A high-profile Canadian politician has spent two days visiting the Isle of Man.

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Nathan Cooper, visited Tynwald after spending time at Westminster and the Scottish Parliament.

Mr Cooper was accompanied by Shannon Dean, clerk to the assembly and Lianne Bell, chief of staff to the Speaker.

He said: ‘Our parliamentary system may be similar in some ways, but where we can compare and contrast most with Tynwald is how our government operates by consensus.

‘So, if there’s one thing we’ll be taking away from this visit, it’s an ambition to create a more collaborative parliamentary model.’

He added: ‘I have also been interested to learn how, in Tynwald’s parliamentary system, the Speaker can speak in his capacity as a serving member.

‘That’s a massive difference because, for me, as Speaker, that ability is somewhat limited.

‘Another difference is how, in our assembly, members and officers have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, whereas I am seeing, how in Tynwald, there’s a lot of multi-tasking by a small and talented team.’