ahead of him as Speaker, trying to maintain order in a legislative chamber sometimes overwhelmed by heckling.

The Speaker of the House is responsible for maintaining order among legislators and ensuring the rules and procedures of the House are followed. They also preside over legislative proceedings, including question period, and are expected to be non-partisan and neutral in their dealings.

The role was previously held by veteran Progressive Conservative MLA Myrna Driedger, who didn't run for re-election last month.Driedger had been an MLA since 1998 and served as speaker since 2016.

She was known to reprimand her colleagues often for bad behaviour in the legislature.

Driedger and Lindsey had an orientation session Thursday morning, where she offered some advice.

"You find your own pace, you find your own style," she said.

Lindsey said his biggest challenge will be remaining neutral being non-partisan hasn't been his forte, he said.

He'll put on his new robes and hat in a week and a half, when theNDP government delivers its first throne speech.

He said he's hoping for civility in the legislature and isgiving the MLAs a chance to prove they can accomplish that.

"I'm not about to start drawing lines in the sand and saying, 'You have to do this, you have to do that,'" he said.

"I want to give people the opportunity to be decent, kind, loving people, and and if they don't then I guess then the Speaker steps in."