The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...

from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, it was dissolved when the

dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

became the tenth

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on March 31, 1949. It was composed of civil servants who were directly subordinate to the British Government in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Background

Newfoundland's economic difficulties were exacerbated by

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

incurred during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the collapse of fish prices during the Depression. In 1933, following a prolonged period of economic crisis and severe budgetary deficit, and civil unrest culminating in a riot which brought down the previous government, the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Frederick C. Alderdice asked the British and Canadian governments to establish a royal commission (the Newfoundland Royal Commission) to investigate the dominion's continuing crisis and to suggest a solution to its problems. The commission (commonly known as the "Amulree Commission") was chaired by Lord Amulree, appointed by the British government, and also included Charles Alexander Magrath, appointed by the Canadian government, and Sir William Ewen Stavert, who represented the Newfoundland government. The commission recommended the temporary suspension of responsible government in Newfoundland, and replacing it with a Commission of Government made up of the British-appointed

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and six commissioners appointed by

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

made up of three British officials and three Newfoundland-born appointees. Alderdice was in favour of this recommendation and accordingly put it to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

, which duly approved the proposals and thus voted itself out of existence.

Governance by the Commission

The Commission of Government was sworn in on 16 February 1934, with Alderdice as vice-chairman, and immediately set about reforming the administration of the country in hopes of balancing the government's budget. With the help of grants in aid from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the Commission attempted to encourage agriculture and reorganize the fishing industry. While it did much to expand government health services to rural areas, for example, it could not solve the basic economic problems of a small export-oriented country during a time of worldwide economic stagnation. American and Canadian military spending in Newfoundland during the 1940s caused an economic boom and allowed the Commission of Government to consider how to reintroduce a system of democratic government. However, the British government believed that wartime prosperity would be short-lived. So it established the Newfoundland National Convention in 1946 to debate constitutional options, which were submitted to the people in two referendums in 1948. By a slender majority, Newfoundlanders chose to become a

of Canada, rather than return to the status of a self-governing dominion. The Commission of Government continued to govern Newfoundland until March 31, 1949, when Newfoundland joined Canada.

Chairmen of Commission of Government

Members of the Commission of Government

References

Sources

Details as per notices in '' The London Gazette'': *Notice dated January 31, 1934, issue no. 34021 of February 6, 1934, p. 834 *Notice dated April 21, 1936, issue no. 34280 of May 1, 1936, p. 2800 *Notice dated July 29, 1936, issue no. 34312 of August 7, 1936, p. 5184 *Notice dated January 18, 1937, issue no. 34363 of January 26, 1937, p. 554 *Notice dated May 10, 1937, issue no. 34400 of May 21, 1937, p. 3297 *Notice dated September 15, 1937, issue no. 34439 of September 28, 1937, p. 6016 *Notice dated May 31, 1939, issue no. 34634 of June 9, 1939, p. 3883 *Notice dated March 6, 1941, issue no. 35102 of March 11, 1941, p. 1447 *Notice dated June 3, 1941, issue no. 35183 of June 6, 1941, p. 3223 *Notice dated July 3, 1941, issue no. 35208 of July 4, 1941, p. 3821 *Notice dated September 14, 1944, issue no. 36709 of September 19, 1944, p. 4343 *Notice dated September 29, 1944, issue no. 36724 of September 29, 1944, p. 4491 *Notices dated September 28, 1945, issue no. 37305 of October 12, 1945, p. 5026 *Notice dated September 12, 1946, issue no. 37747 of October 4, 1946, p. 4945 *Notice dated January 25, 1947, issue no. 37868 of January 31, 1947, p. 559

External links

{{Authority control Political history of Newfoundland and Labrador Dominion of Newfoundland Government agencies established in 1933 Government agencies disestablished in 1949 Defunct advisory councils in Canada