The Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan is vested with a number of governmental duties and is also expected to undertake various ceremonial roles. For instance, the lieutenant-governor acts as patron, honorary president, or an honorary member of certain Saskatchewan institutions, such as the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association, the Saskatchewan Craft Council, and the provincial poet laureate program. Further, Saskatchewan's lieutenant-governor acts, by law, as the visitor to both the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina, and under special circumstances may be called upon in this role, as happened in the University Crisis of 1919 at the University of Saskatchewan. The lieutenant-governor, him or herself a member and Chancellor of the order,[3] will induct deserving individuals into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit and, upon installation, automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Vice-Prior in Saskatchewan of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.[4] The viceroy further presents other provincial honours and decorations, as well as various awards that are named for and presented by the lieutenant governor; these are generally created in partnership with another government or charitable organization and linked specifically to their cause.[5] These honours are presented at official ceremonies, which count amongst hundreds of other engagements the lieutenant-governor partakes in each year, either as host or guest of honour; in 2006, the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta undertook 250 engagements and 450 in 2007.[6]
Standard of the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan
Great Seal of Saskatchewan, entrusted by the lieutenant governor to the attorney general
The office of Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan came into being in 1905, upon Saskatchewan's entry into Canadian Confederation,[7] and evolved from the earlier position of Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories. Since that date, 20 lieutenant-governors have served the province, amongst whom were notable firsts, such as Sylvia Fedoruk – the first female lieutenant-governor of the province. The shortest mandate by a Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan was Thomas Miller, from 27 February 1945 to 20 June 1945, while the longest was Henry William Newlands, from 18 February 1921 to 30 March 1931.
^Elizabeth II (29 June 1988), The Provincial Emblems and Honours Act, III.15, Regina: Queen's Printer for Saskatchewan|access-date= requires |url= (help)
^ abJackson, Michael D. (2007), "The Crown in Today's Federal State"(PDF), Canadian Monarchist News (Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada), Autumn-Winter 2007 (27): 11, retrieved 5 July 2009