Francis is an experienced legislator first elected to Parliament in 2004 to represent the people of Lac-Saint-Louis, a riding on the western end of the island of Montreal. Re-elected seven times, he has established a reputation as a dedicated constituency MP with a strong community presence. Following the 2025 election, Francis was elected the 40th Speaker of the House of Commons by his parliamentary colleagues.

Prior to his election as Speaker, Francis served in numerous parliamentary roles, including as Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable, Chair of the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, and Chair of the National Liberal Caucus, a position he held for over 10 years. He has also served as Vice Chair of the House Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security and has been a member of the House committees on Transport, Canadian Heritage, and Government Operations and Estimates. A longtime advocate for accessible quality palliative care, Francis was a founding member of the special Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care which in 2011 released a report entitled Not to be Forgotten: Care of Vulnerable Canadians.

Since first being elected to Parliament in 2004, Francis has made the management and protection of Canada’s freshwater resources a policy priority.

Before entering elected politics, Francis served as senior political attache to his predecessor, Clifford Lincoln, for over a decade. Prior to that, he taught business administration at Montreal’s Dawson College. His time as an educator was preceded by several years working in the private sector, including as a corporate financial analyst.

Francis did his undergraduate work in economics at McGill University and earned a master’s degree in economics from Columbia University. He later obtained an MBA from Concordia University.

Francis and his wife Jan have two daughters.