Government Houses in Canada
In Canada, Government House is a title given to the royal residences of the country's monarch and various viceroys (the governor general, the lieutenant governors, and territorial commissioners[a]). 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), Alberta (closed in 1938 and repurchased and repurposed in 1964), or the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario has a suite within the Ontario Legislative Building.
Present government houses[]
Building name | Residents' positions | Location | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rideau Hall | Monarch of Canada and Governor General of Canada (1867–) | Ottawa | ![]() |
Functioning residence. |
Citadelle of Quebec | Monarch of Canada and Governor General of Canada (1872–) | Quebec City | ![]() |
Functioning residence. |
Government House | Governor of Nova Scotia (circa 1800–1867) Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (1867–) |
Halifax | ![]() |
Functioning residence. |
Government House | Governor of New Brunswick (1828–1867) Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick (1867���1890; 1999–) |
Fredericton | ![]() |
Other uses 1896–1988, reoccupied as official residence thereafter, now functioning residence. |
Government House | Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (1885–) | Winnipeg | ![]() |
Functioning residence. |
Government House | Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia (1959–) | Victoria | ![]() |
Functioning residence. |
Fanningbank | Governor of Prince Edward Island (1834–1873) Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island (1873–) |
Charlottetown | ![]() |
Functioning residence. |
Government House | Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories (1889–1905) Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan (1905–1945) |
Regina | ![]() |
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 | ![]() |
Functioning residence. |
Taylor House (412 Main Street) | Commissioner of Yukon (2015–) | Whitehorse | Functioning residence. Built in 1937 for Bill and Aline Taylor. | |
Commissioner’s Residence - 2554 Iqaluit | Commissioner of Nunavut (1999–) | Iqaluit | Functioning residence. |
Former government houses[]
Building name | Residents' positions | Location | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commissioner's Residence[1] | Commissioner of Yukon (1898–1953) | Dawson City | Now a Parks Canada historic site | |
Chateau St. Louis[2] | Governor of Quebec (1760 – 1791) Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada and Governor-General of British North America (1791 – 1834) |
Quebec City | ![]() |
Destroyed by fire, 1834; now site of Château Frontenac |
Chateau de Ramezay[2] | Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada and Governor-General of British North America (circa 1834) |
Montreal | ![]() |
Now a museum. |
Government House | Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1800 – 1813) | York | Destroyed by explosion, 1813. Site is located with current day Fort York. | |
Elmsley House | Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1800 – 1813) Governor General of the Province of Canada (1849 – 1852, 1856 – 1858) |
Toronto | ![]() |
Destroyed by fire, 1862. Now occupied by Metro Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. |
Governor General of the Province of Canada (1841 – 1844) | Kingston | Damaged by fire, 1958; demolished, 1959. Site now Alwington Place as well as retaining wall for Llynlea (Arthur Davies home) 1963. | ||
Government House | Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario (1868 – 1912) | Toronto | ![]() |
Sold and demolished, 1912. |
Chorley Park | Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario (1915 – 1937) | Toronto | ![]() |
Other uses, then demolished 1961. Now site of city park. |
Spencerwood | Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (1870 – 1966) | Quebec City | ![]() |
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. Now site of Fort Livingstone National Historic Site. | ||
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 | ![]() |
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. Now Royal City Manor. | ||
Government House | Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (190? – 1957) | Victoria | Destroyed by fire 1957. Government House rebuilt after fire. | |
Government House | Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories (1883 – 1889) | Regina | Replaced 1889, demolished 1908. Now site of Luther College. | |
Government House | Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (1913 – 1938) | Edmonton | ![]() |
Other uses 1948 – 1964, now the Alberta Government Conference Centre. |
[3] | Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (1966 – 2004) | Edmonton | Demolished 2005. | |
Government House in Fort Townshend | Governor of Newfoundland (1781 – 1831) | St. John's | ||
The Monklands | Governor General of the Province of Canada (1844 – 1849) | Montreal | ![]() |
Capital moved (1849), now Catholic high school, Villa Maria. |
Government House | Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories (1878 – 1883) | Battleford | Capital moved to Regina (1883), building destroyed by fire 2003. Still National historic site with archaeological remains of the destroyed structure. |
See also[]
- Government House
- Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth
- Governor's Mansion (disambiguation)
References[]
- ^ "Commissioner's Residence - Commissioner of Yukon". Archived from the original on 2009-10-09.
- ^ a b Aylmer
- ^ "Archived copy". www2.canada.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Notes[]
- ^ Though not technically viceroys, the Commissioners of the Canadian territories fill a similar role and their residences are listed here for completion
Sources[]
- Aylmer, L. A.; Wylie, E. A. (1975). "Some Notes on Architecture, Interiors, and Gardens in Quebec 1831". Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology. 7 (2): 2–8. doi:10.2307/1493491. JSTOR 1493491.
- Government Houses in Canada
- Official residences in Canada
- Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth
- Lists of buildings and structures in Canada