Monarchy in Nova Scotia

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Nova Scotia

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As a province within Canada, Nova Scotia 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 Nova Scotia, the Sovereign is represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, currently Mayann E. Francis, since 2006.

“ Being asked to serve my province, my country and my Queen is the greatest honour that could ever be bestowed on me... The role of Lieutenant Governor in Nova Scotia is more than a ceremonial function; it is tied to the health of our system of government.[1] ”
 
— Mayann E. Francis, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, Government House, 2006

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Main articles: Monarchy in the Canadian provinces and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

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, Nova Scotia has a separate government headed by the Queen; however, as a province, Nova Scotia 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 Nova Scotia.

The Lieutenant-Governor, him or herself a recipient of the award as Chancellor of the Order, bestows the Order of Nova Scotia on deserving Nova Scotian citizens. 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

The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Nova Scotia, granted by King Charles I in 1635.
The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Nova Scotia, granted by King Charles I in 1635.

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 Nova Scotia, 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.

Unlike most other provincial vice-regals in Canada, the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia bears a personal flag which consists of a Union Flag defaced with the shield of the Nova Scotia Coat of Arms surrounded by a circle of 18 green maple leaves. This is the last of the Canadian governors' flags to retain the original design set out by Queen Victoria in 1869. Throughout the 1950s, the Lieutenant-Governor used a flag bearing simply the Arms of the province, to symbolise his authority.[2][3]

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 Nova Scotia, in Halifax.
The residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in Halifax.

Government House of Nova Scotia is the country's oldest vice-regal residence, being built in 1800.

The Lieutenant-Governor also maintains an office at the Maritime Centre.

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 (Nova Scotia)

[edit] Royal presence

A Nova Scotia stamp issued between 1851 and 1857 bears the Royal Crown at its centre.
A Nova Scotia stamp issued between 1851 and 1857 bears the Royal Crown at its centre.

Members of the Royal Family have been visiting Nova Scotia 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

King James VI & I, who issued the Charter of New Scotland.
King James VI & I, who issued the Charter of New Scotland.

The first establishment of non-indigenous monarchy came with the Frech settlers under Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, Governor of Acadia, under the authority of King Henry IV. One year after the establishment of the first colony at Saint Croix Island, in modern day New Brunswick, in 1604, another settlement was put down at Port Royal.

Twenty years later, King James VI & I created, with the Charter of New Scotland, the Barontage of Nova Scotia for Earl Alexander of Stirling to settle that province.[4][3] By 1625, the colony was granted its first coat of arms, by James' successor, King Charles I.

In 1627, war broke out between England and France, and the French re-established their settlement at Port Royal. Later that year, a combined Scottish and English force destroyed the French settlement, forcing them out, and by 1629 the first Scottish settlement at Port Royal was inhabited. The colony's charter, in law, made Nova Scotia (defined as all land between Newfoundland and New England) a part of mainland Scotland, a move later used to get around the English navigation acts. However, this did not last long: in 1631, under King Charles VI & I signed the Treaty of Suza, which returned Nova Scotia to the French King.

However, in 1654 English colonists captured Acadia during King William's War, but William II, III & I returned the territory to France in the Treaty of Ryswick at the war's end. The territory was recaptured by forces loyal to Britain during the course of Queen Anne's War, and its conquest was confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, placing all French colonists under the sovereignty of the British Crown. Seeking confirmation of their integration, on June 23 that year, the French residents of Acadia were given one year to declare allegiance to King George II, or leave Nova Scotia. The Acadians were forced to swear an oath in 1730 giving their allegiance to the Crown but with a caveat that they would not be required to bear arms against the French or First Nations. In 1754, with hostilities growing in the lead-up to the Seven Years' War, the Acadians were ordered to renew their oath — but this time, without including any reservation against fighting the French or their Mi'kmaq neighbours. The majority of Acadians refused. The response was the forced removal of thousands of the French-speaking inhabitants, to board ships that headed off in various directions. Some went south to the colonies in Louisiana, though most were distributed among the British American colonies, sent back to France, or shipped to British prisons. Some were shipped as far as the Falkland Islands. The largest single group returned to France where they were poorly treated and ostracized by French society. This event came to be known as the Great Upheaval.

The last Governor of Nova Scotia, Sir William Fenwick Williams.
The last Governor of Nova Scotia, Sir William Fenwick Williams.

Prince William, the future King William IV, spent three years in the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec, including a lengthy stay in Halifax.[5]

Following the defeat of the British in the American Revolutionary War, approximately 30,000 United Empire Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia, 14,000 going to New Brunswick and 16,000 to Nova Scotia. Approximately 3,000 of this group were slaves of African ancestry, about a third of which soon relocated themselves to Sierra Leone in 1792.

By 1794, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, was sent to take command of Nova Scotia, where he designed many of Halifax's forts, oversaw the construction of many roads, devised a telegraph system, and he left an indelible mark on the city in the form of many public buildings of Georgian architecture. He is still remembered in that city for his good deeds such as the construction of both St. George's Church and the town clock as well as improvements to the Grand Parade. He departed in 1800.[5]

Province House witnessed the birth of responsible government in Canada, and North America as a whole, in 1848.[1]

Queen Elizabeth II, tours the Fortress of Louisbourg, 1994.
Queen Elizabeth II, tours the Fortress of Louisbourg, 1994.

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII]], toured Canada, including Nova Scotia, in 1860. Following him, his brother Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, was stationed in Halifax from time to time as Commander of the Royal Navy's North Atlantic Squadron.[5]

In 1867 came Confederation, and the Lieutenant Governor of the newly created province of Nova Scotia became an agent of the Federal Government rather than of the government in Whitehall.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth ended their 1939 tour of Canada, the first by a reigning monarch, in Halifax, where a farewell lunch was held, and the King and Queen each delivered a speech of thanks. That evening, the Royal Couple boarded the RMS Empress of Britain to return home. Prime Minister Mackenzie King wrote in his diary: "The Empress of Britain ran past one end of the harbour where she was towed around, then came back the opposite way to pull out to sea. She was accompanied by British warships and our own destroyers. The Bluenose and other vessels also in the harbour as a sort of escort... The King and Queen were at the very top of the ship and kept waving... No farewell could have been finer..."[6]

Prince Andrew, Duke of York undertook his first tour of Nova Scotia in 1986, during which he visited Halifax, and skippered the Bluenose II.[7]

In December 2003, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, representing Canada's Monarch, declared the Crown's acknowledgement (but without an apology) of the Great Upheaval and designated July 28 as "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval." This closed one of the longest open cases in the history of the British courts since the Acadian representatives first presented their grievances of forced dispossession of land, property and livestock in 1760.

[edit] First Nations and the Crown

The Treaty of 1725 established the relationship between the First Nations inhabitants of Nova Scotia and the Crown, along with Acadia and New England, specifically "Maeganumbe delegates of the Tribes of Penubscutt, Norrigewock, St. Johns, Cape Sables, and other tribes Inhabiting His Majesty’s Territories." The First Nations acknowledged King George III's title to the provinces, in exchange for which the aborigionies were guaranteed "not be molested in their persons, Hunting, Fishing and planting grounds nor in any other their lawful Occasions by His Majesty's subjects or their Dependants nor in the exercise of their Religion provided the Missionaries residing amongst them have Leave from Governor or Commander in Chief of His Majesty's said Province of Nova Scotia or Accadie for so doing." The First Nations were also accorded equal protection under the law as provided for the cololials.[8]

Between 1725 and 1779, the Mi'kmaq signed a series of peace and friendship treaties with the British Crown, but none were land cession treaties. The Nation historically consisted of seven districts, but this was later expanded to eight with the ceremonial addition of Great Britain at the time of the 1749 treaty.

[edit] Royal connections

[edit] Royal designation and patronage

A number of organizations have been granted royal designation and/or are under the patronage of a member of the Royal Family. The University of King's College, first located in Windsor, and presently in Halifax, was founded by Royal Charter issued by King George III in 1802. The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, the oldest yacht club in North America, was granted it's royal status by Queen Victoria in 1837, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh currently serves as the Club's patron.

More recently, the Royal Western Nova Scotia Yacht Club received royal status from Queen Elizabeth II in 1969, and the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo from the same Sovereign in 2006.

Further information: List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage

[edit] Armed forces

The badge of the HMCS Aacadia, bearing the naval crown.
The badge of the HMCS Aacadia, bearing the naval crown.

Her Majesty's Canadian Ships with Nova Scotia namesakes include the HMCS Acadia, HMCS Glace Bay, and HMCS Halifax.

[edit] Communities

[edit] Education

Schools named for Canadian Sovereigns:

Schools named for members of the Canadian Royal Family:

Others:

[edit] Places of interest

Nova Scotia has a Victoria County, named for Queen Victoria.[9]

Located in Halifax is the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, and, named for the same monarch, Queen Elizabeth Park is found in Glace Bay.

One of Halifax's most prominent features is St. George's Round Church, the construction of which was begun under the direction of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, himself an amateur architect who also commissioned the Halifax Town Clock. On June 2, 1994, two boys set fire to the building, resulting in 40% of it being completely destroyed. However, it was decided to restore the church at a cost of $6 million. Continuing its royal connection, Prince Charles, who had attended service there in 1983, donated to the fundraising, and in 1994 Prince Philip visited St. George's, taking a personal interest after the fire at Windsor Castle two years earlier. The province's gift to the Queen and Duke was a $1000 donation to the restoration of St. George's.[10]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Innagural speech of Mayann E. Francis
  2. ^ Flags of the World: Nova Scotia
  3. ^ a b Fraser, Alistair B.; The Flags of Canada; January 30, 1998
  4. ^ Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
  5. ^ a b c Canadian Heritage: 2005 Royal Visit: The Royal Presence in Canada - A Historical Overview
  6. ^ Library and Archives Canada; Behind the Diary: The Royal Tour of 1939
  7. ^ CBC: Royal Visists to Canada
  8. ^ Treaty of 1725, Promises By Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
  9. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia: Victoria
  10. ^ West, Anne; Monarchy Canada: Restoring Prince Edward's Church
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