Everything about Lieutenant-governor Canada totally explained
In
Canada, the
lieutenant-governor (often without a
hyphen, ), in French
lieutenant-gouverneur (masculine) /
lieutenant-gouverneure (feminine) (always with a hyphen), is the
Canadian Monarch's, or
Crown's, representative in a
province, much as the
Governor General is her representative at the national level. The
lieutenant-governor is therefore the province's
vice-regal representative, though rarely exercising his or her executive powers personally without ministerial advice.
Lieutenant-Governors are styled
His/Her Honour while in office and
The Honourable for life. When addressing a Lieutenant-Governor
His/Her Honour the Honourable is the correct terminology. A territorial Commissioner is styled
The Honourable only while in office.
Similar positions in Canada's three
territories are termed
Commissioners and are representatives of the federal government, however, not the Queen directly.
Yukon and
Nunavut have had Commissioners since they were founded, but in
Northwest Territories the position dates to 1905, when the most populous part of the territory was split away to become the provinces
Alberta and
Saskatchewan. Before then, Northwest Territories had a Lieutenant-Governor.
Constitutional role
Since Confederation in 1867, the Dominion Government and the Foreign Office in London had believed that the lieutenant governors were the representatives in the provinces of the Governor General, as representative of the Crown, going so far as to stipulate that the lieutenant governor was to grant
Royal Assent to provincial legislation in the name of the Governor General, and not of the Queen. However, due to precedent set in
Ontario and
Quebec, the latter never happened in any province, and assent was given in Queen Victoria's name. Later, a decision by the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1892 stated that the lieutenant governors represented the Crown in their own right. Today, though they continue to be appointed by the Governor General, the lieutenant governors continue to be considered as direct representatives of the sovereign. As such, though they hold considerable constitutional and
reserve powers, which are almost always exercised wholly upon the
advice of the
Cabinet, the lieutenant governors' role is almost entirely symbolic and cultural, acting as a symbol of the legal authority under which the government operates. The Lieutenant Governors also receive advice on their roles and functions from the
Department of Canadian Heritage Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion Program.
The lieutenant governors may, however, in rare
constitutional crisis situations, exercise the
Royal Prerogative against or without ministerial advice. For example,
John C. Bowen,
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta in 1937, denied
Royal Assent to three bills passed through the
Legislative Assembly, one of which being the Alberta Press Bill, which was later ruled unconsitutional by the
Supreme Court of Canada.
Appointment
The lieutenant governor is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, usually in consultation with the relevant
premiers. Though the lieutenant-governor "serves at
the pleasure of Her Majesty" - meaning there's no set term - five years has become the traditional amount of time an individual will serve as the provincial
vice-regal. In the past, the lieutenant governors were a direct representative of the governor general, however they now directly represent the Queen in their respective provinces
Canadian lieutenant governorships have been observed often to be used to promote women and
minorities into a prominent position. The first female Vice-regal in Canada was
Pauline Mills McGibbon,
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980; currently two of Canada's ten lieutenant governors are women. There have been two
black (
Lincoln Alexander and
Mayann E. Francis), several
Aboriginal lieutenant governors, and the current
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta is
Chinese-Canadian, as was
David Lam in British Columbia (Lieutenant Governor from 1988 to 1995); former
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Myra Freeman, who served from 2000 to 2006, is
Jewish. Former
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Lise Thibault used a
wheelchair.
David Onley, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, had
polio as a child and uses crutches or a
scooter.
Lois Hole (Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 2000 to her death in 2005) was often seen in a wheelchair later in life due to cancer, although she could walk and stand somewhat without it.
Symbols
Each lieutenant-governor also has a personal flag. Most consist of a blue field bearing the relevant provincial coat of arms surrounded by ten gold maple leafs, symbolizing each of the
ten provinces. Quebec displays its arms on a white roundel, while Nova Scotia displays them on the
Union Flag.
Current Canadian lieutenant-governors
| Province |
Current lieutenant-governor |
Lieutenant-governor since |
Website |
| Alberta |
His Honour the Honourable Norman Kwong |
January 20, 2005 |
(External Link ) |
| British Columbia |
His Honour the Honourable Steven Point |
October 1, 2007 |
(External Link) |
| Manitoba |
His Honour the Honourable John Harvard |
June 20, 2004 |
(External Link) |
| New Brunswick |
His Honour the Honourable Dr. Herménégilde Chiasson |
August 26, 2003 |
(External Link) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
His Honour the Honourable John Crosbie |
February 4, 2008 |
(External Link) |
| Nova Scotia |
Her Honour the Honourable Mayann E. Francis |
September 7, 2006 |
(External Link) |
| Ontario |
His Honour the Honourable David Onley |
September 5, 2007 |
(External Link) |
| Prince Edward Island |
Her Honour the Honourable Barbara Oliver Hagerman |
July 31, 2006 |
(External Link) |
| Quebec |
His Honour the Honourable Pierre Duchesne |
June 7, 2007 |
(External Link) |
| Saskatchewan |
His Honour the Honourable Dr. Gordon Barnhart |
August 1, 2006 |
(External Link) |
» See also Commissioners of the territories.
Former governorships
Northwest Territories (formerly) – websites:
Alberta,
Collections CanadaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Lieutenant-governor Canada'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://lieutenant-governor__canada.totallyexplained.com">Lieutenant-Governor (Canada) Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
