Government House (Manitoba)

Infobox Historic building
name = Government House


caption = Main façade of Government House
map_type =
latitude = 49.883896
longitude = -97.145131
location_town = 10 Kennedy Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
location_country = Canada
architect =
client = The Queen in Right of Canada
(Victoria)
engineer =
construction_start_date = 1883
date_demolished =
cost = $24,000
structural_system = Timber framing and load-bearing masonry
owner = The Queen in Right of Manitoba
(Elizabeth II)
style = Victorian Second Empire
size = 1,858 m² (20,000 ft²)

Manitoba's Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. It is located at 10 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

History

Originally, the governor of the Northwest Territories lived in a designated residence inside Upper Fort Garry; a house that was occupied by Louis Riel as President of the provisional government of Red River. Once the that area of the territories became the province of Manitoba, a Government House was leased five kilometers outside of Winnipeg.

Owing to the building's distance from the capital, and its inadequate size, Manitoba's present Government House was built in the Second Empire style by the federal government in 1883, for a cost of $24,000. However, two years following, it was sold to the Manitoba Crown for $1, providing that the house would be used as a residence for the Lieutenant Governor; "and for no other purpose" was written in Sir John A. Macdonald's own handwriting at the bottom of the Order-in-Council transferring the house.

Inside are reception rooms, residential suites and support facilities. Over the years many additions were made to the royal residence to accommodate its various functions; a ballroom was added in 1901 for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary), which was subsequently pulled down to make way for the present ballroom, added in 1960. It is in this room where Cabinet ministers are sworn in. On the second floor is the Royal Bedroom, reserved for use by the sovereign and other Royal Family members when they are in Winnipeg; the Gold Room accommodates royal support staff or other royals if the monarch is occupying the Royal Bedroom.

The Lieutenant Governor's office is located at the Legislative Building, located near Government House. It is here that legislation is given Royal Assent, and the Lieutenant Governor meets with his Premier.

ee also

*Government Houses of Canada
*Government Houses of the British Empire
*Lieutenant-Governors of Manitoba

External links

*http://lg.gov.mb.ca/history/house/history.html