Assignment of Seats in the House
Members are allocated their seats and desks in the House under the authority of the Speaker but on the
advice of the whips of the recognized parties (usually those parties with 12 or more Members [242])
following negotiations. In order to be recognized by the Speaker to participate in the business of the
House and to vote in any recorded division, a Member must be in his or her designated seat. [243]
Members representing the governing party traditionally occupy those seats to the right of the Chair,
with the Prime Minister and the other Ministers seated in the front rows. Private Members, otherwise known
as backbenchers, representing the governing party are customarily seated according to their seniority or
length of service in the House within their caucus. If the number of Members representing the governing
party exceeds the number of desks on the right side, the overflow, or “rump”, of government
Members occupies those seats across the aisle. This section may, at the discretion of the Speaker, be near
the Chair or at the far end of the Chamber. [244]
Members who represent parties in opposition to the government are seated to the left of the Chair. [245]
The Leader of the Official Opposition is seated immediately opposite the Prime Minister and is flanked by
Members of his or her party. Other opposition Members sit, according to party, in the remaining seats: the
second-rank opposition party gets the first choice of seats after the Official Opposition, the third-rank
party the next choice and so on. [246]
The leading Members of the opposition parties, including House Leaders, whips and critics, sit in the front
rows of their designated area. [247]
Those Members who do not have a party designation or who represent a party not recognized by the House are
seated subject to the discretion of the Speaker in whatever seats are remaining. These Members typically
occupy the desks to the left of the Speaker along the back rows, often but not necessarily near the end of
the Chamber. The Speaker allocates the seats for these Members pursuant to their seniority as elected
Members, while at the same time retaining a degree of latitude in determining these arrangements. [248]
Three desks immediately to the left of the Chair are reserved for the Deputy Speaker and the other Chair
occupants when they are not presiding over the House. There is no seat reserved for the Speaker. [249]
The seating plan is modified frequently during a Parliament, sometimes following changes within a party,
sometimes as a result of negotiations among the parties. Any changes in the seating of a Member or Members
within a party are made by the whip who then notifies the Speaker. If a Member is expelled from his or her
party, or chooses to leave to sit as an independent, then the Speaker reassigns a new seat to the Member. [250]
Crossing the Floor
Although most Members are elected with a party affiliation (a very small percentage of Members are elected
as independents), Members are not obliged to retain that party label during the whole of their mandate.
“Crossing the floor” is the expression used to describe a Member’s decision to break all
ties binding him or her to a particular political party. [251]
A Member who changes party allegiance is under no obligation to resign his or her seat and stand for
re-election; entitlement to sit as a Member is not contingent upon political affiliation. If a Member
decides to cross the floor and sit with another party, the Member’s new party whip determines the
seating arrangement for the Member.