Monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador

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The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador, granted by King Charles I in 1637.
The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador, granted by King Charles I in 1637.
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As a province within Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador 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 Newfoundland and Labrador, the Sovereign is represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, currently Edward Roberts, since 2002.

“ Queen Elizabeth is the best known and the most widely travelled Head of State in the world. She has received enthusiastic support at home and, wherever she has travelled, she has won the adulation of millions. Her several visits to Canada have taken her from sea to sea to sea, and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have welcomed her a number of times.[1] ”
 
— Edward Roberts, Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Government House, 2002

Contents

[edit] Constitutional monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador

Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Edward Roberts.
Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Edward Roberts.
Main articles: Monarchy in the Canadian provinces and Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador

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, Newfoundland and Labrador has a separate government headed by the Queen; however, as a province, Newfoundland and Labrador 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 Ontario 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 the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Lieutenant Governor, him or herself a recipient of the award as Chancellor of the Order, bestows the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador on deserving Newfoundland and Labrador citizens, the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, as well as the Newfoundland War Service Volunteer Medal. The Queen, other members of the Canadian Royal Family, and/or the Lieutenant Governor also attend various functions throughout the province and abroad, either as the host or a guest of honour.

[edit] Symbols

Images of St. Edward's, the Tudor, and King's Crown are visible on military badges (see Royal Newfoundland Regiment badge), and the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, 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 Newfoundland and Labrador bears a personal flag which consists of a blue field bearing the shield of the Newfoundland and Labrador coat of arms, surmounted by a crown, and surrounded by ten gold maple leafs, symbolizing the ten provinces.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador printers is officially known as the Queen's Printer. The Lieutenant-Governor also may appoint prominent lawyers as Queen's Counsel, who may then carry the postnominal "QC."[2]

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 Newfoundland and Labrador, in St. John's, Newfoundland.
The residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, in St. John's, Newfoundland.

The first governors of Newfoundland were naval officers who resided on their flagship, anchored in St. John's harbour. However, Admiral Richard Edwards decided it would be more apt for the Governor to live ashore, and thenceforth the governor resided at Fort Townshend, where the first Government House was constructed. Completed in 1781, it was intended to be a summer house for the governors, but remained in constant use until the present structure was finished in 1831. Never intended for winter use, the inhabitants complained of the cold, and Francis Pickmore even died there in the winter of 1818.

The construction of the new Government House was meant to reflect the proper status of the governor of a province that was now a proper British colony, and a key part of the Empire. The principal rooms for entertaining - a salon, dining room, and ballroom - along with the main entrance hall were laid out in such a manner as to allow for ceremonial processions, and pomp befitting a governor.[3]

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 (Newfoundland and Labrador)

[edit] Royal presence

Members of the Royal Family have been visiting Newfoundland and Labrador since before 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).

Further information: Royal visits to Canada

[edit] History

Queen Elizabeth I, in whose name some of the original territories of Newfoundland were claimed.
Queen Elizabeth I, in whose name some of the original territories of Newfoundland were claimed.

On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert formally claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I. The territories were mostly granted to English companies, and the colonists sent under Proprietary Governors who were in the employ of British merchants; John Guy was governor of the first settlement at Cuper's Cove. The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke in 1638.

However, the French Crown also laid claim to nearly half of Newfoundland by the mid 1660s, and Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville almost conquering the entire island in the 1690s. Plaisance was made the capital of the French colony in Terre Neuve until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 made the area a possession of the British Crown. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was established in 1729. After the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, the King of France ceded control of the south and north shores of Newfoundland to the King George III, keeping only the nearby islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. With the geographic remoteness of its isolated harbours and convenience of year-round access to the fish stations without having to make the bi-annual voyage across the ocean, permanent settlement by British immigrants increased rapidly by the late 18th century, peaking in the early years of the 19th century. Prince William, later King William IV, celebrated his 21st birthday as captain of the Royal Navy frigate Pegasus, in the waters off Newfoundland.[4]

In 1825 a Royal Charter conferred provincial status on the colony, and an assembly was established seven years later. Still, there was a push by the Newfoundlanders for a responsible government, akin to what had been granted by the Crown to Upper and Lower Canada. This request was granted in 1854, and thenceforth the role of the Governor changed to being one of simultaneous representative of the Crown's sovereignty in Newfoundland as well as a representative of the Imperial Government at Westminster. Some decades later, in 1860, Prince Albert, Prince of Wales travelled through St. John's on his three month tour through the British provinces in North America.[4]

The Great Seal of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Great Seal of Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland remained a Crown colony until acquiring Dominion status on September 26, 1907, at the same time as New Zealand, and became the Dominion of Newfoundland. However, Newfoundland did not formally finalize the process of becoming a full-status Commonwealth Realm, by not ratifying the Statute of Westminster of 1931. Thus, King George V remained King of the United Kingdom in Newfoundland and Labrador, rather than separately King of Newfoundland and Labrador. Still, the Governor of Newfoundland, like the Canadian Governor General, was considered the direct representative of the Sovereign in the Dominion for the brief period before Newfoundland reverted to being a Crown colony of the United Kingdom.

On April 1, 1927 the long-standing dispute between Newfoundland and Canada over the territory of Labrador was settled by King George V, through Imperial Privy Council in London, establishing the current borders of the province, though the Government of Quebec continues to dispute this ruling.

King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth became the first reigning British monarchs to set foot in their Newfoundland territory. The royal couple made the brief stop on the island on their way back to the United Kingdom at the end of their 1939 tour of Canada and the United States, there also becoming the first Canadian monarchs to visit those countries.[5]

Following unrest in the Dominion, the Newfoundland Royal Commission, headed by Baron Amulree, and its report released in 1933, assessed Newfoundland's political culture as intrinsically corrupt and its economic prospects bleak, and advocated the abolition of responsible government on the island, to be replaced by a Commission of the British Government. Acting on the report's recommendations, the Dominion gave up its self-governing status, and the Commission of Government took its place. Following World War II, the Commission held elections for the Newfoundland National Convention which debated the Dominion's future in 1946 and 1947. Two referenda resulted, in which Newfoundlanders decided, 50.50% to 49.50%, to end the Commission and join Canadian Confederation in 1949.[6]

Queen Elizabeth II greets the captain of The Matthew in Bonavista, 1997.
Queen Elizabeth II greets the captain of The Matthew in Bonavista, 1997.

Sir Albert Walsh became the first Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, but this was only a temporary posting to dispel suspicions of patronage towards Leonard Outerbridge, whom the Premier favoured as Lieutenant-Governor. Walsh served for only five months before Outerbridge became the King's representative in the new province.[7] This transition removed Newfoundland and Labrador from under the sovereignty of the British Crown for the first time in the island's existence; from then to today the province has been a territory of the legally distinct Canadian Crown.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were in Bonavista in 1997 to see the arrival of The Matthew, as part of the re-enactment of John Cabot's arrival on the island 500 years before. The couple also travelled to Labrador, to the North West River, Shetshatshiu, Happy Valley, and Goose Bay. To commemorate 50 years since the Queen's coronation, a new portrait of Elizabeth II was unveiled at Government House at a ceremony including Premier Roger Grimes, on June 2, 2003.[8]

Further information: History of monarchy in Canada

[edit] First Nations and the Crown

Newfoundland and Labrador's First Nations view their treaties as being agreements directly between them and the Crown, not with the ever-changing government of Canada. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 made clear that the First Nations were autonomous political units and affirmed their title to lands.

A modern demonstration of the relationship between the First Nations and the Crown was seen in 1997, when the Innu people of Quebec and Labrador presented a letter of grievance over stalled land claim negotiations to Queen Elizabeth II, rather than to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, while the two were visiting Sheshatshiu, Newfoundland and Labrador.[9] After speaking with Tanien Ashini, Vice-President of the Innu Nation, the Queen handed the list to the Prime Minister for the Cabinet to address.

[edit] Royal connections

[edit] Royal designation and patronage

The badge of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, with the St. Edward's Crown to symbolize from where the force derives its authority
The badge of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, with the St. Edward's Crown to symbolize from where the force derives its authority

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was first established in 1729 as a police force for the colony of Newfoundland, however it did not receive the designation "royal" until 1979, when Queen Elizabeth II conferred it on the police force, making it one of only six police forces in the Commonwealth to receive such an honour.

In 1993 the Royal St. John's Regatta, which has taken place since 1816, was granted royal patronage and permission to use the royal prefix by Queen Elizabeth II, and was granted new Arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority. It has been attended by various members of the Royal Family, including Prince Albert in 1860, and Queen Elizabeth II in 1978. It has been cancelled due to the death of any Monarch, and any year a Coronation has taken place, or a milestone Jubilee celebrated, the Regatta has been held in honour of the relevant Sovereign. The first race, and the arrival of the boats that took part, was announced in the Royal Gazette.

The Prince of Wales Skating Club, founded in 1963, is in St. John's, and Conception Bay is home to the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club, which has enjoyed Royal patronage since 1965.

Further information: List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage

[edit] Armed forces

The Royal Newfoundland Regiment, which dates its origin to 1795, when Major Skinner of the Royal Engineers, stationed in St. John's at Fort Townshend, was ordered to raise a Regiment, has Anne, Princess Royal as Commander-in-Chief.

Her Majesty's Canadian Ships with Newfoundland and Labrador namesakes include HMCS St. John's, HMCS Corner Brook, and HMCS Goose Bay.

[edit] Communities

[edit] Education

Schools named for Canadian Sovereigns:

Schools named for members of the Canadian Royal Family:

[edit] Places of interest

Located in St. John's are the Prince of Wales and Feildan Gardens, and the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, built in 2003, makes up part of the Trans Canada Highway between Glenwood and Appleton.

The Memorial University of Newfoundland also holds the Queen Elizabeth II library, and in St. John's can be found the King George V soccer pitch.

The King George IV Ecological Reserve, located 90 kilometers north of Burgeo, was established under the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Act, in 1996. The reserve contains King George IV Lake.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador: Remarks by His Honour, Ceremony to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee & to launch a book and video on Government House; Wednesday, 6 February 2002
  2. ^ Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: Office of the Queen's Printer
  3. ^ Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage: Government House
  4. ^ a b Department of Canadian Heritage: The Royal Presence in Canada - A Historical Overview
  5. ^ Library and Archives Canada: The Royal Tour of 1939
  6. ^ Letters Patent - Administration of Newfoundland and its Dependencies - George V - January 30th, 1934
  7. ^ Government House: Outerbridge, Sir Leonard Cecil
  8. ^ [Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: News release; June 2, 2003]
  9. ^ Letter from Innu People to Queen Elizabeth II; June 30, 1997
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