Thomas Simpson Sproule

Thomas Simpson Sproule (October 25 1843 – November 10 1917) was a Canadian parliamentarian and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1911 – 1915.

Sproule was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1878 election as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). He was subsequently re-elected eight times in succession.

Sproule was a staunch Protestant born into an Irish Unionist family. He was a member of the Orange Order, and rose to the position of "Most Worshipful Master and Sovereign". In 1906, he became "President of the Imperial Grand Council of the World". The Order was noted for its anti-French and anti-Catholic views, particularly in that period.

He was a physician by profession and practiced in Markdale, Ontario, where he also owned a drug store and a large cattle farm, and invested in local businesses such as a flour mill and lumber yard.

As a Conservative MP, he was a supporter of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, but his loyalty to Orangeism led him to differ with his party's leadership on issues of language and religion, particularly on the Manitoba Schools Question. Sproule opposed any concession to Catholic Separate Schools or French language instruction.

Following the fall of the Conservative government in the 1896 election, largely due to divisions over the school issue, he became a pronounced critic of the immigration policies of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's government. Sproule opposed the admission to Canada of non-British migrants. He supported the abolition of French language instruction in Ontario schools, and the implementation of Regulation 17. Sproule also opposed the expansion of French language services by the federal government.

Following the defeat of the Laurier government in the 1911 election, the new Conservative Prime Minister, Robert Laird Borden, nominated Sproule to the position of Speaker of the House of Commons.

As both English and French were the languages of the House, Sproule, as presiding officer, embarked in French lessons despite being a life long opponent of the language. Sproule had to be able to lead the Commons prayers in both languages.

During a thirty six day filibuster on the question of the government's naval bill, Sproule lost his patience after weeks of 24 hour sessions, and became the first Speaker ever to "name" a member of the House for disorderly conduct.

Sproule was forced to retire from the Speakership due to ill heath, and was named to the Canadian Senate in 1915. He served for two years until his death in 1917.