The
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta is the
viceregalA viceroy is a royal official who runs a country 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. His province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty. The relative...
representative in
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
of, as she
operates in the provincial jurisdictionBy the arrangements of the Canadian federation, the Canadian monarchy operates in Alberta as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy;
and is thus the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the province's...
, the Canadian monarch and
head of stateHead of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state...
,
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
, who resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta is appointed in the same manner as
the other provincial viceroys in CanadaIn 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 16th, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta is
Norman KwongNorman Lim Kwong, CM, AOE , born in Calgary, Alberta, 1929, is a former professional athlete, sports executive, and is currently the 16th lieutenant-governor of Alberta....
, who has served in the role since 20 January 2005.
Role and presence
The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta 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
Alberta Order of ExcellenceThe Alberta Order of Excellence is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Alberta. Instituted in 1979 by Lieutenant Governor Frank C...
, and upon installation automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Vice-Prior in Alberta of the
Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of JerusalemThe Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , or simply the Order of St. John, is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, the United States of America, Hong Kong, 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 328 engagements, and 280 in 2007.
At these events, the Lieutenant Governor's presence is marked by
the post's official flagA standard was approved by the Governor General of Canada in 1980 for all Lieutenant-Governors. Within the Lieutenant-Governor's province, this vice-regal standard has precedence over any other flag including the national flag, though it comes secondary to the Queen's Canadian Royal Standard...
, consisting of a blue field bearing the shield of the
Arms of Her Majesty in Right of AlbertaThe original Coat of Arms of Alberta was granted to Alberta by a Royal Warrant of King Edward VII on May 30 1907. The shield is also featured on the Flag of Alberta.-History:...
surmounted by a crown and surrounded by ten gold maple leaves, symbolizing the
ten provinces of CanadaThe provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second largest country. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces are jurisdictions that receive their power and authority directly from the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas territories...
. Within Alberta, the Lieutenant Governor also follows only the sovereign in the
province's order of precedenceThe Alberta order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Alberta. 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 representativeThe Governor General of Canada is the viceregal representative in the federal jurisdiction of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, but resides predominantly in her oldest realm,...
.
History
The office of Lieutenant Governor of Alberta came into being in 1905, upon Alberta's entry into
Canadian ConfederationCanadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed, officially beginning on July 1, 1867, with the new provinces of Ontario and Quebec along with two other British colonies, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which also became provinces.-Usage:Canada is a...
,
and evolved from the earlier position of Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories. Since that date, 16 Lieutenant Governors have served the province, amongst whom were notable firsts, such as
Norman KwongNorman Lim Kwong, CM, AOE , born in Calgary, Alberta, 1929, is a former professional athlete, sports executive, and is currently the 16th lieutenant-governor of Alberta....
the first Asian-Canadian Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and
Helen HunleyWilma Helen Hunley, OC, AOE is a former Canadian politician and the first woman to become lieutenant-governor of Alberta.-Early life:...
the first female Lieutenant Governor of the province. The shortest mandate by a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta was
Philip PrimrosePhilip Carteret Hill Primrose was a Canadian police officer and Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.P.C.H. Primrose was the son of Alexander Primrose, a Halifax barrister, and Elizabeth Daly. He was related to the Earls of Rosebery, including his namesake the 5th Earl...
, from 1 October 1936 to his death on 17 March 1937, while the longest was
John C. BowenJohn Campbell Bowen was a clergyman and was the longest-serving Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta in the history of the province....
, from 23 March 1937 to 1 February 1950.
One of the few examples in Canada of a viceroy exercising the
Royal PrerogativeThe Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the Sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
against or without
ministerial adviceAdvice, in constitutional law, is formal, usually binding, instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Heads of state particularly often act on the basis of advice issued by prime ministers or other government ministers...
came in 1937, when John Bowen denied
Royal AssentThe granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of lawmaking by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. While the power to withhold Royal Assent was once exercised often, it is exceedingly rare in the modern, democratic...
to three bills passed through the
Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
; two of the bills would have put the province's banks under the control of the provincial government, while a third, the
Accurate News and Information ActThe Accurate News and Information Act was a statute in Alberta, Canada. It was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1937 at the instigation of William Aberhart's Social Credit government. Aberhart and the Social Credit League had had a stormy relationship with the press since before...
, would have forced newspapers to print
CabinetThe Executive Council of Alberta is the cabinet of that Canadian province.Almost always made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet of Canada while being smaller in size...
rebuttals to stories the ministers objected to. All three bills were later declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court of CanadaThe Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system...
and the
Judicial Committee of the Privy CouncilThe Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom, established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833. It is also the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British Crown dependencies...
, though, in retaliation for this move by Bowen, his
PremierThe Premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. The current Premier of Alberta is Ed Stelmach. He became Premier by winning the Progressive Conservative leadership elections on...
,
William AberhartWilliam Aberhart , also known as Bible Bill for his religious preaching, was a Canadian politician and Social Credit Premier of Alberta between 1935 and 1943...
, closed
the viceregal residenceGovernment House is the former official residence of the lieutenant governors of Alberta, currently retained for ceremonial events and entertaining.The property for the house was purchased by the Province of Alberta in 1910, as well as the surrounding area...
, removed the Lieutenant Governor's secretary and support offices, and took away his official car.
Nearly seven decades later,
Lois HoleLois E. Hole, CM, DStJ, AOE, was a Canadian politician, businesswoman, educator, and best-selling author.She was the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from February 10 2000 until her death...
, who served as Lieutenant Governor from 2000 until her death in 2005, publicly stated that she wished to discuss with her Premier,
Ralph KleinRalph Phillip Klein is a former Premier of Alberta. He served as leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives from 1992 until his retirement in 2006. His tenure as premier ended when the Alberta Progressive Conservatives' new leader, Ed Stelmach, assumed office December 14, 2006, exactly...
, the proposed Bill 11, which was meant to allow private
health careHealth care , is the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the medical, dental, complementary and alternative medicine, pharmaceutical, clinical laboratory sciences , nursing, and allied health professions...
to compete with the
public health careUniversal health care is health care coverage for all eligible residents of a political region and often covers medical, dental and mental health care. Typically, costs are borne in the majority by government-funded programs....
system. From this it was suspected that Hole might reserve Royal Assent to the bill; however, Hole eventually did allow the bill to pass.
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