Monarchy in British Columbia

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Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, Iona Campagnolo.
Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, Iona Campagnolo.
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As a province within Canada, British Columbia (BC) uses a Westminster System of constitutional monarchy for its government, under Queen Elizabeth II as the reigning Queen of Canada since February 6, 1952. Due to Canada's federal nature, eleven legally distinct Crowns effectively exist in the country, with the Monarch being represented separately in each province, as well as at the federal level.

In British Columbia, the Sovereign is represented by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, currently Iona Campagnolo, since 2001.

“ Henceforth the wild and unoccupied territory on the North West coast of North America shall be known as British Columbia... with the capital city at New Westminster.[1] ”
 
— Royal Proclamation of Queen Victoria, 1858

Contents

[edit] Constitutional monarchy in British Columbia

Main articles: Monarchy in the Canadian provinces and Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
David Lam, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, 1988-1995.
David Lam, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, 1988-1995.

Under the Canadian constitutional monarchy system the headship of state is not a part of either the federal or provincial jurisdictions; the Queen reigns impartially over the country as a whole. Thus, British Columbia has a separate government headed by the Queen; however, as a province, BC is not itself a monarchy.

A Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada, to serve as the Queen's representative in the province, carrying out all the Monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties of state on her behalf; though, as in the other Commonwealth Realms, the Monarch's role, and thereby the Vice-regal's role, is almost entirely symbolic and cultural, and the powers that are constitutionally hers are exercised wholly upon the advice of the elected government. In exceptional circumstances, however, the Monarch or vice-regal has acted against such advice based upon his or her reserve powers. All laws in British Columbia are enacted with the vice-regal's signature, known as giving Royal Assent; it and proclamation are required for all acts of the provincial legislature, usually granted or withheld by the Lieutenant Governor, with the Great Seal of British Columbia.

[edit] Symbols

The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of British Columbia, granted by King Edward VII in 1906.
The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of British Columbia, granted by King Edward VII in 1906.

Images of St. Edward's, the Tudor, and King's Crown are visible on military badges (see Royal Westminster Regiment badge), and the Order of British Columbia, the latter illustrating the Monarch's place as the ceremonial head of the Canadian honours system. Portraits of the Monarch are often found in government buildings, schools, and military installations.

The Lieutenant Governor of BC bears a personal flag which consists of a blue field bearing the shield of the British Columbia coat of arms, surmounted by a crown, and surrounded by ten gold maple leafs, symbolizing the ten provinces.

The Government of British Columbia printers is officially known as the Queen's Printer. The Lieutenant Governor may also appoint prominent lawyers as Queen's Counsel, who may then carry the post nominal "QC."

Monuments to members of the Royal Family are located across the province.

Further information: National symbols of Canada  and Canadian royal symbols

[edit] Official residences

The residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, in Victoria.
The residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, in Victoria.

The first vice-regal residence in the area was Carey Castle, built in 1860 by George Hunter Cary, and purchased for use as the residence of the Governor of Victoria Island in 1865. After the two colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia joined, and then entered into Confederation, the house became the official residence of the provincial Lieutenant-Governor. Carey Castle was destroyed by fire in 1903, and a replacement was immediately built. However, this house too burnt down in 1957, after which the current Government House was constructed, integrating the original porte cochère of the previous house.

The Lieutenant-Governor's residence is where the Canadian Royal Family and visiting foreign dignitaries are greeted. Inside are also reception rooms, offices and support facilities; the Lieutenant-Governor's office is the site of swearing-in ceremonies for Cabinet ministers, where Royal Assent is granted, and where the Lieutenant-Governor receives the Premier.

Further information: Government House (British Columbia)

[edit] Royal presence

Members of the Royal Family have been visiting British Columbia since before the province joined Confederation, either as a Royal tour, a Vice-regal tour, or as a "working visit" (meaning in association with a charity or military organization instead of a state affair).

[edit] History

Queen Victoria, who ordered the establishment of a colonial capital at New Westminster in 1858.
Queen Victoria, who ordered the establishment of a colonial capital at New Westminster in 1858.

In March, 1778, Captain James Cook arrived, with HMS Resolution and Discovery, at Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound and claimed the land surrounding for King George III. Captain George Vancouver reached agreement with Captain Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, who had claimed much of the Pacific coast of North America for the Spanish King, at the Nootka Convention, whereby a treaty was reached in 1793 which allowed the colony of British Columbia, and all lands north of California, to remain as a possession of the British Crown.

Most of the area of British Columbia was explored and settled by agents, first of the North West Company, and later of the Hudson's Bay Company, searching for ever more supplies of fur and materials for other goods. Following the start of the Cariboo Gold Rush, Queen Victoria first dispatched Colonel Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers here to establish sovereignty, build a capital and provide needed infrastructure in 1858.

The Duke of Argyll was appointed Governor General in 1878, and he, along with his wife, Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, traveled widely across the British North American territories. Their extensive visit to British Columbia in 1882 did much to reconcile the province to Confederation.[2]

On July 21, 1871, British Columbia became the seventh province to join Canada, causing the Governor of the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia to take on the dual role of representing the sovereignty of the Crown in British Columbia, while also representing the Federal Government in Ottawa.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth greet Canadians from the back of the Royal Train, in Hope, British Columbia, 1939
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth greet Canadians from the back of the Royal Train, in Hope, British Columbia, 1939

This situation remained in place until the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which effectively ended the ability of the Parliament in Westminster to legislate for Canada, and started the process of the legal division of the Crown over the Empire. By the time of the 1939 tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, it was well accepted that the Monarchs were present as King and Queen of Canada, and not King and Queen of the United Kingdom; to enforce this, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King accompanied the Royal couple as Minister in Waiting, and not a British minister.[3] Thus, the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia was now seen as a direct representative of the Canadian Sovereign within the province.

During that 1939 tour, the King and Queen ventured to British Columbia, where they stopped in Vancouver, Victoria, and a number of other smaller communities in between. The Prime Minister was enthused, stating in his diary on May 29, 1939: "The day in Vancouver was one of the finest of the entire tour," he wrote. The following day in Victoria, he wrote: "Without question, Victoria has left the most pleasing of all impressions. It was a crowning gem...."[4]

In 1903, Lieutenant Governor Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière was the last Lieutenant Governor in Canada to dismiss an incumbent premier from office.[5] This occurred before political parties were a part of British Columbia politics.

While the practice is for the Lieutenant Governor to name the leader of the political party that wins the most seats, the royal prerogative of naming a premier has been important in British Columbia history. For example, after the general election in 1952, the new Social Credit Party and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (now the New Democratic Party of British Columbia) each fell short in forming a majority. Despite the CCF holding one fewer seat than the SoCreds, Clarence Wallace, the Lieutenant Governor of the day was under pressure to call on CCF leader Harold Winch to form the new government.[6] The selection of SoCred leader, W.A.C. Bennett, resulted in the start of a twenty-year dynasty for Bennett.

Queen Elizabeth II made her first appearance in British Columbia during a coast-to-coast tour of Canada in 1951, when she was still Princess Elizabeth. Her last visit to the province was in 2002 for her Golden Jubilee celebrations. It was during this trip that she, along with Wayne Gretzky performed a first: dropping the ceremonial puck at the beginning of an NHL exhibition game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, in front of a cheering crowd of over 18,000 people. Premier Gordon Campbell said during the visit to British Columbia: "Your Majesty, much as the world has changed in the last 50 years, one thing has always remained constant – the sincere affection between the people of British Columbia and their Queen." [7]

[edit] First Nations and the Crown

“ The Office that I hold represents the Canadian Crown. As we are all aware the Crown has a fiduciary responsibility for the ongoing well being of Canada’s First Citizens.[8] ”
 
— Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, Iona Campagnolo, Government House, Victoria, 2005

The status of the First Nations (aboriginal) people of British Columbia is a long-standing problem that has become a major issue in recent years. With the exception of what are known as the Douglas Treaties, negotiated by Sir James Douglas with the Native people of the Victoria area, no treaties were signed with the Crown in British Columbia; many Native people wished to negotiate treaties, but the province refused until 1990. A major development was the 1997 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Delgamuukw v. British Columbia case that aboriginal title still exists in British Columbia. Two-thirds of the bands in British Columbia, represented by the First Nations Summit, are now engaged in trilateral negotiations with the Crown-in-Right-of-British-Columbia and the Crown-in-Right-of-Canada. Only one treaty, the Nisga'a Treaty (1998) has been signed in recent years, and that one outside of the current treaty process. There is considerable disagreement about treaty negotiations; many non-native British Columbians are vehemently opposed to it, while a substantial minority of native people consider the current treaty process inadequate and have therefore refused to participate.

[edit] Royal connections

[edit] Royal designation and patronage

The Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children was founded in 1893 by Adelaide Hoodless to provide medical treatment for sick children. It operated under the patronage of Queen Alexandra.

Further information: List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage

[edit] Armed forces

The Royal Roads Military College was established as a replacement for the Royal Canadian Naval College, which had been closed in Halifax in 1921. After the site was purchased as a residence for King George VI and his family in 1940,[9] and plans for the King to live out the duration of the War in Canada fell through, the College moved to Hatley Castle, near Victoria, the castle itself built by former Lieutenant Governor of BC, James Dunsmuir. It later became the combined Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force College in 1946, but was closed in 1996 due to cuts to the Department of National Defence's budget.

The Royal Westminster Regiment, based in New Westminster, has its roots extending back to the first Royal Engineers to arrive in British Columbia in 1858.

Her Majesty's Canadian Ships with British Columbia namesakes include HMCS Vancouver, HMCS Nanaimo, and HMCS Victoria.

[edit] Communities

[edit] Education

The Queen Elizabeth II Centennial Scholarship was set up by the Government of British Columbia to coincide with the visit of the Queen to the province in 1971, to take part in the province's centennial celebrations. It awards one major scholarship of $60,000 and two minor scholarships of $5,000 to Masters students.[10]

Front facade of King George Secondary School in Vancouver
Front facade of King George Secondary School in Vancouver

Schools named for Canadian Sovereigns:

Schools named for members of the Canadian Royal Family:

[edit] Places of interest

Princess Royal Island is located amongst the isolated inlets and islands of the British Columbia Coast, and is the largest island on BC's central coast. Queen Peak, in the province's north, was named for Queen Victoria in 1933, as is Victoria Peak; Consort Park is named for Victoria's consort, Albert.[11] Queen Elizabeth Park, in Vancouver, honours Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother.

The Royal Jubilee Hospital is a teaching hospital in Victoria.

King Edward Avenue, named for King Edward VII, King of Canada from 1901 to 1910, runs through downtown Vancouver, beginning at Crown Street and terminating at the Kingsway. King Edward Station is proposed to be opened in 2009.

King George VI Highway (commonly known as King George Highway), in Surrey, is named after King George VI. It was previously known as the Peace Arch Highway. King George Station, near the intersection of King George Highway and 100th Avenue, is named after the highway.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Royal Westminster Regiment: In the beginning
  2. ^ Canadian Heritage: 2005 Royal Visit: The Royal Presence in Canada - A Historical Overview
  3. ^ Library and Archives Canada: The Royal Tour of 1939
  4. ^ Library and Archives Canada; Behind the Diary: The Royal Tour of 1939
  5. ^ Francis, Daniel (ed.); The Encyclopedia of British Columbia; Harbour Publishing
  6. ^ Mitchell, David J.; W.A.C.: Bennett and the rise of British Columbia (ISBN 0-88894-395-4)
  7. ^ CBC News: Queen drops puck, raises cheer in arena; October 7, 2002
  8. ^ http://www.ltgov.bc.ca/whatsnew/sp/sp_jan13_1_2005.htm Speech by Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo, Kyuquot First Nation Community Reception; January 13, 2005]
  9. ^ [Office of the Lieutenant Governor: Speech by Iona Campolo, Retired Heads of Mission Association's Gala Dinner, Royal Roads University, Hatley Castle, Victoria, BC, February 5, 2007]
  10. ^ Queen Elizabeth II British Columbia Centennial Scholarship
  11. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia: Victoria
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