Gordon Leslie Barnhart (born January 22, 1945) is a former Clerk of the
Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...
and the
Saskatchewan Legislature, as well as former Secretary of the
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...
. He was the 20th
lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan
The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan () is the representative in Saskatchewan of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieutenant governor of Sas ...
from 2006 until 2012. He was the interim President of the
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...
as from May 21, 2014 until October 24, 2015.
Biography
Barnhart was born in
Saltcoats, Saskatchewan. He completed his
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
in 1967 and in 1968, he took a job teaching grades 10 and 11 history at North Battleford Collegiate Institute (now
North Battleford Comprehensive High School). In 1968, after only four months of teaching, he was appointed Clerk of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, the youngest to take on such a position across the Commonwealth. During his tenure, he worked on his
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
at the
University of Regina
The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...
, completing it in 1977.
In 1989,
Governor General
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
Jeanne Sauvé
Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé (; ; April 26, 1922 – January 26, 1993) was a Canadian politician, journalist and stateswoman who served as the 23rd governor general of Canada from 1984 to 1990 and as the 29th Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada), ...
, on the advice 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 ...
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...
, appointed Barnhart to
Clerk of the Senate, and thereby
Clerk of the Parliaments
The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parli ...
. After five years, which included contributing to the failed
Charlottetown Accord, he resigned from his position in the Senate. He returned to the University of Saskatchewan, where he completed his
Doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in 1998.
From 2000 to 2005, he served as Secretary of the University of Saskatchewan. He retired to teach political studies classes, specializing in Canadian politics, government and the
Canadian Senate.
In 2001, Barnhart's book ''Peace, Progress and Prosperity'' (), which provided the first detailed biography of Saskatchewan's first premier,
Thomas Walter Scott, was first published. Some of his other works include ''Saskatchewan's Premiers of the Twentieth Century'', ''Building for the Future; a photo journal of Saskatchewan's Legislative Building'' and ''Parliamentary Committees: Enhancing Democratic Governance''.
On April 28, 2006,
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
announced that Gordon Barnhart would replace
Lynda Haverstock as
Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan. He was sworn in on August 1, 2006. Barnhart's term ended on March 22, 2012, when he was replaced by
Vaughn Solomon Schofield.
The
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...
announced that Barnhart would return to the faculty of the Department of History as of April 1, 2012 as an adjunct professor.
On May 21, 2014, it was announced that Barnhart had been appointed interim President at the University of Saskatchewan to replace
Ilene Busch-Vishniac who was fired. He served as interim president until October 24, 2015, when he was succeeded by
Peter Stoicheff.
On June 30, 2014, Barnhart was named a Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
.
As mayor of the town of
Saltcoats
Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...
, Barnhart has served as the president of the organization of Municipalities of Saskatchewan from 2017 - 2021. During his 2021 re-election for the Municipalities of Saskatchewan presidency, Barnhart was found to be vacationing in Hawaii despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the border between the United States and Canada being closed to nonessential travel. Barnhart lost his re-election bid by an overwhelming margin, receiving 115 votes compared to the victor,
Rodger Hayward's 351 votes.
As Lieutenant-Governor
As lieutenant-governor, Barnhart carries out such duties as reading throne speeches, swearing in premiers and cabinet ministers, opening legislative sessions, approving legislation and bestowing honours to Saskatchewan citizens.
Upon being sworn in, Barnhart expressed his respect and admiration for his predecessors. As an academic, he expects to focus his efforts on education. He also plans on travelling a great deal to continue the office's accessibility to average Saskatchewanians provided by Haverstock.
Barnhart hosted hundreds of visitors on the occasion of his first New Year's
Levee
A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
at Government House in 2007, a traditional event that lieutenant-governors in Regina have hosted since 1884.
Barnhart also initiated the "Lieutenant-Governor's Leadership Forum",
which will accept eighteen grade 11 and 12 students each year from 2007 till 2011 to tour the province, meet successful leaders in various fields, and to develop the students' own leadership abilities.
Additional roles
*Visitor to the University of Saskatchewan
*Visitor to the University of Regina
Patronage
*Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association
*Canadians Clubs of Saskatchewan
*Canadian Parents for French
*Canadian Peony Society Show, Regina, 2008
*Conexus Arts Centre
The Conexus Arts Centre, known from 1970 till 2006 (and still largely known) as the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts, is a theatre complex located within Wascana Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, which largely replaces former theatres downt ...
, Regina
*Saskatchewan Craft Council
*Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association
*International Biology Olympiad, Saskatoon, 2007
*Lung Association of Saskatchewan
*Luther College, Regina
*
*Saskatchewan Music Festivals Association
*Saskatchewan Poet Laureate Program
*Lyric Musical Theatre (formerly Regina Lyric Light Opera)
* Saskatchewan Youth Parliament
*Saskatchewan Architectural Heritage Society
Arms
See also
* Monarchy in Saskatchewan
* Government House (Saskatchewan)
References
External links
Official website of the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
by Sarah Macdonald, ''The Leader-Post'', July 31, 2006, retrieved August 1, 2006,
retrieved December 18, 2006,
Office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan
Feature interview with the ''Sheaf'' newspaper (2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnhart, Gordon
20th-century Canadian civil servants
21st-century Canadian historians
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Historians of Canada
Lieutenant governors of Saskatchewan
Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit
University of Saskatchewan alumni
Living people
1945 births
People from Saltcoats, Saskatchewan
Members of the Order of Canada
Legislative clerks