Did you know? Interesting facts about the Crown in Canada

Canada's Constitutional Monarchy has a section detailing many interesting, sometimes quirky, facts about the Crown in Canada. Here are a few more that have been discovered since the publication of the book in 2011:

• Canada's official standard for King Charles III was first flown by Nova Scotia's Government House on Coronation Day (May 6th, 2023). 

The King's Standard flying over Nova Scotia's Government House. May 6th, 2023.

• King Charles III's first message to Canada following his accession to the throne was to pledge his support to the ongoing work for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. The King's last act in Canada before his accession was to plant a garden rooted in this work.

•   The last official message issued by Queen Elizabeth II before her death on September 8th, 2022, was one of condolence to the James Smith Cree Nation following a devastating attack there on September 4th.
  

​

• Queen Elizabeth II's first in-person audience after contracting COVID-19 was with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 7th, 2022. Scheduled for 20 minutes, the meeting lasted 45.

• The Rt. Honourable John Tuner, 17th prime minister, was involved in a serious relationship with Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister. Margaret wrote in a letter that she almost married Turner. The two famously danced together at an event held at Victoria's Government House on May 19th, 1959, while Turner's step-father, the Honourable Frank Mackenzie Ross, served as Lieutenant Governor. 

​

• During the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia created viceregal face masks for the staff to wear.

The Hon. Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of BC, wears a viceregal mask. Photograph taken by Taylor Roades.

• Installed on August 26th, 2020, Alberta's Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani became the first practicing Muslim, as well as first person born in Africa, to represent the Queen in Canada. 

• Appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan on July 18th, 2019, the Honourable Russ Mirasty became the first Indigenous person to represent the Queen/King in the province (and the first member of the Cree Nation to hold a Canadian viceregal office). Mirasty speaks Cree as his first language and makes a point to offer His Majesty's greetings in Cree during his official remarks.  

• Appointed as Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick on September 8th, 2019, the Honourable Brenda Murphy became the first openly LGBTQ person to hold a Canadian viceregal office. 

• While Centre Block of Parliament Hill is being renovated, the Senate of Canada has been moved offsite to the former Government Conference Centre in Ottawa. The Queen gifted the wood (from Windsor Great Park) used to carve the crowns and Royal Cypher on the new thrones being used in the temporary Senate.

• Following the successful invasion of Normandy during the Second World War, Juno Beach (liberated by the Canadians) was selected as the landing place for King George VI (as well as Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle). The King arrived in France on June 16th, 1944.

• For her 2018 holiday card, Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth  Dowdeswell was photographed in the Chapel Royal at Massey College (created by the Queen on June 21st, 2017). Her Honour was pictured standing at the alter, next to the Covenant Chain Wampum. Photograph courtesy of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

​

​

• In 1993 five women held the top positions in the province of Prince Edward Island (the first such occurrence in Canada). Pictured are Speaker of the House Nancy Guptill, Lieutenant Governor Marion Reid, Leader of the Opposition Pat Mella, Premier Catherine Callbeck, Deputy Speaker Elizabeth (Libbe) Hubley. Photograph from the Province of P.E.I.

• Visiting Westmount, Quebec, in 1959, the Queen and Prince Philip were presented with a silver maple syrup jug by Mayor John Crosbie Cushing. The City of Westmount promised to always keep the jug filled with syrup and continues to send a new batch annually to Buckingham Palace. [This story was submitted by Anthony Chiasson to Canada's History Magazine, April-May 2017]

• A vice regal ceremonial robe was presented by the province of Alberta to the Honourable Helen Hunley (1985-1991). Hunley wore the robe for the remaining years of her mandate, but the tradition was not maintained by her vice regal successor. The robe was not seen again until the Honourable Lois Mitchell worn it during the March 2nd, 2017, Speech from the Throne.

Official portrait of the Hon Helen Hunley depicting her wearing the vice regal robe.

The Hon Lois Mitchell wearing the vice regal robe during the March 2nd, 2017, Speech from the Throne in the Alberta Legislature.

• During a visit to Haida Gwaii with the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William told the assembled matriarchs, chiefs, and community members: "The historic link between the Crown and the First Nations people is strong, and something that I hold dear to my heart."

• On March 8, 1949, an acrostic poem was published in The Evening Telegram, in honour of the colony’s last British Governor, Sir Gordon MacDonald (Governor of Newfoundland from 1946 to 1949). Governor MacDonald was instrumental in bringing the colony into Confederation.
  

A Farewell!

The prayers of countless thousands sent
Heavenwards to speed thy safe return,
Ennobled as thou art with duty well performed,
Bringing peace, security and joy
Among the peoples of this New Found Land.
So saddened and depressed until your presence
Taught us discern and help decide what’s best for
All on whom fortune had not smiled.
Remember if you will the kindness and the love
Devotion and the respect that we the people have for Thee – Farewell!

Governor General and Mrs. Sharon Johnston, as well as Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell are greeted by Chief Ava Hill outside the Mohawk Institute Residential School.

• On the 20th National Aboriginal Day (June 21st, 2016) Governor General David Johnston (and Mrs. Sharon Johnston) and Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell visited Canada's first Residential School, nicknamed "the Mush Hole," in Brantford. 

• To commemorate the coronation of King George VI in 1937, Oak seedlings were taken from Great Windsor Park and sent throughout the Commonwealth, including Canada. A row of these Royal Oaks survive near Surrey, BC, and have been registered as a National Historic Place. Located along the King George Highway (named for King George VI), the trees can be found between the Nicomekl River and the Highway 99 junction at 8 Avenue. 

​​

• The official website of the Royal Family includes an acknowledgement of the " . . . Aboriginal Peoples who, now for many centuries, have maintained an enduring and very close relationship with the person of the Sovereign and the Crown of Canada."

• Due to its dilapidated state, the prime minister's residence (24 Sussex Drive) was closed for renovations in 2015 causing the Trudeau Family to move into Rideau Cottage. Located on the grounds of Rideau Hall, "Rideau Cottage" was constructed between 1866-7, and was previously used by vice-regal private secretaries (Stephen Wallace, private secretary to Governor General David Johnston, vacated the residence on October 25th, 2015, so the Trudeaus could move in). Johnston remarked that having the Trudeau's children on the property had breathed new life into Rideau Hall.

• The following provinces have had Indigenous lieutenant governors (Canada has not yet had an Indigenous governor general): Alberta - The Honourable Ralph Steinhauer (1974-1979); Manitoba - The Honourable W. Yvon Dumont (1993-1999); Ontario - The Honourable James K. Bartleman (2002-2007); British Columbia - The Honourable Steven L. Point (2007-2012); New Brunswick - The Honourable Graydon Nicholas (2009-2014); Saskatchewan - The Honourable Russ Mirasty (2019 - Present Day)

​​

• The Honourable Ralph Steinhauer, 10th lieutenant governor of Alberta (and first Indigenous vice regal office holder in Canada) was a survivor of the Brandon Indian Residential School.

• The Honourable Iona Campagnolo, lieutenant governor of British Columbia, participated in a cleansing ceremony on the site of St. Michael's Residential School at Alert Bay on February 28th, 2003. "We're not the same people you knew in 1929 (the year St. Michael's was built)," Campagnolo stated at the newly renamed 'Namgis House (of which she was appointed honourary chair). 

• Since 2013, the Queen has been Colonel-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces Legal Branch. The Legal Branch’s first audience with Her Majesty was held on June 5th, 2015, when Major-General Blaise Cathcart, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces, presented the Queen with a Legal Branch coin inscribed with "Regina." The coin was also displayed contained the Branch motto, “Fiat Justitia”, which is often translated as “let justice prevail” or “let right be done” (referencing a ruling made by King Edward VII in 1910, which is often cited as a link between the Canadian Forces Legal Branch and the Royal Family). Paraphrased from an article published by the Canadian Armed Forces.

• Queen Victoria began a tradition of giving blankets to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Six Nations) on Victoria Day to honour their participation as allies of the Crown during the American Revolution and War of 1812. The practice was discontinued after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, but later revived in 1924 by the elected band council imposed by the Canadian federal government as "Bread and Cheese Day" (instead of distributing blankets, members are given a slice of bread and block of cheese). The tradition continues on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, gathering thousands of people annually.

​

• When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a private audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace on November 25th, 2015, Her Majesty greeted her 13th Canadian prime minister saying it was nice to see him again, “but under different circumstances.” The two had met over thirty years earlier while Justin's father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was prime minister. “Well, this is extraordinary to think of, isn’t it?” the Queen said.

• In 1875 officials in the City of Quebec wanted to tear down the walls of the old city. It was the Earl of Dufferin who, as governor general from 1872-1878, that convinced the city to preserve these historic ramparts. The Dufferin Terrace is named in honour of his great contribution to North America's only remaining walled city.

Dufferin Terrace, Quebec City

• Saint John, New Brunswick, was founded by Royal Charter in 1785 becoming the first incorporated city in British North America. The city is located on the site of a French fort built in the 17th century.

• The traditional names of the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army were reintroduced in 2011 after being replaced in favour of Maritime Command, Air Command and Land Command when the Canadian Forces were amalgamated in 1968.

• The Honourable Paul Comtois, lieutenant governor of Quebec (1961-1966), died in the fire that destroyed Quebec's Government House in 1966. The lieutenant governor succumbed to the fire after trying to save the Blessed Sacrament from the residence's private chapel. Since the fire, lieutenant governors of Quebec have resided in a hotel near the National Assembly.

• The coat of arms used by the province of Prince Edward Island (officially known as "The Queen's Arms in Right of Prince Edward Island") were officially granted by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in 2002. The upper section of the shield bears a gold lion passant on a red background - a design taken from the arms of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767-1820), the island's namesake.

The Queen's Arms in Right of Prince Edward Island

• The main route through the Plains of Abraham Battlefield Park is called Avenue George VI commemorating the 1939 Royal Tour of King George VI that began at this national historic site. 

• King George VI and The Queen were traveling across Canada in 1939 when he broadcast to the British Empire and Commonwealth from the Library at Manitoba's Government House in Winnipeg on Empire Day (present-day Victoria Day). Many critics have said that this speech should have been the one highlighted at the end of 2010's The King's Speech. 

• Since the new logo of the Winnipeg Jets closely resembles that of the Royal Canadian Airforce, its designers had to follow guidelines of how it could be used as dictated by laid out by the Ministry of Defence. The contract signed between the Winnipeg Jets and National Defence states: The club agrees to use the Winnipeg Jets logos solely in accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement and in such manner as to protect and preserve the reputation and integrity of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Defence, and the Canadian Forces.

• After serving as one of Canada's most popular governors general, Viscount Alexander was created 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis and Baron Rideau of Ottawa and Castle Derg. The 2nd Baron Rideau of Ottawa is Shane William Desmond Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis, who succeeded his father in 1969.

• Mail sent by government and state officials within Canada can be franked (marked) with the initials O.H.M.S. (On Her Majesty's Service) and sent free of postage provided that both the sender and receiver are in Canada.

A franked envelope from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.

The Honourable David C. Onley, lieutenant governor of Ontario, wears his uniform as Colonel of the Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) to his New Year's Levee at Fort George. January 1st, 2012.

• On September 9th, 2011, the Minister of Defence announced that the position of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario would be invested in perpetuity as Colonel of the Regiment of The Queen's York Rangers, a unit of the Canadian Army in Toronto. During the American War of Independence, The Queen's Rangers (as they were then known) fought for the British under Major John Graves Simcoe. After the war Simcoe was appointed the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada and brought his regiment with him to the northern shore of Lake Ontario in 1796. Establishing the new capital at York (present-day Toronto) Governor Simcoe linked his regiment to the new capital and province.  As Colonel of the Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) the lieutenant governor of Ontario maintains the strong bond between the Crown, regiment and founding of Upper Canada (Ontario). 

• The first Jewish lieutenant governor in Canada was The Honourable Myra Ava Freeman, lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia from 2000 to 2006. Learn more about the rich history of Nova Scotia's representatives of the Crown by exploring the office's rich website at www.lt.gov.ns.ca.

• The oldest Government House in Canada is the residence of Nova Scotia's lieutenant governor, built in 1801 by Sir John Wentworth.
  

• Purchased around 2001 in New York by the former Solicitor General of Canada, the Honourable Robert P. Kaplan, these Royal Arms once hung above the Speaker's chair in the first permanent Parliament buildings of the United Province of Canada (located in Montreal) that were burned to the ground in 1849. Mr. Kaplan donated this artifact to Pointe-à-Callière (Montreal Museum of Archeology and History) in October, 2011. Before the discovery of these arms, it was believed that a portrait of Queen Victoria (featured on page 234 of Canada's Constitutional Monarchy) was the sole survivor of the 1849 fire.

• The honorary aides-de-camp of the lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia are entitled to wear a badge that was presented by Governor General David Johnston in June 2011. See the badge here.

• When John Graves Simcoe (Upper Canada's first lieutenant governor, 1791-1796) and his wife Elizabeth Simcoe arrived in Canada they brought their home with them! The Simcoes purchased a canvas tent (22ft by 15ft) owned by Captain James Cook and used it as their vice-regal residence in the newly established colony of Upper Canada. In 1759 Simcoe's father sailed with Cook during the Seven Years' War, dying of pneumonia off Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence en route with General Wolfe to Quebec and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Learn more at www.captaincooksociety.com.

• The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia has a unique tradition attached to their office: The Royal Key. From the official webpage of Nova Scotia's Government House:

The Royal Key was presented to Her Majesty The Queen at Government House on the 28th of June 2010. Her Honour, the Honourable Mayann E. Francis, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, presented the Royal Key to Her Majesty to signify that Government House is The Queen's home in Nova Scotia. At future installation ceremonies held for Lieutenant Governors the Royal Key will be presented by the retiring Lieutenant Governor to their successor to symbolize the transfer of responsibility over Government House to the new Lieutenant Governor. Royal visitors to Government House will also be presented with the Royal Key upon signing the Government House guest book. The key is presently on display in a display case located in the main foyer of Government House.

• The stories behind all of the provincial lieutenant governors are fascinating. All of the websites of the provincial vice-regal representatives have extensive biographies, notably the Office of the lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island which also developed a visual poster and booklet - explore it here.

• The Duke of Edinburgh (consort to Queen Elizabeth II) was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada in 1957.

• Since 2004 the Lieutenant Governor's Winter Festival has been held in Brandon, Manitoba. The Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba serves as honorary patron of the annual event, presiding over the opening ceremonies held at Brandon's city hall. More information at www.brandonwinterfestival.ca. 

• Canada's Lieutenant Governors host a levee each New Year's Day. This levee is a reception that is held early in the afternoon at Government House or some other appropriate location. Any citizen, including children, can attend. Persons attending sign a guest book, are introduced to the Lieutenant Governor, and then enjoy light refreshment. Attending the Lieutenant Governor's levee is an annual ritual for many families.
  
  The word levee is derived from the French verb "lever" which means to rise. French aristocrats used to receive guests in the morning after they had gotten up. British sovereigns held their levees in the early afternoon. Since Lieutenant Governors are the Queen's representative, they have adopted this custom in Canada. (Taken from the website of the Alberta Legislature).
  

• On September 9th, 2015, the reign of Queen Elizabeth II surpassed that of Queen Victoria, becoming the longest in Canada's modern era. 

• One of Canada's most famous generals, Sir Arthur Currie, was honoured for his victory at Vimy Ridge by King George V. The king knighted Currie on the site of the great Canadian victory in 1917.

• Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng commanded the Canadian Corps on the Western Front from May 1916 to June 1917. He forged the Canadians into an elite fighting formation, leading them through the battles of Mount Sorrel, the Somme, and Vimy Ridge. His Canadian troops called themselves the "Byng Boys," a testament to their commander's popularity. (Canadian War Museum) Byng was raised to the peerage of the United Kingdom as Lord Byng of Vimy and served as a very popular Governor General of Canada from 1921-6.
  

• Alexander Graham Bell presented his revolutionary invention, the telephone, to Queen Victoria on January 14th, 1878.

​

• The first instance of a beaver being used as a symbol of Canada was in 1633 when Sir William Alexander, who had been granted rights to colonize Nova Scotia, included the animal in his grant of arms. Nearly forty years later, the Hudson's Bay Company included four beavers in their grant of arms.

Nova Scotia plaque on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.

• After the death of General Sir Isaac Brock, Sir Roger Sheaffe was appointed President of the Executive Council (defacto lieutenant governor). Commencing on the 25th of February, 1813, only eleven Acts of Parliament were passed under Sheaffe. The most important of these acts was "an Act to provide for the maintenance of persons disabled and the widows and children of such persons as may be killed in His Majesty's service" - the first of its kind in the province.

The Queen's Personal Canadian Flag flies over Parliament Hill along with the Canadian Diamond Jubilee Flag on February 6th, 2012.

• To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada, Her Majesty's Personal Canadian Standard was flown over each of the provincial legislatures, as well as Parliament and Rideau Hall. The Canadian Secretary to the Queen was given the honour to raise Her Majesty's Standard on Parliament Hill.

• In 2012 Alberta's Lieutenant Governor,  Col. (Ret’d) the Honourable Donald S. Ethell, joined the Queen's representatives of Nova Scotia and British Columbia by reviving the use of the civic uniform. Previous this this, the civic uniform had not been seen in the province since 1974.  The uniform worn by Lieutenant Governor Ethell once belonged to the Honourable Victor de Bedia Oland who served as lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia from 1968 to 1973 (it was acquired through an extended loan by the province of Nova Scotia).

• Prince Charles has an honourary degree from Queen's University - the Prince of Wales received his degree during the the university’s sesquicentennial in 1991. Previous members of the Royal Family to hold degrees from Queen's University include the future King Edward VIII (1919) and the future King George V (1901).

Stamp/frank bearing the signature of Esmond Butler

• Esmond Unwin Butler, CVO, OC served for 26 years as secretary to five successive Governors General of Canada (from 1959-1985) and was one of the key developers of the Canadian Honours System. Butler was appointed the Secretary General of the Order of Canada (1967), and the Secretary General of the Order of Military Merit (1973). He was admitted to the Royal Victorian Order at the level of Commander. Born in Wawanesa, Manitoba in 1922, Butler died on 18 December 1989. Until his death, Butler was regarded as the institutional memory of the Canadian Crown. Order of Canada citation (1986): "Currently Canadian Ambassador to Morocco, he served for twenty-six years with great distinction as Secretary to five successive Governors General and was one of the key developers of the Canadian Honours System."

• Prince Edward Island was almost named "New Ireland" before residents successfully petitioned the King (George III) to have the island renamed after his fourth son (and father of Queen Victoria) Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, in 1798.
  

• Since Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario) was settled by the Loyalists largely during the reign of King George III, many of the new settlements bare the names of his immediate family: King’s Town, or Kingston (King George III), Charlottenburg, Queensville, Queensborough and Queenston (Queen Charlotte), Cornwall (Prince George, Duke of Cornwall), Fredericksburg (Prince Augustus Frederick), Williamsburg and Williamsford (Prince William Henry), Matilda (Princess Charlotte Augusta Matilda), Edwardsburg and Prince Edward County (Prince Edward Augustus), Augusta (Princess Augusta Sophia), Elizabethtown (Princess Elizabeth), Ernestown and Cumberland (Prince Ernest Augustus), Adolphustown  (Prince Adolphus Frederick), Marysburgh (Princess Mary), Sophiasburgh (Princess Sophia Matilda), Ameliasburg (Princess Amelia).

• When Brig.-Gen. John James Grant was installed as lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia on April 12th, 2012, a tradition was revived. For the first time since the reign of King George V an installation of a representative of the Sovereign was attended by other sitting vice-regals - sitting in the Red Chamber of Nova Scotia's Province House were the lieutenant governors of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

• King George III was so devastated by the loss of the American Colonies in 1783 that he penned several drafts of speech to abdicate his Crown in favour of his son, Prince George, and place himself in permanent exile in Hanover. One of the drafts reads: A long experience and a serious attention to the strange Events that have successively arisen, has gradually prepared my mind to expect the time when I should be no longer of utility to this Empire; that hour has now come; I am therefore resolved to resign my Crown and all the Dominions appertaining to it to the Prince of Wales, my Eldest Son and Lawful Successor, and to retire to the care of my Electoral Dominions the Original Patrimony of my Ancestors.[i]
  
  [i] Sir John Fortescue ed., The correspondence of King George the Third from 1760 to December 1783, printed from the original papers in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, (London: Macmillan and Co., 1927), No. 4259, 317.
  

• On April 24th, 2012, Ontario Lieutenant Governor David Onley granted Royal Assent to a Bill setting aside October 13th of every year as "Major General Sir Isaac Brock Day" in the province. Sir Isaac Brock, as well as being the famed hero of the War of 1812, was also administrator of Upper Canada (lieutenant governor in all but name).
  

Picture taken by Michael Herrick, 2009.

• One of the oldest roads in North America is the King's Highway (Charleston-Boston), named after King Charles II who ordered it laid-out in 1650. The section north of New York was completed in 1673. Still called "The King's Highway," the route follows 2,092.1 km of the eastern United States' shoreline.

• Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy (1875-1963), daughter of former governor general Lord Stanley, is said to have played the first recorded women's match of hockey in Canada. Isobel played the match at Rideau Hall (on a rink built there) on February 10th, 1891. Lady Isobel Stanley Gathorne-Hardy's is acknowledged in Canadian hockey with the Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Award. The award is given to an active player (at any level) whose values, leadership and personal traits are representative of all female athletes

• The Queen is the Commissioner-In-Chief of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and as of 2012 the Prince of Wales serves as the national police forces' Honorary Commissioner.

• A special commemorative medal was unviled by the Canadian government on May 22nd, 2012, for the 44 First Nation and Métis communities with a heritage linked to the War of 1812. The medal bares the image of Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada on its obverse and an emblem featuring a Crown on its reverse.

• On February 27th, 1867, Victoria wrote in her personal journal “. . . had received, separately, the 4 Delegates from Canada who have come about the great Confederation of British North America, which will be effected . . .” One of those delegates was John A. Macdonald who declared “. . . in the most solemn and emphatic manner our resolve to be under the Sovereignty of Your Majesty and your family forever.”

• On May 17th, 2012, the Canadian Heraldic Authority revealed the striking tabard (traditional garment) of the Chief Herald of Canada. The tabard was a gift of the Royal Heraldic Society of Canada and was first worn by Chief Herald Claire Boudreau when she proclaimed a grant of Arms to the Honourable Noel Kinsella (Speaker in the Senate). The Chief Herald later wore the tabard during the Royal Pageant down the Thames as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II on June 3rd, 2012. The tabard is explained by the Canadian Heraldic Authority as follows: The tabard, the traditional garment of a herald, is a full tunic with large embroidered open sleeves that is worn over other clothing. Bearing the arms of the sovereign, it underlines the formal atmosphere of ceremonies at which arms, flags and badges, granted in the name of the Crown, are presented. Entirely in royal blue, the tabard uses the colour emblematic of the governor general of Canada. The shield of the Royal Arms of Canada is embroidered on the tabard’s sleeves. The raven-bears on the central stripe are inspired by the supporters of the arms of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and honour the emblematic traditions of the First peoples. They are the work of Maynard Johnny Jr. of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw nations in British Columbia. The stripes of alternating maple leaves, the quintessential national emblem of Canada, occupy the rest of the front and back of the tabard. The tabard will be worn with the collar of office of the Chief Herald of Canada, in addition to white gloves and a hat decorated with the viceregal lion, being the crest of the Royal Arms of Canada and the emblem of the Governor General. 

The google "doodle" that appeared for 2012's Canada Day paid homage to its constitutional monarchy.

• There are currently only two Canadian members of The Royal Household: Mr. and Mrs. Christopher (Hon. Assistant Private Secretary and Extra Equerry to the Earl of Wessex) and Tania Carnegie (Lady in Waiting to The Countess of Wessex). The Carnegie's are among a tiny handful of Canadians in history to hold such important positions, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex are the only members of the Royal Family to have such officials in Canada. The Earl of Wessex has toured Canada the most of any member of the current Royal Family (currently His Royal Highness has been to Canada on 32 separate occasions, attending hundreds of events).

• Canada began the practice of referring to a Commonwealth state's highest diplomatic representative as "High Commissioner" with the appointment of Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt to London in 1880.

• Canada currently has 11 resident peers and 36 resident baronets (including Nova Scotia baronets). The list posted here was compiled by Revd J. Lee Potter. 

• "Splice the Mainbrace" is an order in Commonwealth Navies granting all eligible sailors a ration of rum. The most recent order to "splice the mainbrace" was issued by Queen Elizabeth II to the Royal Canadian Navy on the occasion of Her Majesty's Centennial International Fleet Review on June 29th, 2010. Source: John Oldale, A World of Curiosities, (Toronto: Plume, 2011), 26.

• On November 2nd, 2012, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the creation of a non-partisan Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments, which provides non-binding recommendations to the prime minister on the selection of the governor general, lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners. The Committee is headed by the Canadian Secretary to the Queen (declared a permanent position in the same press release), and is comprised of two permanent members (Mr. Robert Watt, a Citizenship Judge and Canadian social historian who served as the first Chief Herald of Canada from 1988-2007 in the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General; and Dr. Jacques Monet, the Director of the Canadian Institute of Jesuit Studies and a specialist in Canadian constitutional and social history) as well as temporary members appointed from the various regions that any appointments may impact.
  

• In 1804 Lieutenant Governor Edmund Fanning and his Legislative Council established Kent College on Prince Edward Island. The college was named after the island's namesake, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent. This tiny college would eventually become the University of Prince Edward Island.

• Celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth, the government of British Columbia proclaimed February 13th, 2013, Richard Clement Moody Day. Moody was lieutenant governor of the colony, under Governor James Douglas. The province declared in its annoucenment of the special day "As lieutenant-governor and chief commissioner of Lands and Works, Moody played an instrumental role in shaping British Columbia and laid the foundation for the colony of B.C.'s first capital city, New Westminster."

The Honourable David Onley (left) wore the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal in his portrayal of Sir Oliver Mowat

• Airing February 25th, 2013, The Honourable David C. Onley (27th lieutenant governor of Ontario) made a cameo appearance on CBC's Murdoch Mysteries (the episode "The Ghost of Queen's Park") as the 8th lieutenant governor of Ontario, Sir Oliver Mowat. Mowat was a Father of Confederation, first premier of Ontario, before serving as lieutenant governor from 1897 to 1903. The episode aired on the 261st birthday of John Graves Simcoe, the province's first lieutenant governor.
  

• Charles-Michel de Salaberry, protégé of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, is a French Canadien hero of the War of 1812. The Rural Municipality of De Salaberry, Manitoba, is named after the "Hero of Upper Canada." In celebration of the 200th anniversary of de Salaberry's October 26th 1813 victory at the Battle of Châteauguay the Royal Canadian Mint released a commemorative quarter in his honour.

View Chris Hadfield's Address

• Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield became the first to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II from space when he addressed Ontario's Diamond Jubilee Gala from the International Space Station on February 6th, 2013. In his address from the ISS Commander Hadfield commended the service of Elizabeth II, highlighting key developments in the exploration of space during her reign. Hadfield commented that the Queen remains a "beacon of constancy" to the world.

• The entrance to Ontario's Queen Elizabeth Way was once dominated by a monument depicting King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Dedicated by the King and Queen during the historic 1939 Royal Tour, the highway connects Canada's largest city to the Niagara border crossing. Erected in 1940, the monument stood at the Toronto gateway until it was removed during 1974 expansion work on the QEW. The stone pillar now stands in Sir Casimir Gzowski Park (acting lieutenant governor of Ontario from 1896-7) and was rededicated by Queen Elizabeth (as Queen Mother) in 1989.

Click for pictures of the QEW Monument

• Prince Albert (consort to Queen Victoria) enjoyed playing hockey while his wife watched from the ice's edge. Reading through Queen Victoria's personal diaries uncovers twenty-eight entries mentioning Albert playing the sport between 1840 and 1861. An example from Victoria's diary is an entry for December 31st 1846: "It was very pleasant down there, & the whole, a gay sight. Albert skates so beautifully, & always is the winner at the games of hockey. It was intensely cold".

• Toronto's first airport was named Port George VI Island Airport when it was built in 1939. Located on the Toronto Islands, the airport was renamed the Toronto City Centre Airport in 1994 before it was reincarnated as Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in 2009.

• The famous picture of the Fatherss of Confederation gathered at the 1864 Charlottetown Conference was taken on the steps of Government House, the residence (called "Fanningbank" after William Fanning) of the lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island. See modern pictures of the residence here.

• Governor General Romeo LeBlanc (1994-1999) ordered the vice-regal lion to be depicted declawed and with his mouth closed, saying the original emblem was "unpolite and un-Canadian." This change lasted from 1999 until the original emblem was restored by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in 2002.

Governor General's Standard (1981-present) before and after LeBlanc's alterations

The LeBlanc Standard, 1999-2002

Image of the Royal Standard captured at York from Carl Benn's "Historic Fort York" (page 57)

Colour image if the 1801-1816 Royal Standard of the House of Hanover

• Upper Canada's First Government House was located within the fortifications of Historic Fort York. Built in 1800, the building was the residence of such representatives of King George III as Peter Hunter, Alexander Grant (Administrator), Francis Gore, Sir Isaac Brock (Administrator) and Sir Rodger Hale Sheaffe (Administrator). The vice-regal residence was destroyed during the 1813 Battle of York after the Grand Magazine was detonated by the retreating British forces. In 2011 there was a dig on the grounds of Fort York in an effort to find the remains of Government House.
  

The Royal Standard that flew over the residence was captured by the advancing American Forces and remains as a war trophy held in Mahan Hall at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. 

United States Naval Academy Curator's Card:

British Royal Standard. Taken from the Parliament House, at York, now Toronto, then the capital of Upper Canada. when that place was taken by the squadron under COMMODORE Isaac Chauncey and a land force under General Zebulon Montgomery Pike,April 27, 1813.  
The Royal Standard of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in the heraldic blazonry here shown, was established by George  III.  It was first hoisted on the Tower of London and displayed by the Foot Guards, on January 1, 1801.  
It is 364 in Long X 291 in Height.

• The name of the ship that brought the Canadian delegates to the 1864 Charlottetown Conference was the SS Queen Victoria. Also famous for transporting Prince Albert Edward (future King Edward VII) during his 1860 Royal Tour of British North America, the ship was wrecked in 1866 off of Cape Hatteras, with 42 of 43 crewmembers rescued by the American brig Ponvert. The Ponvert also carried the ship's bell and silver tea service. The original bell of the SS Queen Victoria is currently in the possession of the Town of Gouldsboro, Maine. In 2004 a replica was commissioned by the town to be given to the people of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in recognition of the part the SS Queen Victoria played in Confederation. Since 2006, the replica has been proudly displayed at Confederation Landing Park in Charlottetown.

• Highlighting David E. Smith's concept of a compound monarchy, the lieutenant governor and executive council of Saskatchewan proclaimed the 1952 accession of Queen Eizabeth II as "Supreme Liege Lady in and Over Saskchewan."

• Saskatchewan was the only province that did not have its own vice-regal standard until 1981 when it adopted the common design now used by every lieutenant governor's office except Quebec and Nova Scotia. 

The Prince of Wales presents Speaker of Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly D'Autremont with a piece of oak from the Duchy of Cornwall for the creation of Black Rod

• The province of Saskatchewan unveiled its own Black Rod at Regina's Government House on September 22nd, 2013. Made from a block of oak presented by the Prince of Wales during his 2012 tour, the rod is also comprised of gold, silver and diamonds (100 to represent the 100th anniversary of the legislative building in 2012) mined from the province. The Black Rod was presented to The Hon. Vaughn Solomon Schofield, lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, who immediately entrusted it to the province's first Usher of the Black Rod, Mr. Frederick Mantley.

• Many of Canada's vice-regal representatives use social media. Here they are in the order that they came online:

2010

October 1st: The Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada (@GGDavidJohnston)

December 29th: The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (@LGDavidOnley)

2011

June 4th: Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (@RideauHall)

2013

September 17th: The Honourable Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (@LGJudithGuichon)

September 25th: The Honourable J.J. Grant, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (@LtGovNS)

2014

April 2nd: The Honourable Vaughn Schofield, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan (@vaughnschofield)

September 23rd: The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (@LGLizDowdeswell)

2010

September 30th: The Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada

October 2nd: The Honourable J.J. Grant, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

2012

February 10th: The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

2013

September 3rd: The Honourable Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

2014

September 23rd: The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

• Princess Anne, The Princess Royal's Flag for use in Canada was designed in 2013 and unvieled during Her Royal Highness' October 22-25 Royal Tour of Ontario. During this Royal Tour Her Royal Highness presented the Royal Canadian Medical Service with “The Princess Royal’s Banner” - a mark of royal favour in recognition of service in Afghanistan. A similar royal banner was presented to the Communications and Electronics Branch of the Canadian Army during its 110th anniversary celebrations.
  

The Princess Royal's Banner presented to the Royal Canadian Medical Service

The Princess Royal's Banner presented to the Communications and Electronics Branch

The Princess Royal's flag for use in Canada

• When a governor general assumes office, that person becomes the official Visitor of McGill University. The function of a Visitor is to exercise a right or duty of supervision in connection with an educational institution, whereby the Visitor represents the founder and/or the public or Crown interest in the institution. This special connection with the office of the Governor General of Canada was established by the Royal Charter granted to McGill University by Queen Victoria, on July 6, 1852. 
  

• As Commander-In-Chief of the Canadian Forces, the Governor General of Canada often appears in the uniform of one of its three branches. 

Canadian Army

Royal Canadian Airforce

Royal Canadian Navy

• In his 2013 Canada's History article "Free the Island," Forrest Pass (Saguenay Herald of Arms with the Canadian Heraldic Authority) wrote that ever since being linked with mainland British Columbia, Vancouver Island has toyed with the idea of becoming a separate kingdom. In 1882 British Columbia Premier Robert Beaven asked Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria wife of Governor General the Marquess of Lorne, if she would be interested in becoming Queen of an independant Vancouver Island. In 1937 rumours circulated North America that the Duke (former King Edward VIII) and Duchess of Windsor rne were to become King and Queen of the island. 

• An elf appeared in Nova Scotia's Government House during the 2013 Christmas Season complete with his own vice-regal uniform (Civil Uniform). The Vice-Regal Elf highlighted Walter Baghot's three roles of a modern constitutional monarch (the right to be consulted, encourage and warn) when it hosted a one-on-one meeting with the Legislative Elf at Government House on December 23rd!

• Many of Queen Elizabeth II's Canadian representatives have become Honorary Witnesses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up on June 2nd, 2008, to begin the process of healing after the Indian Residential School System. The vice-regal witnesses are (in order of being greanted this responsibility): The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D. (Governor General, 2005-2010), The Honourable David C. Onley, O. Ont (Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, 2007-2014), Her Honour Mrs. Gwendolyn Point (Châtelaine of Government House, British Columbia, 2007-2012), The Honourable Philip S. Lee, CM, OM (Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, 2009-present day), The Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC (Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, 2012-present day), and The Honourable Steven Lewis Point (Xwĕ lī qwĕl tĕl), OBC (Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, 2007-2012).

• Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767-1820), appears in Daniel Huntington's c.1861 "The Republican Court: Lady Washington's Reception Day." The imagined reception takes place in "The Alexander Macomb House" at 39-41 Broadway in Manhattan which served as the second Presidential Mansion from February 23 to August 30, 1790. Prince Edward lived in British North America from 1791 until 1800 and there is no evidence he ever visited the Washingtons or New York City. 

• King George VI became the first reigning soveriegn to visit Canada in the historic 1939 Royal Tour. However, had he not abdicated the throne in 1936, King Edward VIII had planned to visit the dominion in 1937.

• His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales was sworn in as a Canadian Privy Councillor on May 18th, 2014, at Government House in Halifax. The Duke of Edinburgh is also a member of the Privy Council and was appointed in 1957. Interestingly, the last meeting of the Privy Council for Canada in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II was also held in Halifax, during her 1959 Royal Tour.

• The Queen's Arms in Right of New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador all contain Indigenous symbols/depictions.

• Since 1962, The Queen has had a distinct (heraldic banner) personal flag when she travels or acts in her role as Queen of Canada. There are other banners that are used when The Queen acts in her capacity as monarch of many of her other Commonwealth Realms. 

• The only Canadian ship to be commissioned by a reigning monarch is the STV Playfair. Commissioned in 1974 by Queen Elizabeth II, the Playfair is a traditionally-rigged brigantine training ship operated by Toronto Brigantine Inc., a sail-training Canadian registered charity based in Toronto, Canada.

• Sir Adams George Archibald served as both lieutenant governor of Manitoba and the North-West Territories (1870-1872) and Nova Scotia (1873-1883).

• A sub-component of the Canadian Army, the Canadian Rangers is largely made up by Indigenous soldiers who patrol Canada’s northern regions. A tradition has emerged of appointing members of the Royal Family, as well as vice-regal representatives, as Honorary Canadian Rangers. Honorary Rangers include Prince Harry (2009), the Duke of Cambridge (2009), the Duchess of Cambridge (2011) and the Countess of Wessex (2014). Vice-regal appointments include Ruth Ann Onley (2014) and Elizabeth Dowdeswell (2014).

• Queen Elizabeth II was the first person inducted in Manitoba's Order of the Buffalo Hunt (1957).

• Since 2012, The Queen has been the Commissioner-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

A vice regal chicken at Victoria's Government House. Photographed by Nathan Tidridge. January 16, 2016.

• British Columbia's Government House includes a brood of vice regal chickens. An accomplished rancher before being appointed British Columbia's 29th lieutenant governor, the Hon. Judith Guichon added a lamb to the grounds from her ranch, Gerard Guichon Ranch Limited in the Nicola Valley in the British Columbia Interior. Named "Lambie," the lamb, sitting in the passanger seat, was driven to Government House by Her Honour one spring!