| King in Right ofNova Scotia | |
|---|---|
Provincial | |
 | |
| Incumbent | |
 | |
| Charles III King of Canada since 8 September 2022 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| First monarch | Victoria |
| Formation | 1 July 1867 |
By the arrangements of theCanadian federation, theCanadian monarchy operates inNova Scotia as the core of the province'sWestminster-styleparliamentarydemocracy.[1] As such,the Crown within Nova Scotia's jurisdiction is referred to asthe Crown in Right of Nova Scotia,[2]His Majesty in Right of Nova Scotia,[3] orthe King in Right of Nova Scotia.[4] TheConstitution Act, 1867, however, leaves many royal duties in the province specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, thelieutenant governor of Nova Scotia,[1] whose direct participation in governance is limited by theconventional stipulations ofconstitutional monarchy.[5]
The role of the Crown is both legal and practical; it functions inNova Scotia in the same wayit 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.[6] It is thus the foundation of theexecutive,legislative, andjudicial branches of theprovince's political system.[7] TheCanadian monarch—since 8 September 2022,KingCharles III—is represented and his duties carried out by thelieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, whose direct participation in governance is limited by theconventional stipulations ofconstitutional monarchy, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected parliamentarians, theministers of the Crown generally drawn from among them, and thejudges andjustices of the peace.[5] The Crown today primarily functions as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and anonpartisan safeguard against theabuse of power.[10]
This arrangement began with the 1867British North America Act and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the late 16th century.[1] However, though it has a separate government headed by the King, as a province, Nova Scotia is not itself a kingdom.[11]
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Aside from meetings with the first minister and other ministers of the Crown for affairs of state, the lieutenant governor annually hosts a meeting of the full cabinet at Government House, "thereby bringing the main actors in our system of responsible government to the place where our system of democracy was first practiced." The viceroy also holds regular audiences with the clerk of the Executive Council to review state papers.[12]
Government House inHalifax is owned by the sovereign in his capacity as King in right of Nova Scotia and is used as anofficial residence by the lieutenant governor, and the sovereign when in Nova Scotia.[citation needed]
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Those in the royal familyperform ceremonial duties when on a tour of the province; the royal persons do not receive any personal income for their service, only the costs associated with the exercise of these obligations are funded by both the Canadian and Nova Scotia Crownsin their respective councils.[13]Monuments around Nova Scotia mark some of those visits, while others honour a royal personage or event. Further, Nova Scotia's monarchical status is illustrated byroyal names applied regions, communities, schools, and buildings, many of which may also have a specific history with a member or members of the royal family. Associations also exist between the Crown and many private organizations within the province; these may have been founded by aroyal charter,received aroyal prefix, and/or been honoured withthe patronage of a member of the royal family. Examples include theRoyal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, which was under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth II and received itsroyal prefix from her in 2006.
The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign himself, his image (in portrait or effigy) thus being used to signify government authority.[14] Aroyal cypher or crown may also illustrate the monarchy as the locus of authority, without referring to any specific monarch. Further, though the monarch does not form a part of the constitutions ofNova Scotia's honours, they do stem from the Crown as thefount of honour and, so, bear on the insignia symbols of the sovereign.
The roots of the present Crown in Nova Scotia lie inJacques Cartier's claim, in 1534, ofChaleur Bay forKing Francis I; though, the area was not officially settled untilKing Henry IV established a colony there in 1604, administered by thegovernor of Acadia in the capital ofPort-Royal, so named for the King. Only slightly later,King James VI and I laid claim to areas overlapping withAcadia, in what is today Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and part ofMaine, and brought it within theScottish Crown's dominion, calling the regionNova Scotia (or "new Scotland").[15][16] James' son,Charles I, issued theCharter of New Scotland, which created thebaronets of Nova Scotia, many of which continue to exist today.
Over the course of the 17th century, theFrench Crown lost, via war and treaties, itsMaritimes territories to theBritish sovereign, Acadia being gradually taken until it fully became British territory through theTreaty of Paris in 1763 and the nameNova Scotia was applied to the whole region. But, this placement of French people under a British sovereign did not transpire without problems; French colonialists in Acadia were asked by British officials, uneasy about where the Acadians' loyalties lay, to reaffirm their allegiance to King George III. The Acadians refused, not as any slight to the King, but, more to remain Catholic, and were subsequently deported from the area in what became known as theGreat Upheaval.
During and following theAmerican Revolution, some 35,000 to 40,000United Empire Loyalists, as well as about 3,500Black Loyalists, fled from theThirteen Colonies and then theUnited States to Nova Scotia,refugees from the violence directed against them during the war.[17] So many arrived thatNew Brunswick was split out of Nova Scotia as a separate colony.
Not all who settled in the colony were immediately made to feel comfortable, however, as many of the already resident families were aligned with the United States and its republican cause; ColonelThomas Dundas wrote fromSaint John in 1786, "[the Loyalists] have experienced every possible injury from the old inhabitants of Nova Scotia, who are even more disaffected towards the British government than any of the new states ever were. This makes me much doubt their remaining long dependent."[18]
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Prince William Henry (later KingWilliam IV) arrived at theRoyal Naval Dockyards inHalifax in late 1786,[19] on board hisfrigate,HMS Pegasus. Although he received a royal reception, it was later made clear the Prince would be granted no further special treatment other than already accorded to an officer of his rank in the Royal Navy. Of Halifax, the Prince said, "a very gay and lively place full of women and those of the most obliging kind." It was in this period of William's life that he began his own long history of inappropriate liaisons.[19] Further, although he was strict about rules and protocol, himself, he was also known to occasionally break them and, as punishment for taking his ship from theCaribbean back to Halifax without orders to do so, he was commanded to spend the winter of 1787 to 1788 atQuebec City. Instead, William disobeyed again and sailed to Britain, infuriating the admiralty and the King. The Prince was forced to remain in the harbour atPortsmouth to await return to Halifax the next year. That return became all the more urgent when it was discovered William had begun an affair in Portsmouth, prompting the King to say, "what? William playing the fool again? Send him off to America and forbid the return of the ship to Plymouth."[20]
Prince William Henry returned to Nova Scotia in July 1788, this time aboardHMS Andromeda, and remained there for another year.[20] Back in the United Kingdom, he metDorothea Jordan, a woman he could not legally marry, but, nonetheless, with whom William carried on a decades-long relationship, fathering, with her, 10 children, all of which bore the nameFitzClarence, meaning "son of Clarence", stemming from William's title,Duke of Clarence. Two of the Prince's illegitimate daughters lived in Halifax, one,Mary, in 1830 and the other,Amelia, from 1840 to 1846, while her husband,the Viscount Falkland, served asLieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.[21] Upon his accession as King William IV in 1830, he sent a portrait of himself to theLegislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, recalling his earlier life in the colonial capital.[20]
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A son of KingGeorge III,Prince Edward, was sent in 1794 to take command of Nova Scotia. While he travelled extensively around the colony,[22] he lived inHalifax, based at the headquarters of theRoyal Navy'sNorth American Station; though,Lieutenant GovernorSir John Wentworth and Lady Francis Wentworth provided their country residence for the use of Edward and his French-Canadian mistress,Julie St. Laurent, where they hosted various dignitaries, includingLouis-Phillippe of Orléans (the futureLouis Philippe I,King of the French). The Prince extensively renovated the estate, including designing and overseeing the construction ofPrince's Lodge (or the Music Room). He also oversaw the reconstruction ofFort George[23] and the officer's quarters atFort Anne[22] and designed and had built theHalifax Town Clock andSt George's Church (also known as the Round Church).[n 1] The King and Edward's brother,Prince Frederick, were highly supportive of the latter project, the King providing a £200 donation.[26] Additionally, Edward prompted the construction of numerous roads, made improvements to the Grand Parade,[27] and devised asemapore telegraph system between Halifax andFredericton,New Brunswick.[28]
After falling from his horse in late 1798, the Prince returned to the United Kingdom, where his father created himDuke of Kent and Strathearn and appointedCommander-in-Chief of British forces in North America.[29] He voyaged back to Nova Scotia in mid-1799 and remained there for another year, before sailing back, once more, to Britain.
In theWar of 1812, the United States endeavoured to conquer the Canadas;[35] all the American parties involved assumed their troops would be greeted as liberators.[36] During the conflict,Alexander Cochrane, theCommander-in-Chief, North American Station, issued a proclamation on 2 April 1814, which stated:
Whereas it has been represented to me that many persons now resident in the United States have expressed a desire to withdraw therefrom with a view to entering into His Majesty's service, or of being received as free settlers into some of His Majesty's colonies. This is therefore to give notice that all persons who may be disposed to migrate from the United States, will, with their families, be received on board of His Majesty's ships or vessels of war, or at the military posts that may be established upon or near the coast of the United States, when they will have their choice of either entering into His Majesty's sea or land forces, or of being sent as free settlers to theBritish possessions in North America or the West Indies, where they will meet with due encouragement.[37]
In total, about 4,000 escaped slaves and their families,[38] known as theBlack Refugees, were transported out of the United States by theRoyal Navy during and after the war.[39][38] About half settled in Nova Scotia and approximately 400 in New Brunswick.[40]
Samuel Cunard, a born-Haligonian, led a group of Halifax investors to combine with a Quebec business in 1831 to build the pioneering ocean steamship, theSSRoyal William, named for the new king,William IV, and built atCap-Blanc,Lower Canada.[41] It was launched on 27 April 1831, byLouisa, the Lady Alymer, wife of theGovernor General of British North America,the Lord Aylmer, and was the largest passenger ship in the world at the time and became the first to cross theAtlantic Ocean almost entirely bysteam power.[42] Cunard went on to found theCunard Line, starting with theRMSBritannia, and the company would eventually launch theRMSQueen Mary (1936),RMSQueen Elizabeth (1940),Queen Elizabeth 2 (1969),RMSQueen Mary 2 (2004),MSQueen Victoria (2007),MSQueen Elizabeth (2010), andMSQueen Anne (2024).
Queen Victoria's eldest son and heir, Prince Albert Edward (later KingEdward VII) for four months toured the Maritimes andProvince of Canada in 1860.[43] Arriving at Halifax fromSt. John's,Newfoundland, on 2 August, he visited the various buildings his grandfather designed and/or had erected, including Prince Edward's country home, Prince's Lodge.[44] The Prince undertook a fishing trip and camped overnight at Boutilier farm, near Bowser Station.[45] From the colonial capital, the royal party travelled by train toWindsor andHantsport, where they boardedHMSStyx to cross theBay of Fundy toSaint John, New Brunswick.[46] After touring New Brunswick, the Prince returned to Nova Scotia, arriving atPictou to board HMSHero and return to several communities, including Saint John and Windsor.[46]
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Albert Edward was followed by his younger brother,Prince Alfred, who embarked on a five week tour of the same areas in 1861.[47] The Prince visited the Tangier gold mines in Nova Scotia,[48][49] Prince Alfred Arch, marking where Alfred stepped ashore on 19 October, still standing inthe town today.[50]
For the bicentennial in 1983 of the arrival of the first Empire Loyalists in Nova Scotia,Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife,Diana, Princess of Wales, attended the celebrations.[51]
In 2022, Nova Scotia instituted aprovincial Platinum Jubilee medal to mark theElizabeth II'sseventy years on the Canadian throne; the first time in Canada's history that a royal occasion was commemorated onprovincial medals.[52]
To merk the 175th anniversary of responsible government in the province, KingCharles III sent a message on 2 February 2023, noting that, during his tour of Nova Scotia in 2014, he was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada in the same room at Government House in Halifax where Lieutenant Governor John Harvey swore in the first democratically accountable cabinet in Canada's history. The King stated, "at that time, I was struck by the historic setting and its profound significance in the history of Canada and the Commonwealth."[53]
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