The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949 (when the former dominion became the tenth province of Canada). Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was composed of civil servants who were directly subordinate to the British Government in London.
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Newfoundland's economic difficulties were exacerbated by debt incurred during the First World War. In 1933, following a prolonged period of economic crisis and severe budgetary deficit, the government of Prime Minister Frederick C. Alderdice asked the British and Canadian governments to establish a royal commission (the Newfoundland Royal Commission) to investigate the dominion's continuing crisis and to suggest a solution to its problems.
The commission (commonly known as the "Amulree Commission") was chaired by Lord Amulree, appointed by the British government, and also included C. A. Magrath, appointed by the Canadian government, and Sir William Stavert, who represented the Newfoundland government.
The commission recommended the temporary suspension of responsible government in Newfoundland, and replacing it with a Commission of Government made up of the British-appointed Governor, and six commissioners appointed by the Crown (split equally between British and Newfoundland born appointees).
Alderdice was in favor of this recommendation, and accordingly put it to the House of Assembly, which duly approved the proposals, and thus voted itself out of existence.
The Commission of Government was sworn in on 16 February 1934, with Alderdice as vice-chairman, and immediately set about reforming the administration of the country in hopes of balancing the government's budget. With the help of grants in aid from the United Kingdom the Commission attempted to encourage agriculture and reorganize the fishing industry. While it did much to expand government health services to rural areas, for example, it could not solve the basic economic problems of a small export-oriented country during a time of worldwide economic stagnation.
American and Canadian military spending in Newfoundland during the 1940s caused an economic boom and allowed the Commission of Government to consider how to reintroduce a system of democratic government. However, the British government believed that the wartime prosperity would be short-lived, and so it established the Newfoundland National Convention in 1946 to debate constitutional options. These constitutional options were then submitted to the people in two referendums in 1948. By a slender majority Newfoundlanders chose to become a province of Canada rather than return to the status of a self-governing dominion. The Commission of Government continued to govern Newfoundland until March 31, 1949, when the colony finally joined Canada.
| Term | Chairman |
|---|---|
| 1934-1935 | David Murray Anderson |
| 1936-1946 | Humphrey T. Walwyn |
| 1946-1949 | Gordon MacDonald |
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Frederick Charles Alderdice | 1934 | 1936 |
| Sir John Hope Simpson | 1934 | 1936 |
| William Richard Howley | 1934 | 1937 |
| Thomas Lodge | 1934 | 1937 |
| John Charles Puddester (knighted in 1939) |
1934 | 1947 |
| Everard Noel Rye Trentham | 1934 | 1937 |
| James Alexander Winter | 1936 | 1941 |
| Robert Benson Ewbank | 1936 | 1939 |
| Sir Wilfrid Wentworth Woods | 1937 | 1944 |
| John Hubert Penson | 1937 | 1941 |
| Lewis Edward Emerson (knighted in 1944) |
1937 | 1944 |
| John Henry Gorvin | 1939 | 1941 |
| Ira Wild | 1941 | 1946 |
| Peter Douglas Hay Dunn | 1941 | 1945 |
| Harry Anderson Winter | 1941 | 1947 |
| Sir George Ernest London | 1944 | 1945 |
| Albert Joseph Walsh (knighted in 1949) |
1944 | 1949 |
| James Scott Neill | 1945 | 1949 |
| William Henry Flinn | 1945 | 1949 |
| Richard Lewis Malcolm James | 1946 | 1949 |
| Herman William Quinton | 1947 | 1949 |
Details as per notices in The London Gazette: