Monarchy in Quebec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Queen in Right of Quebec | |
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| Monarchy | |
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| Incumbent: Elizabeth II Queen of Canada Reine du Canada |
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| Style: | Her Majesty |
| First monarch: | Victoria |
| Formation: | July 1, 1867 |
The Monarchy in Quebec is a legal entity formally known as the Crown in Right of Quebec (French: couronne du chef du Québec), which serves as the institution from which the power of the state flows within the province of Quebec, forming the core of the province's Westminster system of constitutional monarchy. The present Canadian monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, since February 6, 1952, who is known within Quebec's legal jurisdiction as Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Quebec (French: Sa Majesté la Reine du chef du Québec). As the monarch does not reside in Quebec, a vice-regal representative, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, is appointed to carry out all the monarch's duties in the province.
The Crown in Right of Quebec was established with the British North America Act, 1867 (now the Constitution Act, 1867), though the governments of the previous incarnations of the province, going back beyond its establishment in 1763 to the foundation of New France in 1534, have been monarchical in nature, making Quebec the oldest continuously monarchical territory in North America.
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[edit] Constitutional monarchy in Quebec
Within the Canadian constitutional monarchy system the headship of state is not a part of either the federal or provincial jurisdictions; the Queen reigns impartially over the country as a whole[citation needed]. However, due to Canada's federal nature, each province in Canada, as with the federal government, derives its authority and sovereignty directly from the one Canadian monarch, meaning there effectively exists within the country eleven legally distinct crowns with one sovereign[citation needed]. Thus, Quebec has a separate government headed by the Queen; however, as a province, Quebec is not itself a monarchy.
A lieutenant governor is appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada, to serve as the Queen's representative in the province, carrying out all the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties of state on her behalf. His Honour the Honourable/Son Honneur le Très Honorable Pierre Duchesne is the current Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, having served since June 7, 2007. The viceroy is provided a residence in Quebec City (should he or she require one), but a suite of offices and venues for entertaining and ceremonies is provided in the André-Laurendeau building,[1] near the Parliament Building. These structures and spaces belong to the Crown; they are held in trust for future rulers, and cannot be sold by the monarch.
- Further information: Government House (Quebec)
The Crown in Right of Quebec performs a vast number of functions and duties central to the provincial government, judicial system, and system of honours, as well as owning provincial Crown corporations and Crown Land.
- Further information: Monarchy in the Canadian provinces
[edit] Quebec sovereignty and the Crown
During an interview in Saskatchewan, Parti Québécois leader, René Lévesque, when asked if there would be any role for the monarchy in a sovereign Quebec, stated: "Are you joking? Why? I have great respect for the Queen... but what the hell part should monarchy have in Quebec?" However, University of Toronto Professor Richard Toporoski held the theory that a sovereign, not independent, Quebec would still be under the sovereignty of the Queen; "...the real problem of the Quebec bill is not separation from Canada: Quebec has said that it wishes to preserve common elements - Canadian currency (issued officially by whom? - the Queen of Canada), for example, and the possibility of Quebec citizens being Canadian citizens (and who are Canadian citizens? - subjects of the Queen)."[2]
One interesting constitutional question is the role of the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec in the hypothetical case of the Quebec National Assembly voting to unilaterally secede. Some have argued that in this situation, the Lieutenant Governor not only could refuse Royal Assent, but would be duty bound to do so.
[edit] Symbols
Images of St. Edward's, the Tudor, and King's Crown are visible on provincial symbols such as the coat of arms of Quebec. The Crown is also included on the Lieutenant Governor's personal flag, or vice-regal standard, visible above the shield of the Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Quebec, which is superimposed on a white disk; along with Nova Scotia, the Quebec vice-regal flag is only one of two that differs from all the others in Canada. Also unlike the other provinces, Quebec's national award, the National Order of Quebec, does not bear any royal insignia, thereby not illustrating the monarch's place as the ceremonial head of the Canadian honours system.
In Quebec, lawyers may also be appointed "King's Counsel learned in the law" or "Queen's Counsel learned in the law" under section 16 of the Act Respecting the Minister of Justice.[3] Within Quebec court rooms, it was regulated that a crier call out "Silence! The Court of Quebec is now open. All persons having business here draw near and they will be heard. God save the Queen!"[4] However, that requirement has since been repealed.[5]
Various statues of Canadian monarchs exist around Quebec, such as the one of Queen Victoria in Victoria Square, Montreal. Another statue of the Queen in Montreal was designed by her daughter, Princess Louise, and there is one of King Edward VII. A bust of King Louis XIV can be found in Quebec City.[6]
- Further information: National symbols of Canada , Canadian royal symbols, and Flags of the Lieutenant Governors of Canada
[edit] Titles
Certain titles, originally established by the French King for Quebec, continue to exist and be recognised by the present Canadian monarch, such as the Baron de Longueuil, which was created through Letters Patent from King Louis XIV in 1700. The current Baron, Michael Grant, does not reside in Canada, however the Baronial manor still stands in Longueuil, Quebec, though greatly reduced in size.
[edit] Royal presence
Members of the Royal Family have been visiting Quebec since before Confederation, either as a royal tour, a vice-regal tour, or as a "working visit" (meaning in association with a charity or military organization instead of a state affair).
[edit] History
European settlement of the area that is today Quebec was begun with the 1534 claim, by Jacques Cartier, in the name of King Francis I, of an area now known as the Gaspé Peninsula. He continued to explore up the Saint Lawrence River to the areas where Montreal and Quebec City presently sit. By 1541, Jean-François de la Roque de Roberval was charged by the King as Lieutenant of New France, and given the responsibility to build a new colony in America. Attempts at permanent settlement, however, failed, until Henry IV sponsored Samuel de Champlain's founding of Quebec in 1608, with six families totaling 28 people. By 1627, Champlain was installed as the first Governor General of New France, and the system was arranged in such a manner where he answered to French Secretary of State of the Navy and the Controller General of Finance.
In 1663, New France was proclaimed a province of France by Louis XIV, and two years following he sent a French garrison, the Carignan-Salières regiment, to Quebec. The government of the colony was reformed along the lines of the government of France, with the Governor General and Intendant subordinate to the Minister of the Marine in France. In an effort to boost the population of this new province the King also sent over 600 women of marrying age to be wed to colonial men, as well as engagés, or male indentured servants, who were encouraged to wed with the Natives.
Between 1689 and 1713 the French and British battled over their North American territories, through King William's War and Queen Anne's War, after which a terse peace reigned. New France continued to flourish, with a King's Highway (or Chemin du Roi) being built between Montreal and Quebec City. The peace ended, however, in 1744, with an invasion of French territory by Massachusetts Governor William Shirley, and did not return until the French and Indian War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when nearly all the lands of New France were ceded by the French to the then British Crown in exchange for Guadaloupe.
On October 7, 1763, a Royal Proclamation laid out the policy of Great Britain regarding its newly acquired colonies of America; the three Quebec districts were united into the Province of Quebec. James Murray was appointed the first Governor of the new province, and in 1764 the first civil courts were established. That same year, French-Canadian landlords and merchants submit a first petition requesting that the orders of the King be available in the French language and that they be allowed to participate in the government.
Ten years later, George III gave Royal Assent to the Quebec Act, which gave French Canadians continued use of their French civil law, and recognized the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec, with the continuation of its right to legally collect tithes. This Act undermined the American revolutionaries' plans to gain the support of Quebecers, who saw their rights being more protected under the Crown than in an independent American republic[citation needed]. In 1792, when the first elections for the Legislative assembly took place, Prince Edward was living in Quebec. When a riot, fueled by ethic character, broke out at one of the polls the Prince climbed up to where he could be heard and addressed the crowd, stating: "Part then in peace. I urge you to unanimity and accord. Let me hear no more of the odious distinctions of English and French. You are all His Britannic Majesty's beloved Canadian subjects." It was reportedly the first time the word "Canadian", which had previously been reserved only for francophones, was used in a manner that included all colonialists.[7]
After the irruption of the American Revolution, in which some Quebecers aided the revolutionaries, approximately 46,000 people loyal to the Crown, dubbed Loyalists, fled the United States to the British colonies, including the Province of Quebec, where the Crown granted each family 200 acres (0.8 km²) of land, mostly in the Eastern Townships. Their arrival led to the eventual creation of the provinces of Upper Canada West of the Ottawa river and Lower Canada, the forerunner to the modern day Quebec, when Quebec was split through the Constitutional Act of 1791. Baron Guy Carleton was appointed Lower Canada's first Lieutenant Governor in 1791.
Into the early 1800s, the population began to grow wary of the ability of the Lieutenant Governor and his Council to dismiss the legislation passed by the elected Legislative Assembly. The Patriotes formed as a political party, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, and campaigned for responsible government. Their demands were disregarded by the Lieutenant-Governor, Lord Gosford, an act which eventually led to the Lower Canada Rebellion[citation needed]. Following this, Responsible self-government was established by the Crown. This altered the nature of the Lieutenant Governor's role - he was now both a representative of the Crown bound to almost always follow the advice of his Prime Minister, but he remained a representative in Canada East of the Imperial Government in London, meaning the Queen could disallow any colonial legislation on the advice of her British ministers. In 1860, Queen Victoria's son, Prince Albert embarked on a three month tour of the Canadian provinces, including a raft run of the timber sides of the Chaudière River.[8]
In 1867 came Confederation, and the Lieutenant Governor of the newly created province of Quebec became an agent of the Federal Government rather than of the government in Whitehall. Around this time, George-Étienne Cartier opined that Quebecers were "monarchical by religion, by habit and by the remembrance of past history."[9]
Prince Arthur, who would later be appointed as Governor General, spent a year with the First Battalion of the Rifle Brigade in Montreal. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York traveled across Canada for two months in 1901, passing through Quebec, and the Duke, two years before he would become King, was present in Quebec City to celebrate the city's tercentenary.[8]
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were the first reigning monarchs to come to Canada, landing at Quebec City on the Canadian Pacific ship RMS Empress of Australia. It was there that two Boer War veterans of Scots heritage, who had argued over whether Elizabeth was Scottish or English, asked when presented to the Queen: "Are you Scots, or are you English?" Elizabeth's response was reported as being: "Since I have landed in Quebec, I think we can say that I am a Canadian."[10]
Through the 1960s and 70s, the rise of Quebec nationalism and changes in Canadian identity created an atmosphere where the purpose and role of the Canadian Monarchy came into question. During a visit to Quebec in 1964, at the height of the Quiet Revolution, the Quebec press published reports of a separatist plot to assassinate the Queen, and the sentiment became pronounced when she was greeted by anti-monarchist demonstrations; the route of her procession was lined with Quebecers showing their backs to the Monarch. On Samedi de la matraque (Truncheon Saturday), police violently dispersed anti-monarchist demonstrators and arrested 36, including some who were there to cheer the Queen.[11] During that same visit, in a speech to the Quebec Legislature, she ignored the national controversy in favour of praising Canada's two "complementary cultures", speaking, in both French and English, about the strength of Canada's two founding peoples, stating, "I am pleased to think that there exists in our Commonwealth a country where I can express myself officially in French," and, "whenever you sing [the French words of] 'O Canada' you are reminded that you come of a proud race."[7][12]
At the first meeting of the Constitutional Conference, held in Ottawa in February, 1968, delegates from Quebec indicated that a Provincial President might suit the Province better than a Lieutenant Governor. However, there was overall a feeling that the Monarchy "has served us well and that its reform has no great priority in the present round of constitutional changes."[13]
Queen Elizabeth II opened the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Many Quebec nationalists and sovereigntists complained about the sovereign's role in officially opening the Games. Robert Bourassa, then Premier of Quebec, pushed Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to invite the Queen to the games; though, Trudeau, after obliging him, became annoyed when Bourassa later became unsettled about how unpopular the move might be.[14] Then leader of the Parti Québécois, René Lévesque, sent a letter to the Queen asking that she turn down the invitation; she did not oblige this request as she was acting on the advice of her federal prime minister.[15]
In 1995, during a separatist referendum campaign, 29-year-old Pierre Brassard, a DJ for Radio CKOI-FM Montreal, tricked her into speaking with him, in both French and English, for 14 minutes, pretending to be Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. When told that the separatists were showing a lead, the Queen did reveal that she felt the "referendum may go the wrong way," adding, "if I can help in any way, I will be very happy to do so". However, she pointedly refused to accept "Chrétien's" advice that she intervene on the issue without first seeing a draft speech sent by him. Her tactful handling of the call won plaudits from the DJ. At the time of the referendum, the Queen was on her way to a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, and asked the pilot of her plane, which had landed at Los Angeles for refueling, not to take off until she had heard the results of the vote.[16]
- Further information: History of monarchy in Canada
[edit] First Nations and the Crown
Unlike relations between the British Crown and First Nations, which was founded on a nation-to-nation basis, the French monarchs saw all their lands in North America as held by them in totality, including those which were occupied by aborigionals, and did not admit the claims of the Indians to the lands in the province. However, the French Crown did set aside certain lands within its jurisdiction for exclusive use by First Nations; for example, from 1716, lands north and west of the manorials on the Saint Lawrence River were designated as forbidden to settlement and clearing of land, without the express authorization of the Crown. These lands were known as the pays d'enhaut, or, "Indian country." Also, as with the British Crown and Six Nations Iroquois in British North America, the French Crown allied itself with Algonquins in New France until the abandonment of this alliance in 1760.[17]
It was at this time, as the lands of the French Crown were captured or ceded to the British monarch, that confusion began to arise over how First Nations in Quebec were to be treated. The capitulation of Montreal, signed on September 8, 1760, demonstrated, in article 40 of the agreement, that the First Nations were still considered subjects of Louis XV, and would become subjects of the King of Great Britain:
- "The Savages or Indian allies of his most Christian Majesty, shall be maintained in the Lands they inhabit; if they chuse to remain there; they shall not be molested on any pretence whatsoever, for having carried arms, and served his most Christian Majesty; they shall have, as well as the French, liberty of religion, and shall keep their missionaries..."[17]
However, by that date the First Nations had already abandoned their alliance with the French monarch and turned to King George III: the Hurons of Lorette two days before the fall of Montreal, and the Algonquin Nation, along with eight other tribes, had ratified a treaty at Fort Lévis in mid-August of 1760. Thus, the Indian Nations of Quebec ceased to be subjects of the French king and became allies of the British Crown. As Governor of Quebec Sir Frederick Haldimand said at the end of the American Revolution in 1783: "[the Indian Nations] consider themselves, and in fact are, free and independent, unacquainted with control and subordination, their Passions and Conduct are alone to be governed by Persuasion and Address." Further, the King instructed General Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst in 1760-61, that the aborigionals were to be treated "upon the same principles of humanity and proper indulgence" as the French; and Amherst was to "cultivate the best possible Harmony and Friendship with the Chiefs of the Indian Tribes."[17]
Still, the conflict between the French and British traditions of dealing with First Nations, compounded by the continuance of French-style civil code in Quebec by King George III, caused the relations between the Crown and First Nations in Quebec to be viewed as non-parallel to that which existed in the other Canadian provinces. Further, the British North America Act stipulated that responsibility for "Indians and lands reserved far the Indians" within the province was to be entrusted to the Crown in Right of Canada,[18] Quebec was given authority over lands and resources within its boundaries, subject to any "interest other than that of the province in the same"; it was a commonly held that First Nations title was such an interest. Due to all these factors, as early as 1906, federal treaty negotiators were explaining to Algonquins in Quebec that the federal Crown could only organize treaties with Algonquin in Ontario. Consequently, since 1867 it has been the Crown in Right of Quebec that has guided settlement and development of Algonquin lands, with the permission of the Crown in Right of Canada, leading to criticism by First Nations leaders of the Crown's exercise of its duties within Quebec.[17]
Quebec's First Nations today still view their treaties as being agreements directly between them and the Crown, not with the ever-changing government of Canada. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 made clear that the First Nations were autonomous political units and affirmed their title to lands. The proclamation was officially promulgated within the new Province of Quebec by Governor James Murray, after which the King ordered Sir William Johnson to make the proclamation known to the Indian Nations within the territories under his jurisdiction. The provisions of the proclamation were observed within the Province of Quebec. For example, in 1766 His Majesty's Privy Council in London endorsed a grant of 20,000 acres (81 km²) to Joseph Marie Philibot at a location of his choosing. However, Philibot asked for land on the Restigouche River, a request that was denied by the Governor and Council of Quebec on the grounds "the lands so prayed to be assigned are, or are claimed to be, the property of the Indians and as such by His Majesty's express command as set forth in his proclamation in 1763, not within their power to grant."[17] The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of the First Nations' view in 1990, stating in Sparrow v. The Queen that the fiduciary duty of the Crown is now a constitutionally charged obligation.
A modern demonstration of the relationship between the First Nations and the Crown was seen in 1997, when the Innu people of Quebec and Labrador presented a letter of grievance over stalled land claim negotiations to Queen Elizabeth II, rather than to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, while the two were visiting Sheshatshiu, Newfoundland and Labrador.[19] After speaking with Tanien Ashini, Vice-President of the Innu Nation, the Queen handed the list to the Prime Minister for the Cabinet to address.
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement was a major treaty signed between the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and the Crown-in-Right-of-Quebec. It was later slightly modified in 1978 by the Northeastern Quebec Agreement, through which Quebec's Naskapi Indians joined the treaty.
[edit] Royal connections
Quebec's monarchical status is illustrated via associations between the Crown and many private organizations within the province, as well as through royal names applied to a plethora of regions, communities, schools, buildings, and monuments, many of which may also have a specific history with a member or members of the Royal Family.
[edit] Communities
The Crown's presence at the most local levels is demonstrated in part by royal and vice-regal namesakes chosen to be incorporated by communities across the province. Communities with royally or vice-regally associated named include:
| Towns/cities named for Canadian sovereigns include: | ||||||||
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| Community | Named for | |||||||
| Victoriaville | Queen Victoria[20] | |||||||
| Towns/cities named for Canadian viceroys include: | ||||||||
| Community | Named for | |||||||
| Sherbrooke | Governor General John Coape Sherbrooke | |||||||
| Vanier | Governor General Georges Vanier | |||||||
[edit] Education
At various levels of education within Quebec there exist a number of scholarships and academic awards either established by or named for members of the Royal Family or a Quebec viceroy. In 2000 Lise Thibault reinstituted the Lieutenant Governor's Award for outstanding achievements of graduates at the secondary, post-secondary, college and university levels. Previously a medal, the modern award is in the form of a certificate.
The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning, later McGill University, is one of Canada's oldest institutions founded under Royal Charter, and the first to receive royal patronage, having been created by decree of King George III in 1801. The institution was later created a university through a royal charter from King George IV in 1821.
Schools across the province are also named for Canadian sovereigns, royal family members, or either federal or provincial viceroys.
| Schools named for Canadian viceroys include: | ||||||||
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| School | Location | Named for | ||||||
| Baron Byng High School | Montreal | Governor General Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy | ||||||
[edit] Landmarks
A number of buildings, monuments and geographic locations are named for Canadian monarchs, members of the Royal Family, or federal or provincial viceroys.
Montreal alone is home to a number of such; in fact, the name of the city itself is derived from Mount Royal, which was named by Jacques Cartier in 1535, in honour of King Francis I; it was dedicated as a park on Victoria Day, 1876. At the base of the mountain sits the monument to George-Étienne Cartier, inaugurated by telegram by King George V from Balmoral Castle in 1919. In the heart of Montreal, in the Quartier international, is Victoria Square, named for Queen Victoria when the Prince of Wales visited the city in 1919, and contains a statue of the sovereign. Also downtown is the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, and the Windsor Hotel, which was named after Canada's Royal House. Though no longer a hotel, part of the building remains, now used as an office block, with the name Le Windsor. Nearby is the historic Windsor Station.
Crossing the Saint Lawrence River, there is the Victoria Bridge, finished in 1859, and officially named the Jubilee Bridge in commemoration of Queen Victoria's 20th anniversary as monarch; however, it came to be known as the Victoria Bridge. Victoria was invited to open the bridge, however this task was actually completed by her son, Albert, Prince of Wales, in 1860. In honour of the same queen, the second-largest place in Canada named for Queen Victoria is in the province of Quebec, as well as seven physical features, including Grand lac Victoria at the head of the Ottawa River, south of Val-d'Or.[20]
As the provincial capital, Quebec City also contains a number of royally associated landmarks, including Place Royale, or "Royal Square," named for King Louis XIV. The Kent Gate was a gift to the province from Queen Victoria, the foundation stone of which was laid by her daughter, Princess Louise, wife of the then Governor General, the Duke of Argyll, on June 11, 1879.[21] Quebec City's Christ Church Cathedral has King George III as its "royal founder."
Outside of the province's largest cities are the Place Reine Elizabeth II in Trois-Rivières, and the Parc Reine Elizabeth II in La Pocatière.
[edit] Royal designation, charter and patronage
Organizations in Quebec may be founded by a Royal Charter, receive a "royal" prefix, and/or be honoured with the patronage of a member of the Royal Family.
- Further information: Monarchy in the Canadian provinces: Royal designation, charter and patronage
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec: Album de photographies
- ^ Toporoski, Richard; A Subject Speaks: Separation & The Crown; April, 1996
- ^ Tariff of the sums to be paid for the carrying out of certain functions of the Registrar of Québec, An Act respecting the Ministère de la Justice (R.S.Q., c. M-19, s. 27)
- ^ Rules of practice of the Court of Québec, R.Q. c. C-25, r.4
- ^ Court of Québec, Regulation of the, R.Q. c. C-25, r.1.01.1
- ^ Canadian Royal Heritage Trust: Royal Statues
- ^ a b Canadian Royal Heritage Trust: Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
- ^ a b Department of Canadian Heritage: The Royal Presence in Canada - A Historical Overview
- ^ Toporoski, Richard; Monarchy Canada: The Invisible Crown; Summer, 1998
- ^ Department of Canadian Heritage: Speech by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Vancouver, 2002
- ^ CBC Archives
- ^ CBC Archives: 1964 Quebec Visit, speech
- ^ Speech by Governor General Roland Michener, Nov. 19, 1970
- ^ Heinricks, Geoff; Canadian Monarchist News: Trudeau and the Monarchy; Winter/Spring, 2000-01; reprinted from the National Post
- ^ CBC Archives: René, The Queen and the FLQ
- ^ A Queen Canada Should be Proud Of
- ^ a b c d e Matchewan, Jean-Maurice; Algonquin Nation: Presented to the Members of the Committee to Examine Matters Relating to the Accession of Quebec to Sovereignty; Quebec City, Quebec; February 4, 1992
- ^ Constitution Act, 1867; Section 91 (24)
- ^ Letter from Innu People to Queen Elizabeth II; June 30, 1997
- ^ a b The Canadian Encyclopedia: Victoria
- ^ Hubbard, R.H.; Rideau Hall; McGill-Queen’s University Press; Montreal and London; 1977; p. 49
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