Rideau Hall, the official Residence of Canada’s Governors General, has been host to some of the greatest leaders and dignitaries in history. Members of royal families, world leaders and heads of state have stayed there and have experienced, firsthand, the warmth and hospitality so often associated with Canadians. For those chosen to serve as Governors General, as well as for their families, Rideau Hall becomes their home for five years, and sometimes longer. To the outsider, a visit to Rideau Hall as an invited guest is like watching a theatre performance, with the supporting cast and crew somewhere in the background but always where they are supposed to be. This book provides first-person narratives and real accounts of memorable moments by those who worked with quiet dignity behind the scenes, and often for the greatest part of their working lives, to make Rideau Hall a home.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand inherited and adapted a monarchical framework of government, even in the absence of a resident monarch. Although steady transfer of the royal prerogative to a popularly elected executive has enabled these three former dominions to be sometimes described as "crowned republics" or "disguised republics", there was no popular drive to abandon monarchy until the 1990s, and even then the republican cause was based largely on issues of symbolism and national identity than on perceived core weaknesses in the political system. This book traces the long and sometimes subtle process of localising monarchy in the vice-regal office from the mid-twentieth century onwards, and compares the powers and functions of the Queen's surrogates with each other and with those of the monarch herself, including their recourse to the so-called "reserve powers". Among the key questions posed in this comparative study are: Can the current monarchical system be refined to the point of countering republican sentiment? Why has the republican argument gained more momentum in Australia than in Canada or New Zealand? Can a republican model retain residual monarchic elements? What is likely to be the lasting legacy of the Crown in these three strikingly similar political cultures? The author's underlying loyalties are neither firmly monarchist nor firmly republican. He is convinced, however, that the combined effects of a strong sense of national identity and an increasingly presidential style of political leadership within these three Westminster-derived systems make it difficult for contemporary governors-general (or their state and provincial colleagues)to fulfil two of their key roles-to unite and inspire the people on the one hand and to be a credible constitutional watchdog on the other.

Here is a list of three dozen of the top literary locales in the country. The selection of sites is necessarily subjective, yet it attempts to represent geographical, historical, social, and cultural concerns as well as strictly literary interests. Had this list been prepared by the editors of Michelin Guide, they would have added asterisks or stars to the entries: * Interesting. ** Worth a detour. *** Worth a journey. It is the opinion of the author of Canadian Literary Landmarks that all thirty-six sites are "Worth a journey." It is recognized that the average person is unlikely to visit No. 1, not to mention No. 36, but as these sites happen to be the first and last entries in the book, they mark a convenient and symbolic beginning and ending. (No. 1 being L’Anse aux Meadows, Epaves Bay, Nfld. and No. 36 being the North Pole, NWT).

More than ever Canada’s constitutional monarchy should be treasured as a distinct asset for the nation. Following Queen Elizabeth II’s historic Diamond Jubilee in 2012, there is renewed interest in the institution of the Crown in Canada and the roles of the queen, governor general, and lieutenant governor. Author D. Michael Jackson traces the story of the monarchy and the Crown and shows how they are integral to Canada’s parliamentary democracy. His book underscores the Crown’s key contribution to the origins, evolution, and successful functioning of Canadian federalism, while the place of the monarchy in francophone Canada and the First Nations receives special attention. Complex issues such as the royal prerogative, constitutional conventions, the office of lieutenant governor, and Canada’s honours system are made readily accessible to the general reader. Jackson examines the option of republican governance for Canada and concludes that responsible government under a constitutional monarchy is far preferable. He further argues that the Crown should be treasured as a distinct asset for Canada.

"Report of the Dominion fishery commission on the fisheries of the province of Ontario, 1893", issued as vol. 26, no. 7, supplement.