James Jerome | |
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| 28th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada | |
| In office September 30, 1974 – December 14, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Lucien Lamoureux |
| Succeeded by | Jeanne Sauvé |
| MP forSudbury | |
| In office September 9, 1968 – December 14, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Bud Germa |
| Succeeded by | Doug Frith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Alexander Jerome March 4, 1933 |
| Died | August 21, 2005(2005-08-21) (aged 72) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Sudbury, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | lawyer |
James Alexander Jerome,PC (March 4, 1933 – August 21, 2005) was aCanadian jurist and formerpolitician andSpeaker of the House of Commons of Canada.
After receiving his law degree fromOsgoode Hall inToronto, Jerome began his law practice inSudbury,Ontario. In 1966, he won a seat on Sudbury's city council and, the next year, attempted to win election to theHouse of Commons of Canada in aby-election but was defeated. He took the seat in the1968 general election, however, and became theLiberalMember of Parliament (MP) for theSudbury riding.
After the1972 election, Jerome became Chairman of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. Since there was aminority government in place, the opposition had a majority of members on the Committee and he had to remain impartial and balance the wishes of all parties in order to win approval for legislation.
His success in this role ledPrime MinisterPierre Trudeau to appoint him as Speaker of the House of Commons following the1974 election.
In the1979 election, Jerome considered following the precedent set by his predecessor,Lucien Lamoureux, by running as anindependent as is the custom of theSpeaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He decided to run as a Liberal, however, and was re-elected. TheProgressive Conservative Party formed aminority government underJoe Clark's leadership. Despite the change in government, they decided to keep Jerome as Speaker.
After the Clark government was defeated in amotion of no confidence in December 1979, Jerome decided not to run inthe ensuing general election. In January 1980, Clark appointed him Associate Chief Justice of theFederal Court in Ottawa. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1998.
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