TORONTO - Former labour minister Steve Peters has been elected as the new Speaker of the Ontario legislature.
Peters, who was dropped from cabinet last month after the Liberals won re-election, lobbied hard for the Speakers' post and defeated three other Liberals and a Conservative for the job of legislature referee.
All 107 members were eligible to vote in the secret balloting to pick a new Speaker, which took four rounds of voting before the winner was declared.
The coveted Speakers' post comes with a $148,387 salary, a big travel budget and an apartment inside the legislature.
Peters, who represents a London-area riding, will be in the Speaker's chair tomorrow when Lt.-Gov. David Onley delivers the government's throne speech to officially open the fall sitting.
Premier Dalton McGuinty stayed neutral in the race for Speaker and wouldn't say which candidate he supported.
