Government Houses in Canada

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.

Present Government Houses

Building name	Residents' positions	Location	Image	Notes
Rideau Hall	Governor General of Canada (1864-)	Ottawa		Functioning residence.
Citadelle of Quebec	Governor General of Canada (188?-)	Quebec City		Functioning residence.
Government House	Governor of Nova Scotia (circa 1800-1867) Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (1867-)	Halifax		Functioning residence.
Old 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 (1871-)	Charlottetown		Functioning residence.
Government House	Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest 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.

Former Government Houses

Building name	Residents' positions	Location	Image	Notes
Chateau St. Louis	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
Chateau de Ramezay	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
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.
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		Sold and demolished, 1912.
Chorley Park	Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario (1915 – 1937)	Toronto		Other uses, then demolished 1961.
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.
Cary Castle	Governor of Vancouver Island (1865 – 1866) Governor of the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia(1866 – 1871) Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1871 – 1903)	Victoria		Destroyed by fire 1903.
	Governor of British Columbia (? – 1866)	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		Other uses 1948 – 1964, now the "Alberta Government Conference Centre".
58 St. George's Crescent	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		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

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

• Government Houses of the British Empire
• Government House
• Governor's Mansion