The Alberta Legislature

Virtual Visit: Step Inside the Alberta Legislature

www.virtualvisit.learnalberta.ca

Lieutenant Governor’s Office

The Alberta Legislature – 3rd Floor

In Alberta, the Crown is represented by the Lieutenant Governor, while the Governor General represents the Queen for all of Canada. Succeeding former Lieutenant Governor, the late Honourable Lois E. Hole, CM, AOE, His Honour the Honourable Norman L. Kwong, CM, AOE, was named Alberta’s 16th Lieutenant Governor on January 20, 2005. His Honour is well-known for his leadership and involvement in the Calgary community with organizations such as the Calgary Flames and the Calgary Stampeders as well as for his contributions to the Easter Seals organization.

The late Honourable Ralph Steinhauer, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 1974 to1979, was Canada’s first Lieutenant Governor of aboriginal ancestry. The Lieutenant Governor from 1985to1991, the Honourable W. Helen Hunley, was the first woman in the province to be appointed to the position of Lieutenant Governor. The first woman Lieutenant Governor in Canada was the Honourable Pauline McGibbon, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980.

The Governor General of Canada, on the Queen’s behalf, makes appointments to the position of Lieutenant Governor. The Prime Minister of Canada selects candidates. While the Premier is considered Head of Government in the province, the Lieutenant Governor is Head of State. As Head of State, the Lieutenant Governor’s duties include representing

the province in an official capacity at various functions, giving Royal Assent to Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly, dissolving the Assembly for elections, asking a party leader (usually the majority leader) to form the government following elections, and opening and closing each session of the Legislature. The opening of Session each year is highlighted by the Speech from the Throne, read by the Lieutenant Governor. The Throne Speech outlines the plans of the government for the upcoming year. Though the Lieutenant Governor reads the Speech from the Throne, the government writes it.

One of the Lieutenant Governor’s other prime duties is to grant Royal Assent to Bills. This is another tradition handed down from the Parliament of the United Kingdom and indicates the monarch’s consent that a Bill become law. Although the Lieutenant Governor has the power to refuse Royal Assent, this has happened only on three occasions in Alberta. This was in 1937 when the Social Credit government, under the leadership of Premier William Aberhart, tried to pass two Bills that would have put banks under provincial control, and one Bill that would have limited the freedom of the press. The Lieutenant Governor at the time, the Honourable John C. Bowen, refused to grant Royal Assent. The Bills were later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada on the grounds that they dealt with matters beyond the jurisdiction of the Province.