Monarchy in New Brunswick - Constitutional Monarchy in New Brunswick

Constitutional Monarchy in New Brunswick

The role of the Crown is both legal and practical; it functions in New Brunswick in the same way it does in all of Canada's other provinces, being the centre of a constitutional construct in which the institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority share the power of the whole. It is thus the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the province's government. The Canadian monarch – since 6 February 1952, Queen Elizabeth II – is represented and her duties carried out by the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, who's direct participation in governance is limited by the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected parliamentarians, the ministers of the Crown generally drawn from amongst them, and the judges and justices of the peace. The Crown today primarily functions as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and a nonpartisan safeguard against the abuse of power. This arrangement began with the 1867 British North America Act, and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the early 16th century. However, though New Brunswick has a separate government headed by the Queen, as a province, New Brunswick is not itself a kingdom.

Old Government House in Fredericton is owned by the sovereign only in her capacity as Queen in Right of New Brunswick and used as an official residence by both the lieutenant governor and the sovereign and other members of the Canadian Royal Family will reside there when in New Brunswick.