The position of Provincial Secretary

Provincial Secretary

The Provincial Secretary was a senior position in the executive councils of British North America's colonial governments, and was retained by the Canadian provincial governments for at least a century after Canadian Confederation was proclaimed in 1867...

 was particularly important 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...

 from 1870 to 1874, as that province's institutions were being established. The province had no Premier

Premier

Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...

 during this period, and its Lieutenant-Governor acted as the de facto leaders of government. The early Provincial Secretaries (including Alfred Boyd

Alfred Boyd

Alfred Boyd was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He is usually considered to have been the first Premier of Manitoba , but he was not recognized by that title at the time and was not the real leader of the government. He is more correctly referred to as the first Provincial Secretary of Manitoba...

 and Henry Joseph Clarke

Henry Joseph Clarke

Henry Joseph Clarke , who sometimes used the middle names Hynes and O'Connell, was a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, Canada....

) were the most prominent elected officials in the province, and are retrospectively regarded as Premiers in many modern sources.