The Canadian Scene
New Yukon Speaker
Yvonne Clarke was elected as the 27th Speaker of Yukon’s Legislative Assembly on December 8, 2025. She becomes the second woman to hold the role and the first Filipino Canadian woman speaker in Canada.
“That milestone does not belong to me alone,” she said following her election. “It belongs to every Yukoner who has ever stepped forward with courage, to every immigrant who arrived with hope in their pocket and to every person who believed that this beautiful territory in the North could be their home.”
Before running for office, Speaker Clarke spent 12 years as a board member of the Yukon Learn Society, which promotes literacy, numeracy and computer skills. As a board member for the Yukon Public Legal Education Association, she co-authored the third edition of “Splitting Up,” a resource for women involved in family breakdowns. Speaker Clarke also chaired the Yukon Advisory Council on Women’s Issues.
Elected in 2021 to represent Porter Creek Centre, during her first term in office she served as the Yukon Party’s critic for the Yukon Housing Corporation, Housing and Lot Development, the Public Service Commission, the Women and Gender Equity Directorate, and the French Language Services Directorate. Speaker Clarke was re-elected in the 2025 general election as the MLA for Whistle Bend North following boundary changes.
Clark told MLAs that her election “is a powerful reminder that our democracy grows stronger when more voices from more journeys, cultures and histories have a seat in decision making.”
“I pledge to serve every member equally: government benches, opposition benches and every independent voice. I will uphold our standing orders, protect the rights of all members and ensure that debate, even when passionate, remains respectful, principled and worthy of public confidence,” she told the Assembly.
Speaker Clarke has lived in Yukon for more than 30 years and has three adult children.
New Speaker in Newfoundland and Labrador
On November 3, 2025, Mount Pearl – Southlands MHA Paul Lane was acclaimed as Speaker of Newfoundland and Labrador’s House of Assembly.
Speaking to reporters prior to taking the Chair for the first time, Speaker Lane said he was “very excited and honoured to take on this new role. It’s not something that I ever anticipated, to be honest with you, that I would have the opportunity to do, albeit it is something that I absolutely had an interest in doing.”
First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 2011, and subsequently as a Liberal in 2015, since 2016 he has sat in the Assembly as an Independent MHA. Speaker Lane said his time as an Independent is uniquely well-suited to a position that is historically non-partisan.
“The role of Speaker is supposed to be fair, impartial, non-partisan, and so on,” he said. “I think, for the first time in our history in Newfoundland [and] Labrador, we actually have a truly independent speaker, with no ties to any political party, which I would view as a positive thing because there is no real or perception, of any kind, of political bias one way or the other, which is the way it’s supposed to be and should be anyway.”
Lane explained that he planned to work on improving decorum and bringing more transparency and dignity to the House, while also making the Assembly more interesting and accessible to the public.
“I see opportunities for a review of standing orders and some of the legislation that governs not just the House when in session, but also committees of the House and how the House committees function when the House is not in session,” he said. “I see an opportunity to do something new and, hopefully, make some positive change that’s going to have a positive impact on our democracy and on our province as a whole.”
Before seeking elected office, Lane was employed as an occupational health and safety professional and disability claims manager. During his first term as an MHA he served as a parliamentary secretary, and from December 2015 to May 2016 he acted as Deputy Chair of Committees.
Speaker Lane, who is married with two adult children, enjoys travelling, and hunting and fishing in his spare time.
New Nunavut Speaker
South Baffin MLA David Joanasie was elected as Speaker of Nunavut’s seventh legislative assembly on November 18, 2025. Kugluktuk MLA Simon Kuliktana and Amittuq MLA Abraham Qammaniq also competed for the position.
Saying he was “humbled” to be taking the Chair, Speaker Joanasie said he would draw on his 12 years of legislative experience to make sure “proceedings are going as smoothly as can be.” He also expressed a desire to help new members as they learn about their roles.
Speaker Joanasie, who was first elected as an MLA in 2013, re-elected in 2017, and acclaimed in 2021 and 2025, has previously served as Co-Chair of the Regular Members’ Caucus, was member of the Management and Services Board, and held several Ministerial portfolios, including Government House Leader.
Before seeking elected office, Speaker Joanasie was employed as communications manager of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and previously held positions with the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
He holds a certificate in business communication from Saint Mary’s University, a diploma from Algonquin College, and attended the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program in Ottawa.
Speaker Joanasie is married and has five children and one grandchild. Outside of politics, he enjoys hunting, fishing, hockey, travelling, traditional land activities and Inuit language multi-media projects.