Interview with Iona Campagnolo

April 23, 2004

Her Honor, the Honorable The Honorable Iona Campagnolo, PC, CM, OBC, is the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of British Columbia. She is the province's Head of State, and performs countless ceremonial duties around BC. Her Honor agreed to sit down for an interview with the Other Press in her mansion in Victoria.

OP: Good morning, Madame Lieutenant Governor. I would like to thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak to the students of Douglas College.

You have been serving in your current position for two and a half years now. What has surprised you the most about the nature of your office thus far?

IONA: Well, it's a five-year term, and it is interesting to me that Her Majesty the Queen has been doing this 52 years. My admiration for her is enormous, of course, because what surprises you about it is the depth of the need for a position that is outside of traditional partisan politics. As a Head of State of your area you get to see people of your community at their very best, all the time, day after day. I'm so fortunate to be able to acknowledge and honor and give medals to British Columbians who spend their lives working to the betterment of society, rather than their own benefit. It's a reassuring and hopeful thing to see, and that part of the job is the highlight for me.

OP: According to the constitution, your job is to represent the Queen in British Columbia. Is this specific role still one you take seriously, or do you believe your position has evolved into something different over the years?

IONA: Well when this post, Lieutenant Governor, was first put together federally, by the founding fathers of Canada, it was presumed to be a federal "brake" on the power of the provinces, and the provinces of course got rid of that in short order. The office continues to evolve all the time. When you say we represent the Queen, it is more or less in a legal sense. We represent the Crown. The Crown represents the rule of law that we live under together as citizens of a country, and so therefore yes, I think it is very necessary that the role continually evolve in concert with the society, because Canada's constitution is such that it continually evolves as it is re-interpreted and the like along with societal changes.

I would think it berates the post to stay static, say this one were to remain as it had been in colonial times it would become totally irrelevant in today's world. So as far as possible I try to symbolize the Province of British Columbia, the state of British Columbia, the people of British Columbia and try to make this beautiful house, this 14.6 hectares of land open to everybody. And I changed the name of it when I came in. It used to be called "The Official Residence of the Lieutenant Governor," and I said no, we shall call it "The Ceremonial Home of all British Columbians," and it's made a difference in making it more accessible.

OP: Would you be willing to share the story of how you came to hold this office? I think a lot of people might be curious as to the exact process. Was it unexpected at all?

IONA: Well, my name had been mentioned for this post for about 20 years. Every time there was a new choice to be made my name would be run along in the newspaper, so I had put it out of my mind as something not likely to occur. I was quite surprised when Prime Minister Chretien called me.

The process is that it is a prime ministerial prerogative. The Prime Minister chooses, but then takes his choice to the Premier, and if the Premier agrees on the person then they go to the Queen and it goes ahead that way. If the Premier does not agree then the Prime Minister goes back to choose someone else, and they work together. So that's how it works across the country, with the provinces, and the territories with the Territorial Commissioners, and the Governor General. There are 14 of these offices in Canada, and they're all operated the same way, because as Lieutenant Governor, Territorial Commissioner, or Governor General you are Head of State, and the Premier, Territorial Premier, or Prime Minister is Head of Government.

OP: Does being BC's first female Lieutenant Governor carry any specific significance to you? Has it in any way had an effect on the way in which you perceive your duties or exercise them?

IONA: Oh yes. I was active in the feminist movement throughout most of my adult life and worked hard in certain areas to see that women were accepted as equals in society, and that the laws were changed to accommodate our access into every part of public life and otherwise. So it was significant to me that of the 27 Lieutenant Governors, it was almost 140 years before a woman received this post here in British Columbia. And of course I'm always conscious that if I do the job badly it will reflect on my gender and that other women will suffer, as I did it badly. So I have to attempt to do as good a job as is humanly possible under the circumstances. [laughs]

OP: I'd like to hear your opinion on Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. What do you make of these recent controversies surrounding her and her office? She has certainly been one of the most high profile Governor-Generals in recent years, but at a rather high cost to taxpayers.

IONA: I think that Adrienne Clarkson is probably the best Governor General we've had to this point because she is probably one of the most intellectual and articulate leaders of thought that I have seen in the post. She is using the post extremely well to embrace the whole panorama of what we are as Canadians. She has almost single-handedly, I think, brought about a new appreciation for Canada's military in the context of our society. She has been there when the great tragedies have occurred and she has focused so well.

Yes, there is a cost attached to these offices, but we have to say as a country would we rather it was like the United States, where these two posts, Head of State and Head of Government are in one person? Where the awarding of medals and the activities that are ongoing are done by the elected, rather than appointed Head of State? By having a Head of State who has no political power it sets you apart to be a person who is representing all parts of the society, not just a certain part that you happen to ideologically connect with.

OP: You mentioned it being a non-partisan and non-political post. But with respect, prior to assuming this office you were a Liberal Member of Parliament, you were a city counselor, you served in Prime Minister Trudeau's cabinet. You've had a long and distinguished political career and I think many might find it difficult to believe that a woman with such a long career political such as yours can effectively occupy a "non-partisan" office. Isn't it difficult?

IONA: It's a difficult process because there are areas of principle in which you are engaged. The constitution is very clear, I could not enter, for example into discussion with the premier about his policy directions. I read the Throne Speech once a year which is written by the government, and it's the only speech I deliver throughout the year which I have absolutely nothing to do with. I read it as the voice of the state, which is the way in which it is supposed to be done. But I give 350 speeches a year, and my basic understanding of humanity, of Canada's place in the world, and so on, is admittedly a centrist perspective. But I always reach out to all the other types of concerns as well, and in the operation of this office there is absolutely no question as to who is at the table or who is responsible to give the awards or whatever. And people have said to me "why do you still do the Speech from the Throne and proroguing the house or doing royal assent?" It's very important that we do these things even though they seem a bit archaic, because it is a way of reminding the system- I, as you noted have been as much a partisan as anyone else- it is a way to remind us that we have to be responsible to the whole system.

OP: What is your opinion of the Canadian republican movement? In recent years several members of your own party, including former Deputy Prime Minister John Manley have voiced their belief that Canada should cut its ties to the British monarchy, and no longer recognize the Queen as our Head of State.

IONA: It's interesting because Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth, Queen of Canada, is a symbol of the Crown as I said. While we have a monarch, we don't really have a royal family. When Her Majesty travels abroad in the world she doesn't travel as the "Queen of Canada" she travels as the Queen of Great Britain. And that is why it is necessary, by the way, for the Governor General to travel abroad representing Canada, because the Queen cannot.

It's important also to remember that the Queen is not elected, none of us are elected, we're all appointed, and under our constitution we have only the very slimmest of legal, reserve powers. And those powers are for one purpose only. If there should ever be a failure at the political level; if the Premier cannot continue or there is an impasse or there is some impediment to continue democratic government, then it is the Lieutenant Governor, or the Territorial Commissioner, or the Governor General's job to go into the system- without speaking publicly- and facilitate the continuation of democratic government. That is the only small power you have. Otherwise, as an appointee you have no power. But we are said to have influence, that is another thing. I think everyone would agree Her Majesty is an influence for good. In my opinion the Governor General has been an influence for positive Canadian values.

It's a matter of opinion amongst some people, but I think if we were to go to a system of electing a Head of State then we would give them political powers. It's rather like the debate over the Senate. If you elect the Senate then you give them power, but the House of Commons also has elected power. Which power supercedes which? And that's a constitutional debate that will have to go on someday, so there's that issue to consider.

OP: But if we did not have the Queen we could still theoretically continue the status quo as it is. We could still have an appointed Governor General, whether we would call it "president" or whatever. We could still have your position, and all the provincial positions.
The "foreignness" of the monarchy I think is something many Canadians have a hard time relating to. As you mentioned, even you yourself don't see yourself representing the Queen as a person, but rather as a symbol of symbol of unity and law.

IONA: Yes, well that's an ongoing debate in Canada. All I can tell you is that in the days when it used to go before Mr. Trudeau when I was in cabinet he would say "the system's not broken, it works very well, I suggest we leave it that way." "Unless you have an alternative," he used to say, "please, lets move on to some of the real issues of the day."

OP: That's interesting, because I've heard it said that Mr. Trudeau had republican leanings in him.

IONA: It's possible he did, but he always said the system worked for Canada very well. It was Macdonald and Cartier who originally set all this out. They created two divisions that were quite unique, not like Australia or New Zealand or England or anywhere else. First of all, it separated the primacy from Canada at the federal level from the primacy of the provinces, and then they separated Head of Government and Head of State. And those two separations have made us quite unique in the constitutional sense.

OP: What sort of professional relationship do you have with the Queen? Do you speak with her frequently?

IONA: No, not frequently. Her Majesty, first of all, let's remember is sovereign of 16 sovereign nations, she is head of a 53-member Commonwealth. So if all of us inundated her every day, she'd have no time for anything else.

I first met Her Majesty in 1971, when British Columbia was celebrating its 100th anniversary in Confederation and over the course of the years we have since met for various things and events. I remember in 1978 at the Commonwealth Games I was Canada's first sport minister so I was at her side when Canada finally won, after 40 years. And I met her again at other times in my life, when the University of Northern British Columbia was opened ten years ago I was the first chancellor, so Her Majesty and I opened the university. So over the years we have met and seen each other, and I have enormous respect for her. She's very intelligent and she's been 52 years in her role, so she knows all the leaders of all the countries, and she has this great political sense and is quite free in how she speaks personally though she gives the impression of being distant. She took her vows in 1952 that to her death she would do her duty, and in my view she has. And that's really remarkable discipline, and I greatly admire discipline.

OP: Do you think within my lifetime the monarchy will end?

IONA: It depends what Canadians want. Is it going to be a primary issue of concern or are there other concerns that are going to take precedence? I don't know how Canada will evolve. I think because of our immense diversity- we in British Columbia are the most diverse state- I was thinking of China the other day, China has what is called a "one nation, two systems" and if you applied that in Canada would we not be "one nation, many systems"? And it seems to me that's a positive example to the world, that we have set ourselves up so we can continue to evolve as a force in the world. People outside our borders many times in other countries and on other non-governmental organizations have said many times "we rely on Canada do this, to be a leader." So I'm not sure how we will evolve. We've done our bit in my time, and we will in yours.

OP: Thank you very much, Your Honor. Best of luck in the future.