In Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

 the Commodore-Governor was a British Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 official who was commander of the annual fishing convoy which left England each spring to fish off Newfoundland and was charged with protecting the convoys from harm. He was also responsible for various administrative and judicial functions, including assisting the fishing admiral

Fishing admiral

In Newfoundland an office for the control of the fishing fleet given to the first ship to arrive on station. The post was officially recognised under the Western Charter of 1634...

s in maintaining law and order and compiling the annual report on the fishery for the English government. By 1818, the colony

Colony

In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 had a significant enough permanent population to justify having a resident governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

.

See also: List of Newfoundland and Labrador lieutenant-governors