Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
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 Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province
Monarchy in Ontario
By the arrangements of the Canadian federation, Canada's monarchy operates in Ontario as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. As such, the Crown within Ontario's jurisdiction is referred to as the Crown in Right of Ontario, Her Majesty in Right of Ontario, or the...
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 Ontario 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 28th, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario is David Onley
David Onley
David Charles Onley, OOnt is the 28th and current Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada.Onley was a television journalist prior to his viceregal appointment. He worked primarily for Citytv as a science and technology reporter, and for the 24-hour news station CablePulse 24 as a news anchor and...
, who has served in the role since 5 September 2007.
Role and presence
The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario is vested with a number of governmental duties and is also expected to undertake various ceremonial roles. For instance, the lieutenant governor acts as patron of certain Ontario institutions, such as the Royal Ontario MuseumRoyal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
. Also, The viceroy, him- or herself a member and Chancellor of the order, will induct deserving individuals into the Order of Ontario
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
, and upon installation automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Vice-Prior in Ontario 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 the Royal Canadian Humane Association medal, the Lincoln M. Alexander
Lincoln Alexander
-External links:* * *...
Award, the Ontario Volunteer Service Award, the Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism in Ontario, the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers
Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers
The Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers is an honour presented annually by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario for outstanding contributions by young volunteers in the province of Ontario...
, and numerous 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 Ontario undertook 579 engagements and 614 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 Ontario
Coat of arms of Ontario
The coat of arms of Ontario was granted by Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria on 26 May 1868. This arms of Canada was shared with the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador and also used in the Canadian Red Ensign. The Dominion arms was simple and lacked supporters...
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 Ontario, the lieutenant governor also follows only the sovereign in the province's order of precedence
Order of precedence in Ontario
The Ontario order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy used for ceremonial occasions of a provincial nature of within the province of Ontario...
, 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 Ontario came into being in 1867, upon the creation of Ontario at 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 Canada West. Since that date, 28 lieutenant governors have served the province, amongst whom were notable firsts, such as Pauline Mills McGibbon
Pauline Mills McGibbon
The Hon. Pauline Mills McGibbon, CC, O.Ont , served as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980...
—the first female lieutenant governor of the province—and Lincoln Alexander
Lincoln Alexander
-External links:* * *...
—the first lieutenant governor of West Indian
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
ancestry. The shortest mandate by a Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was Henry William Stisted
Henry William Stisted
Lieut.-General Sir Henry William Stisted, KCB , served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Ontario after Confederation, from 1867 to 1868....
, from 1 July 1867 to 14 July 1868, while the longest was Albert Edward Matthews
Albert Edward Matthews
Albert Edward Matthews was the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.Matthews was born in Lindsay, Ontario. He worked as an investment broker in Toronto and rose to the position of director. Matthews served as Ontario's 16th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1937 to 1946...
, from November 1937 to December 1946.
With the election in 1937
Ontario general election, 1937
The Ontario general election, 1937 was held on October 6, 1937, to elect the 90 Members of the 20th Legislative Assembly of Ontario . It was the 20th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada....
of the Liberal Party to a majority in the Legislative Assembly, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Ontario was targeted for spending cutbacks. Government House
Government House (Ontario)
Government House was the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and Ontario, Canada. Four buildings were used for this purpose, none of which exist today, making Ontario one of four provinces to not have an official vice-regal residence....
was closed and the viceroy given a suite at the Legislative Building as a replacement. The post then remained relatively low-key until 1985, when the personal discretion of Lieutenant Governor John Black Aird
John Black Aird
John Black Aird, was the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada, from 1980 to 1985.Born in Toronto, Ontario, the grandson of Canadian financier Sir John Aird, John Black Aird was educated at Upper Canada College, Trinity College and Osgoode Hall Law School. He was a Brother at the Toronto...
was required in the exercise of the Royal Prerogative
Royal Prerogative
The 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...
: After Frank Miller
Frank Miller (politician)
Frank Stuart Miller, was a Canadian politician, who served as the 19th Premier of Ontario for four months in 1985.-Early life and political career:...
that year lost the confidence
Confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...
of the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
and the opposing Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
had managed to form a coalition with both the New Democratic Party
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
and independent members of the assembly, Aird was called upon to select a new premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
.