The lieutenant governor of Quebec (;
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
(masculine): ''Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec'', or (feminine): ''Lieutenante-gouverneure du Québec'') is the
viceregal representative in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
of the , who
operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the
ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other
Commonwealth realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...
s and any subdivisions thereof, and resides predominantly in oldest realm, 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. The lieutenant governor of Quebec is appointed in the same manner as
the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties. The present and 29th lieutenant governor of Quebec is
J. Michel Doyon
Joseph Michel Doyon (born April 22, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer, historian and author who is the 29th and current lieutenant governor of Quebec. He assumed office on September 24, 2015. Doyon previously served as the 144th head of the Bar of Queb ...
, who has served in the role since September 24, 2015.
Role and presence
The lieutenant governor of Quebec is tasked with
a number of governmental duties. Not among them, though, is delivering the
Throne Speech, which sets the lieutenant governor of Quebec apart from the other Canadian viceroys. (Instead, new
parliaments
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
begin with the Opening Speech by the
premier.) The lieutenant governor is also expected to undertake
various ceremonial roles. For instance, upon installation, the lieutenant governor automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Vice-Prior in Quebec of the
. The lieutenant governor will present numerous other
provincial honours and decorations and
various awards that are named for and presented by the lieutenant governor, which were reinstated in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor
Lise Thibault. These honours are presented at official ceremonies, which count among hundreds of other engagements the lieutenant governor takes part in each year, either as host or guest of honour; in 2006, the lieutenant governor of Quebec undertook 400 engagements and 200 in 2007.
At these events, the lieutenant governor's presence is marked by
the lieutenant governor's standard, consisting of a blue field bearing the escutcheon of the
Arms of Majesty in Right of Quebec surmounted by a crown and set within a white disc; the Quebec viceregal flag is only one of two that are significantly different from all the others in Canada. Within Quebec, the lieutenant governor also follows only the sovereign in the
province's order of precedence, preceding even other members of the
Canadian Royal Family and the
's federal representative.
It has been argued by Jeremy Webber and Robert Andrew Young that, as the office is the core of authority in the province, the
secession of Quebec from the Confederation would first require the abolition or transformation of the post of lieutenant governor of Quebec; such an amendment to the
constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...
could not be done without, according to Section 41 of the
Constitution Act, 1982, the approval of the
federal parliament and all other provincial legislatures in Canada. Others, such as J. Woehrling, however, have claimed that the legislative process towards Quebec's independence would not require any prior change to the viceregal post. Young also felt that the lieutenant governor could refuse Royal Assent to a bill that proposed to put an unclear question on sovereignty to referendum or was based on the results of a referendum that asked such a question.
History
The lieutenant governor of Quebec came into being in 1867, upon the creation of Quebec at
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 iss ...
, and evolved from the earlier position of
lieutenant governor of Canada East. Since that date, 28 lieutenant governors have served the province, amongst whom were notable firsts, such as Lise Thibault—the first female and first disabled lieutenant governor of the province. The shortest mandate by a lieutenant governor of Quebec was
Lomer Gouin
Sir Jean Lomer Gouin, (March 19, 1861 – March 28, 1929) was a Canadian politician. He served as 13th premier of Quebec, as a Cabinet minister in the federal government of Canada, and as the 15th lieutenant governor of Quebec.
Biography ...
, from January to March 1929, while the longest was
Hugues Lapointe
Hugues Lapointe (March 3, 1911 – November 13, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer, Member of Parliament and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1966 to 1978.
Life and career
Born in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, the son of the Canadian Member of P ...
, from 1966 to 1978.
One of the few examples in Canada of a viceroy exercising the
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 and which have become widely vested in th ...
against or without
ministerial advice came in 1887, when Lieutenant Governor
Auguste-Réal Angers dismissed the Cabinet headed by
Premier Honoré Mercier; a report concluded that Mercier's government had benefited from a
kickback scheme with contractors building the
Baie des Chaleurs railway.
The appointment of
Jean-Louis Roux
Jean-Louis Roux, (May 18, 1923 – November 28, 2013) was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.
Biography
Born in Montreal, Quebec, he originally studied medicine at the Univ ...
as lieutenant governor of Quebec by Governor General
Roméo LeBlanc, on the advice of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Jean Chrétien, stirred controversy, as Roux was well known as a strong opponent of Quebec independence and, soon after he took up the post, it was revealed that, as a university student in the 1940s, he had worn a
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. I ...
on his
lab coat in protest of the
proposal to invoke conscription for service in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and had participated in an anti-Semitic protest.
Roux had, in an interview after his appointment as lieutenant governor, stated that he might have to use the
reserve powers of the Crown should certain circumstances arise following a referendum result in favour of Quebec's separation from Canada; a statement that displeased Roux's premier at the time,
Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard (; born December 22, 1938) is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician.
Minister for two years in the Mulroney cabinet, Bouchard then led the emerging Bloc Québécois and became Leader of the Opposition in the Ho ...
. Bouchard thereafter exploited the revelation of Roux's past anti-Semitism and the lieutenant governor soon resigned his post voluntarily in 1996.
The following year, Bouchard tabled in the legislature three motions, calling the Office of the lieutenant governor "a heritage of the colonial past", the appointment process controversial and interfering, and demanding the post be abolished, though, until then, the federal Crown-in-Council should appoint a person "democratically designated by the
uebecAssembly".
Residences and Offices
Since 1997 there has been no official residence; the lieutenant governors must instead obtain their own home in or near the capital. However, they still retain an official office at
Édifice André-Laurendeau Édifice André-Laurendeau is an eleven-storey office tower located at 1050, rue des Parlementaires in Quebec City, Quebec. The Beaux-Arts structure was built between 1935 and 1937, designed by Lacroix, Drouin and Bergeron, and is the property o ...
.
Previous residences includes Maison Sewell at 87, rue Saint-Louis (still standing),
Spencer Wood from 1870 to 1966 (destroyed by fire 1966) and 1010 rue St. Louis (Maison Dunn) from 1967 to 1997.
See also
*
Monarchy in the Canadian provinces
The monarchy of Canada forms the core of each Canadian provincial jurisdiction's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, being the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government in each province. The m ...
*
Government of Quebec
*
Lieutenant Governors of Canada
*
List of seignories of Quebec
References
External links
*
Les lieutenants-gouverneurs depuis 1867
{{Representatives of the monarch in Commonwealth realms and Dominions
*
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
Westminster system