The Usher of the Black Rod (french: Huissier du bâton noir), often shortened to Black Rod is the most senior protocol position in the Parliament of Canada. Black Rod leads the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

's Parade at the beginning of each sitting of the Senate and oversees protocol and administrative and logistical details of important events taking place on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

, such as the opening of parliament and the Speech from the Throne. The office is modelled on the

Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod Black Rod (officially known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod or, if male, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parlia ...

of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. Upon the appointment of the first woman to the position of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on 20 October 1997, the title was changed to ''Usher of the Black Rod''.

The rod

The usher carries an

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

and gold staff of office modelled on that used in the House of Lords. Canada's original rod is believed to have been made in the 1840s in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

for the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...

, and then transferred to the Senate after

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

in 1867, but it was lost in the 1916 fire that destroyed

Centre Block The Centre Block (french: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members ...

. The current rod was crafted the same year by then-

Crown Jeweller The Crown Jeweller is responsible for the maintenance of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, and is appointed by the British monarch. The current Crown Jeweller is Mark Appleby, who was appointed in 2017. History The post was created in 1843 ...

Garrard & Co Garrard & Co. Limited, formerly Asprey & Garrard Limited, designs and manufactures luxury jewellery and silver. George Wickes founded Garrard in London in 1735 and the brand is headquartered at Albemarle Street in Mayfair, London. Garrard also ...

.. The rod was snapped in half in 1967, and underwent only amateur repairs at the hands of Senator

Henry Davies Hicks Henry Davies Hicks, (March 5, 1915 – December 9, 1990) was a lawyer, university administrator, and politician in Nova Scotia. Born in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, the son of Henry Hicks and Annie Kinney, Hicks was educated in Bridgetown a ...

in his personal workshop; over the years it has additionally suffered scratching, cracking, and loss of pieces. Accordingly, on the occasion of the

150th anniversary of Canada The 150th anniversary of Canada, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation and promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, occurred in 2017 as Canada marked the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation. Planning Major pl ...

in 2016, the Queen bestowed a restoration by artisans and craftspeople at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

under the direction of Adrian Smith, L.V.O., which replaced the central ebony rod itself with a 20th-century ebony walking cane. The top consists of a lion on its hind legs displaying a shield decorated with the royal cypher of

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

, the monarch when the rod was crafted, and bearing the motto . Its middle knob is made of silver with

maple leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along th ...

engravings (in contrast to the oak leaves used in its UK counterpart, which is made of gold), and is engraved with the name of Queen Elizabeth II, inscribed during its restoration. The base is set with a 1904

gold sovereign The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy oz of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the wor ...

, displaying St. George slaying the Dragon.

List of office holders

From 1867 to 1997, the title of the office was Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. After the first female (Mary C. McLaren) was appointed to the position, the term ''gentleman'' was dropped from the title. * 1867–1875:

René Kimber René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the femin ...

* 1875–1901:

René Edouard Kimber René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the femin ...

(Son of René Kimber) * 1902–1904: Molyneux St. John * 1904–1925:

Ernest John Chambers Ernest John Chambers (16 April 1862 – 11 May 1925) was a Canadian militia officer, journalist, author, and civil servant. Biography Chambers was born in Penkridge, England. He and his family moved to Montreal in 1870 where his father be ...

* 1925–1946:

Andrew Ruthven Thompson Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

* 1947–1970:

Charles Rock Lamoureux Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

* 1970–1979: A. Guy Vandelac * 1979–1984: Thomas Guy Bowie * 1984–1985: Claude G. Lajoie * 1985–1989: René Marc Jalbert * 1989–1990: Rene Gutknecht * 1990 – 20 October 1997: Jean Doré * 20 October 1997 – 2001: Mary C. McLaren * 2002–2008: Terrance Christopher * 26 May 2008 – 30 September 2013:

Kevin S. MacLeod Kevin Stewart MacLeod (born 1951) is a former Canadian Secretary to the Queen of Canada, former Usher of the Black Rod for the Canadian Senate, and the author of the historical fiction novel, ''A Stone on Their Cairn / Clach air An Càrn''. Bo ...

* 1 October 2013 – present: J. Greg Peters

References

External links

*{{official, https://sencanada.ca/en/about/usher-black-rod/ Ceremonial officers in Canada

The rod

List of office holders

See also

References

External links