The Canadian monarchy

But the great dividend came after four provinces in British North America federated to form the Dominion of Canada. In 1870, Britain transferred

Rupert's Land, all the territory drained by the rivers which flow into Hudson Bay, from Queen Victoria's government in Britain to her government Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company had a two-centuries-old charter giving it jurisdiction over the area and Canada paid it 350 thousand pounds to buy it out. Britain offered a low-interest loan in case Canada found the sum burdensome. Then ten years later Britain transferred the Arctic islands to Queen Victoria's Canadian government by Orders-in-Council. What remained of British North America was Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland, including Labrador, was briefly a Dominion in its own right and then a colony again when the Dominion went bankrupt. In 1948, two referendums brought it into the Dominion of Canada. It became Canada's tenth province, entering the federation with its own flag and its own national anthem, neither of which Canada had at the time.

Why, one may wonder, didn't Britain sell her territory to the United States instead of giving it to a new Dominion? France sold Louisiana, Spain sold Florida, Russia sold Alaska and Denmark sold her Virgin Islands possessions. But Queen Victoria's subjects were never put up for sale. The United States gave the birth of Canada in 1867 a grumpy reception, for they thought it a scheme to keep the British possessions out of the jaws of 'Manifest Destiny's which, in part, it was. The Colonial Office thought it more diplomatic for Canada to call itself a 'Dominion' rather than a 'Kingdom', which the Canadian Prime Minister preferred. Yet 'Manifest Destiny' was kept at bay, even though Canadians suspect that it still lurks in the American psyche.

In Ottawa, the Queen is represented by the Governor-General who acts as her official host when she is in Canada, and in the provinces the Lieutenant-Governors fill the same role. Until after World War II, the Governor-Generals were a succession of Earls, Viscounts, Dukes and Marquises from Britain, who tried to foster a sense of nationhood with moderate success. Lord Stanley presented the Stanley Cup for the National Hockey League which is now dominated by American teams. Lord Grey presented the Grey Cup for Canadian football and Lord Minto the Minto Cup for lacrosse. The Marquis of Lorne founded the Royal Society of Canada, which fills the role of both Royal Society and the British Academy in the U.K. Lord Tweedsmuir got the Governor-Generals' awards for Canadian authors underway. But their political powers withered away. The last British Governor-General was Viscount Alexander who had commanded Canadian troops in Italy in World War II. After him came a succession of worthy Canadians, all but the present one respectable gray-haired men with political connections, appointed by the Queen of Canada on the advice of her Canadian Prime Minister. In the Governor-General's residence, Rideau Hall, the charisma of royalty burns low. No paparazzi hound Canadian Governor-Generals, and cameramen with telescopic lenses show barely a flicker of interest. The present incumbent, Adrienne Clarkson, a Chinese-Canadian woman, has managed to restore some lustre to the office, but most Canadians regard the Governor-General simply as another patronage appointment of the Prime Minister. And they are not far off the mark.