Function of the Canadian monarchy in British Columbia
By the arrangements of the
Canadian federation
,
Canada's monarchy
operates in
British Columbia
as the core of the province's
Westminster-style
parliamentary
democracy
.
[1]
As such,
the Crown
within British Columbia's jurisdiction is referred to as
the Crown in Right of British Columbia
,
[2]
His Majesty in Right of British Columbia
,
[3]
or
the King in Right of British Columbia
.
[4]
The
Constitution Act, 1867
, however, leaves many royal duties in British Columbia specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, the
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
,
[1]
whose direct participation in governance is limited by the
conventional
stipulations of
constitutional monarchy
.
[5]
Constitutional role
[
edit
]
The role of the Crown is both legal and practical; it functions in
British Columbia
in the same way
it does in all of Canada's other provinces
, being the centre of a constitutional construct in which the institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority share the power of the whole.
[6]
It is thus the foundation of the
executive
,
legislative
, and
judicial
branches of the
province's government
.
[7]
The
Canadian monarch
?since 8 September 2022,
King
Charles III
?is represented and his duties carried out by the
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
, whose direct participation in governance is limited by the
conventional
stipulations of
constitutional monarchy
, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected
parliamentarians
, the
ministers of the Crown
generally drawn from amongst them, and the
judges
and
justices of the peace
.
[5]
The Crown today primarily functions as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and a
nonpartisan
safeguard against the abuse of power.
[5]
[8]
[9]
This arrangement began with an 1871
Order in Council
by
Queen Victoria
and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the late 18th century.
[1]
However, though British Columbia has a separate government headed by the King, as a province, British Columbia is not itself a kingdom.
[10]
Government House
in
Victoria
is owned by the sovereign only in his capacity as King in Right of British Columbia and is the
official residence
of both the lieutenant governor and the sovereign, when in British Columbia.
[11]
A member of the Royal Family has owned property in British Columbia in a private capacity:
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
, owned
Portland Island
, though this was offered on permanent loan to the Crown in Right of British Columbia.
[12]
Royal associations
[
edit
]
Those in the Royal Family
perform ceremonial duties
when on a tour of the province; the royal persons do not receive any personal income for their service, only the costs associated with the exercise of these obligations are funded by both the Canadian and British Columbia governments.
[13]
Monuments around British Columbia
mark some of those visits, while others honour a royal personage or event.
[12]
Further, British Columbia's monarchical status is illustrated by
royal names applied regions, communities, schools, and buildings
, many of which may also have a specific history with a member or members of the Royal Family. Associations also exist between the Crown and many private organizations within the province; these may have been founded by a
Royal Charter
,
received a
royal
prefix
, and/or been honoured with
the patronage of a member of the Royal Family
. Examples include the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, which, along with the Vancouver Rowing Club and the Vancouver Racquets Club, is under the patronage of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, and the
Royal British Columbia Museum
, which received its
royal
prefix from Queen Elizabeth II in 1987.
[14]
The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign himself, his image (in portrait or effigy) thus being used to signify government authority.
[15]
A
royal cypher
, crown, or the
provincial arms
(known as the
Arms of His Majesty in right of British Columbia
[16]
) may also illustrate the monarchy as the locus of authority, without referring to any specific monarch. Additionally, though the monarch does not form a part of the constitutions of
British Columbia's honours
, they do stem from the Crown as the
fount of honour
, and so bear on the insignia symbols of the sovereign.
History
[
edit
]
In 1959, Premier
W.A.C. Bennett
desired that the
Queen of Canada
read the
Speech from the Throne
at the opening of a session of the
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
. This request was turned down on the grounds that it was "constitutionally impossible".
[17]
The validity and logic behind the refusal was later a matter of debate.
[18]
The Queen was again in British Columbia to mark the centennial of the province's entry into Confederation.
[19]
In 2002, Elizabeth toured Victoria and
Vancouver
as part of
her Golden Jubilee
as Queen of Canada.
[20]
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (now
Charles III
,
King of Canada
), along with his great-uncle,
the Earl Mountbatten of Burma
, then the President of United World Colleges International Council,
[21]
opened
Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific
in 1975.
[22]
Prince Charles established the Prince of Wales Scholarship and would visit the college again between 30 March and 3 April 1980 and 29 to 31 October 1982.
[23]
He also toured British Columbia with his then-wife,
Diana, Princess of Wales
, from 30 April to 7 May 1986, opening
Expo 86
in Vancouver and visiting Victoria, Prince George, Kamloops, and Nanaimo, and took a ski holiday at
Whistler
with his sons,
Princes William
and
Harry
, also visiting Vancouver with them.
[23]
In 2009, Charles returned with his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (now
Queen Camilla
), visiting Vancouver and Victoria, where he met with then-Director of Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific David Hawley and four Prince of Wales Scholarship recipients, one each from Kenya, Romania, Nicaragua, and Canada.
[21]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Victoria
(16 May 1871),
British Columbia Terms of Union
, 10, Westminster: Queen's Printer
, retrieved
16 June
2009
.
- ^
Uukw et al. v. R. In Right of British Columbia and Registrar, Prince Rupert Land Title District
,
[1988
1 C.N.L.R. 173] (British Columbia Court of Appeal 2 April 1987).
- ^
Elizabeth II
(1 April 2005),
British Columbia Treaty Commission Act
, 2, Victoria: Queen's Printer for British Columbia
, retrieved
23 June
2009
- ^
British Columbia v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd.
,
[2005
2 S.C.R. 473, 2005 SCC 49] (Supreme Court of Canada 8 June 2005).
- ^
a
b
c
MacLeod, Kevin S.
(2008).
A Crown of Maples
(PDF)
(1 ed.). Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada. p. 16.
ISBN
978-0-662-46012-1
. Retrieved
21 June
2009
.
- ^
Cox, Noel (September 2002).
"Black v Chretien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence"
.
Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law
.
9
(3). Perth: Murdoch University: 12
. Retrieved
17 May
2009
.
- ^
Privy Council Office
(2008).
Accountable Government: A Guide for Ministers and Ministers of State ? 2008
. Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada. p. 49.
ISBN
978-1-100-11096-7
. Archived from
the original
on 18 March 2010
. Retrieved
17 May
2009
.
- ^
Roberts, Edward
(2009).
"Ensuring Constitutional Wisdom During Unconventional Times"
(PDF)
.
Canadian Parliamentary Review
.
23
(1). Ottawa: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association: 15. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 26 April 2012
. Retrieved
21 May
2009
.
- ^
MacLeod 2008
, p. 20
- ^
Forsey, Eugene
(31 December 1974). "Crown and Cabinet". In
Forsey, Eugene
(ed.).
Freedom and Order: Collected Essays
. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
ISBN
978-0-7710-9773-7
.
- ^
MacLeod 2008
, p. XIV
- ^
a
b
British Columbia Archives.
"The Legacy"
. Queen's Printer for British Columbia. Archived from
the original
on 28 February 2009
. Retrieved
25 June
2009
.
- ^
Palmer, Sean;
Aimers, John
(2002),
The Cost of Canada's Constitutional Monarchy: $1.10 per Canadian
(2 ed.), Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada, archived from
the original
on 19 June 2008
, retrieved
15 May
2009
- ^
Historical Record of Royal British Columbia Museum Corporation
, Royal British Columbia Museum, p. 10
- ^
MacKinnon, Frank (1976),
The Crown in Canada
, Calgary: Glenbow-Alberta Institute, p.
69
,
ISBN
978-0-7712-1016-7
- ^
Watt, Robert D.
"Ministries > Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat > Official Symbols > The Coat of Arms of British Columbia: A Brief History"
. Queen's Printer for British Columbia. Protocol and Events Branch
. Retrieved
8 January
2011
.
- ^
Toporoski, Richard (June 2006).
"Can the Queen Grant Royal Assent in a Provincial Legislature?: No"
(PDF)
.
Canadian Monarchist News
. Fall-Winter 2005 (24). Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada: 19
. Retrieved
5 July
2009
.
- ^
Toporoski, Richard; Munro, Kenneth (June 2006).
"Can the Queen Grant Royal Assent in a Provincial Legislature?"
(PDF)
.
Canadian Monarchist News
. Fall-Winter 2005 (24). Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada: 17?20
. Retrieved
26 February
2012
.
- ^
British Columbia Archives.
"Chronology of Principal Royal Visits to British Columbia"
. Queen's Printer for British Columbia. Archived from
the original
on 28 February 2009
. Retrieved
25 June
2009
.
- ^
"Queen drops puck, raises cheer in arena"
. CBC. 7 October 2002
. Retrieved
24 June
2009
.
- ^
a
b
"Prince of Wales Visits Victoria"
(PDF)
,
Pearson Times
(Spring 2010): 1
, retrieved
31 October
2023
- ^
Pearson College UWC?Canada's school for students of exceptional promise and potential worldwide
, Pearson College United World College
, retrieved
7 November
2016
- ^
a
b
Crawford, Tiffany (9 September 2022),
"Photos: A look back at the six times King Charles III visited B.C. as a prince"
,
Vancouver Sun
, retrieved
1 November
2023
Sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]