Government Houses in Canada

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In Canada, Government House is a title given to the official residences of the country's monarch and various viceroys (the governor general and the lieutenant governors). Though not universal, in most cases the title is also the building's sole name; for example, the sovereign's and governor general's principal residence in Ottawa is known as Government House only in formal contexts, being more generally referred to as Rideau Hall. The use of the term Government House is an inherited custom from the British Empire, where there were and are many government houses.

There is currently no government house for the Lieutenant Governors of Ontario (repurposed in 1937 and demolished in 1961), Quebec (destroyed by fire in 1966), or Alberta (closed in 1938 and repurchased and repurposed in 1964).

Present government houses

Building name Residents' positions Location Image Notes
Rideau Hall Monarch of Canada and Governor General of Canada (1867-) Ottawa Rideau Hall04.jpg Functioning residence.
Citadelle of Quebec Monarch of Canada and Governor General of Canada (1872-) Quebec City GG residence Citadelle.jpg Functioning residence.
Government House Governor of Nova Scotia (circa 1800-1867)
Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (1867-)
Halifax Government House NS.jpg Functioning residence.
Government House Governor of New Brunswick (1828-1867)
Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick (1867-1890; 1999-)
Fredericton Old Government House - Fredericton (2).gif Other uses 1896-1988, reoccupied as official residence thereafter, now functioning residence.
Government House Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (1885-) Winnipeg GovHouse-Man.jpg Functioning residence.
Government House Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia (1959-) Victoria BC Government House.jpg Functioning residence.
Fanningbank Governor of Prince Edward Island (1834-1873)
Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island (1873-)
Charlottetown Government House Charlottetown.gif Functioning residence.
Government House Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories (1889-1905)
Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan (1905-1945)
Regina Government House Regina.jpg Other uses 1945 – 1984, now offices (but not residence) of Lt-Gov.
Government House Governor of Newfoundland (1827-1949)
Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (1949-)
St. John's Government House Newfoundland.jpg Functioning residence.

Former Government Houses

Building name Residents' positions Location Image Notes
Chateau St. Louis[1] Governor of Quebec (1760 – 1791)
Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada
and Governor-General of British North America (1791 – 1834)
Quebec City Chateau Saint-Louis.jpg Destroyed by fire, 1834.
Chateau de Ramezay[1] Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada
and Governor-General of British North America (circa 1834)
Montreal Chateau Ramezay.jpg Now a museum.
Government House Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1800 – 1813) York Destroyed by explosion, 1813.
Elmsley House Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1800 – 1813)
Governor General of the Province of Canada (1849 – 1852, 1856 – 1858)
Toronto First Government House in Toronto 1854.jpg Destroyed by fire, 1862.
Alwington House Governor General of the Province of Canada (1841 – 1844) Kingston Damaged by fire, 1958; demolished, 1959.
Government House Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario (1868 – 1912) Toronto Government House circa 1908.jpg Sold and demolished, 1912.
Chorley Park Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario (1915 – 1937) Toronto Chorley Park from the air circa 1930.jpg Other uses, then demolished 1961.
Spencerwood Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (1870 – 1966) Quebec City 100px Destroyed by fire in 1966.
Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories (1870 – 1876) Fort Garry Capital moved to Fort Livingstone.
Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories (1876 – 1877) Fort Livingstone Capital moved to Battleford.
Cary Castle Governor of Vancouver Island (1865 – 1866)
Governor of the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia (1868 – 1871)
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1871 – 1903)
Victoria Carey Castle.jpg Destroyed by fire 1903.
Governor of British Columbia (18?? – 1866)
Governor of the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia (1866 – 1868)
New Westminster Capital moved to Victoria.
Government House Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (190? – 1957) Victoria Destroyed by fire 1957.
Government House Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories (1883 – 1889) Regina Replaced 1889, demolished 1908.
Government House Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (1913 – 1938) Edmonton Government-House-Edmonton-Alberta-Canada-02.jpg Other uses 1948 – 1964, now the Alberta Government Conference Centre.
58 St. George's Crescent[2] Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (1966 – 2004) Edmonton Demolished 2005.
Government House Governor of Newfoundland (1781 – 1831) St. John's
The Monklands Governor General of the Province of Canada (1844 – 1849) Montreal Monklands Villa Maria Montreal 2012-09-19-b.jpg Capital moved (1849), now high school.
Government House Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories (1878 – 1883) Battleford Capital moved to Regina (1883), building destroyed by fire 2003.

References

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Aylmer
  2. [1]

Sources

  • "Some Notes on Architecture, Interiors, and Gardens in Quebec 1831" L. A. Aylmer, E. A. Wylie Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1975), pp. 2–8 Published by: Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1493491

See also