Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
Encyclopedia
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
representative in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province
Monarchy in Manitoba
By the arrangements of the Canadian federation, Canada's monarchy operates in Manitoba as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. As such, the Crown within Manitoba's jurisdiction is referred to as the Crown in Right of Manitoba, Her Majesty in Right of Manitoba, or...
but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada
Canadian federalism
Canada is a federation with two distinct jurisdictions of political authority: the country-wide federal government and the ten regionally-based provincial governments. It also has three territorial governments in the far north, though these are subject to the federal government...
and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada
Lieutenant Governor (Canada)
In Canada, a lieutenant governor is the viceregal representative in a provincial jurisdiction of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, who resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United Kingdom...
and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties. The present, and 24th, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba is Philip S. Lee, who has served in the role since 4 August 2009.
Role and presence
The Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba is vested with a number of governmental duties and is also expected to undertake various ceremonial roles. The lieutenant governor, him or herself a member and Chancellor of the order, will induct deserving individuals into the Order of ManitobaOrder of Manitoba
The Order of Manitoba is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter M...
and, upon installation, automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Vice-Prior in Manitoba of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
. The viceroy further presents other provincial honours and decorations, as well as various awards that are named for and presented by the lieutenant governor; these are generally created in partnership with another government or charitable organization and linked specifically to their cause. These honours are presented at official ceremonies, which count amongst hundreds of other engagements the lieutenant governor partakes in each year, either as host or guest of honour; in 2006, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta undertook 334 engagements and 284 in 2007.
Flags of the Lieutenant Governors of Canada
As the viceregal representative of the monarch of Canada, the lieutenant governors of the Canadian provinces have since Confederation been entitled to and have used a personal standard. Within a lieutenant governor's province, this standard has precedence over any other flag, including the national...
, consisting of a blue field bearing the shield of the Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Manitoba
Coat of arms of Manitoba
The original coat of arms of Manitoba was granted to Manitoba by a Royal Warrant of King Edward VII on 10 May 1905. The shield is also featured on the provincial flag.-History:...
surmounted by a crown and surrounded by ten gold maple leaves, symbolizing the ten provinces of Canada
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
. Within Manitoba, the lieutenant governor also follows only the sovereign in the province's order of precedence
Order of precedence in Manitoba
The Manitoba order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Manitoba. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature....
, preceding even other members of the Canadian Royal Family and the Queen's federal representative
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
.
History
The office of Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba came into being in 1870, upon Manitoba's entry into Canadian ConfederationCanadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
, and evolved from the earlier position of Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories, though the occupants continued to simultaneously act as Lieutenant Governors of the Northwest Territories and later as Lieutenant Governors of Keewatin District, until the latter was divided into Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
in 1905. Since 1867, 24 lieutenant governors have served the province, amongst whom were notable firsts, such as Pearl McGonigal
Pearl McGonigal
Pearl Kathryne McGonigal, CM, OM is a retired Manitoba politician and office-holder. She was a prominent Winnipeg-area municipal politician from 1969 to 1981, and served as the province's 19th Lieutenant Governor from October 23, 1981 to December 11, 1986...
the first female lieutenant governor of the province and W. Yvon Dumont
W. Yvon Dumont
W. Yvon Dumont, OM is a Manitoba politician and office-holder. In 1993, he became the first member of Manitoba's Métis community to be appointed as the province's 21st Lieutenant Governor. He was born in St. Laurent, Manitoba....
the first Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
lieutenant governor. The shortest mandate by a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta was Adams George Archibald
Adams George Archibald
Sir Adams George Archibald, KCMG, PC was a Canadian lawyer and politician, and a father of Confederation. He was based in Nova Scotia for most of his career, though he also served as 1st Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1870 to 1872.Archibald was born in Truro to a prominent family in Nova...
, from August 1870 to October 1872, while the longest was Roland Fairbairn McWilliams
Roland Fairbairn McWilliams
Roland Fairbairn McWilliams was a Canadian politician and office-holder. He served as the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1940 to 1953....
, from 1 November 1940 to 1 August 1953.
In 1919, the Manitoba legislature voted in favour of The Initiative and Referendum Act, which sought to eliminate the lieutenant governor from the legislative process in the province. Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to the bill was reserved by Lieutenant Governor James Aikins
James Albert Manning Aikins
Sir James Albert Manning Aikins was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was the leader of the Manitoba Conservative Party in the provincial election of 1915, and later served as the province's ninth Lieutenant Governor.Aikins was born in Grahamsville, Peel County, Canada West and educated at...
and eventually the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
ruled that, since the law affected an appointee of the federal Crown, it was ultra vires
Ultra vires
Ultra vires is a Latin phrase meaning literally "beyond the powers", although its standard legal translation and substitute is "beyond power". If an act requires legal authority and it is done with such authority, it is...
and struck down.