Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan - Role and Presence

Role and Presence

Further information: Lieutenant governor (Canada)

The Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan is vested with a number of governmental duties and is also expected to undertake various ceremonial roles. For instance, the lieutenant-governor acts as patron, honorary president, or an honorary member of certain Saskatchewan institutions, such as the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association, the Saskatchewan Craft Council, and the provincial poet laureate program. Further, Saskatchewan's lieutenant-governor acts, by law, as the visitor to both the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina, and under special circumstances may be called upon in this role, as happened in the University Crisis of 1919 at the University of Saskatchewan. The lieutenant-governor, him or herself a member and Chancellor of the order, will induct deserving individuals into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit and, upon installation, automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Vice-Prior in Saskatchewan of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. The viceroy further presents other provincial honours and decorations, as well as various awards that are named for and presented by the lieutenant governor; these are generally created in partnership with another government or charitable organization and linked specifically to their cause. These honours are presented at official ceremonies, which count amongst hundreds of other engagements the lieutenant-governor partakes in each year, either as host or guest of honour; in 2006, the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta undertook 250 engagements and 450 in 2007.

At these events, the lieutenant-governor's presence is marked by the lieutenant-governor's standard, consisting of a blue field bearing the shield of the Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Saskatchewan surmounted by a crown and surrounded by ten gold maple leaves, symbolizing the ten provinces of Canada. Within Saskatchewan, the lieutenant-governor also follows only the sovereign in the province's order of precedence, preceding even other members of the Canadian Royal Family and the Queen's federal representative. The former Lieutenant-Governors of Saskatchewan are also honoured in official portraits collected together in the dedicated Qu'Appelle Gallery in the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.