The Canadian Honours System. Christopher McCreery
Graham was remembered vividly for his fundraising activities on behalf of the Conservatives as well as his stridently pro-imperial editorials in the Star at the time of the South African War (1899–1902). The appointment — made over Borden’s objections and politically ill-timed — may well have been the turning point in rendering the prospect of Canadian peers a politically unpalatable one.
There have been a number of Canadians appointed to the peerage of the United Kingdom for services to Britain, and these are therefore not considered “Canadian” peerages. Sir Arthur Lawrence Haliburton, 1st Baron Haliburton, was born in Nova Scotia and rose to become the permanent undersecretary of state for war in Britain from 1895 to 1897. William James Pirrie, head of the famous Belfast shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff, was made a baron in 1906 and later elevated as Viscount Pirrie in 1921. Sir Max Aitken, a native of New Brunswick, was raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Beaverbrook in 1917, yet another Canadian newspaper owner sent to the House of Lords. Sir Edward Patrick Morris, the premier of Newfoundland, became the island’s only native son to be made a peer, as 1st Baron Morris of St. John’s, in 1918. Although Newfoundland was not part of Canada at the time, it seems appropriate that Morris should be included in this list. Richard Bedford Bennett, the Canadian prime minister who revived the imperial honours system in Canada during the 1930s, was raised to the peerage as 1st Viscount Bennett in 1941. This occurred several years after Bennett had moved to Britain. Following the long tradition of Canadian newspapermen being ennobled, Roy Thomson was made 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet in 1963. In 2000, Conrad Black became Lord Black of Crossharbour and is the only Canadian yet to be appointed a life peer.
During the 1902 coronation of King Edward VII, the new King was keen to make Sir Wilfrid Laurier “Baron Laurier of St. Lin.” Laurier was shocked at the offer and declined. In Canada peerages have historically been highly contentious and continue to be as evidenced by the case of Lord Black of Crossharbour, who was forced to renounce his Canadian citizenship in order to become a peer. Upon his retirement as governor general of Canada, Lord Alexander was raised in the peerage from a viscount to an earl and given the additional title of Baron Rideau of Ottawa and of Castle Derg, County Tyrone.
Number of Elevations: In total, ten Canadians were elevated to the peerage from 1867 until the present day; only the first five can be considered Canadian appointments:
• Lady Susan Agnes Macdonald, Baroness Macdonald of Earnscliffe in the Province of Ontario and of the Dominion of Canada (1891).
• Sir George Stephen, Bt, GCVO, 1st Baron Mount Stephen of Mount Stephen in the Province of British Columbia and Dominion of Canada, and of Dufftown in the county of Banff, New Brunswick (1891).
• Sir Donald Alexander Smith, GCMG, GCVO, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal (1900).
• Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, Kt, KCVO, 1st Baron Shaughnessy of the City of Montreal in the Dominion of Canada and Ashford in the County of Limerick (1916).
• Sir Hugh Graham, Kt, 1st Baron Atholstan of Huntington in the Province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada and of the City of Edinburgh (1917).
• Sir William Maxwell Aitken, Kt, 1st Baron Beaverbrook in the Province of New Brunswick in the Dominion of Canada and Cherkley in the County of Surrey (1917); posthumously made an ONB.
• Sir William James Pirrie, KP, 1st Baron Pirrie of the City of Belfast (1906). Elevated to 1st Viscount Pirrie of the City of Belfast (1921).
• The Right Honourable Richard Bedford Bennett, PC, KC, ED, 1st Viscount Bennett of Mickelham, Calgary, and Hopewell (1941).
• Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet (1964), subsequently made a GBE.
• The Right Honourable Conrad Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (1999).[1]
Unlike the other honours covered throughout this book, there are no distinctive insignia to indicate a peerage. Instead, peers are entitled to wear a coronet and robe appropriate to their degree at the coronation of the sovereign (the coronet can also be displayed with the peer’s coat of arms), and for those in the House of Lords, a special parliamentary robe can be worn on select occasions.
The Baronetage in the United Kingdom
Baronet of the United Kingdom insignia.
Origins: Baronets rank immediately after barons but are not part of the peerage and do not have the right to sit in the House of Lords. A baronetcy is somewhat like a hereditary knighthood, taking the same title as a knight but without the dubbing. The title is passed down like a peerage. The honourable order of baronets consists of five divisions:
I Baronets of England, 1611
II Baronets of Ireland, 1619
III Baronets of Scotland, 1625 (Baronets of Nova Scotia)
IV Baronets of Great Britain, 1707
V Baronets of the United Kingdom, 1801
Since 1801 all baronetcies created have been baronetcies of the United Kingdom.
In total, seven baronetcies were awarded upon the recommendation of the Canadian government: three were awarded to politicians and four to businessmen. The last baronet of the United Kingdom was appointed in 1991 when Dennis Thatcher, husband of Margaret Thatcher, was appointed 1st Baronet Thatcher of Scotney in the County of Kent. The last Canadian appointed as a baronet for services to Canada was Sir Joseph Flavelle in 1917.
As the honour is hereditary, there remain hundreds of baronets despite the fact that no creations have been made for more than twenty years. There continue to be Canadian holders of these honours, since they are hereditary.
Criteria: Service national in scope.
Insignia (for all except baronets of Nova Scotia): A gold oval badge 55 mm in length and 30 mm in width, the centre bearing a single escutcheon displaying the red hand of Ulster surmounted by a Tudor Crown. The circumference of the insignia is decorated with roses (for baronets of England), thistles (of Scotland), roses and thistles (of Great Britain) or roses, thistles and shamrocks (of the United Kingdom) in filigree on a dark blue enamel background. The reverse is plain, usually with four or six rivet heads and the appropriate gold or silver hallmarks. Occasionally, the reverse will be engraved with the details of the recipient.
Suspender: A straight gold loop suspender.
Ribbon: A yellow ribbon 44 mm wide edged on each side with 4 mm of royal blue.
Postnominals: Bt or Bart.
Other: The insignia is found in both sterling gilt and carat gold.
Number of Creations for Canadians:7.
The Baronetage of Nova Scotia
The baronets of Nova Scotia are addressed separately, since the creation of baronets of Nova Scotia originally pertained directly to the colonization of what are today the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Origins: Created as part of Sir William Alexander’s scheme to prevent Nova Scotia from falling into French hands by settling the territory, the baronets of Nova Scotia were established by King James I as a way to raise money independently of Parliament. Charles I granted the holders of this land the title “Sir” and allowed for the creation of an insignia for the baronets. Baronets of Nova Scotia ceased to be created in 1707 afer the union of Scotland and England into Great Britain. Initially, the baronets were entitled to have a hereditary seat in the provincial legislative assembly (not yet established) and were imbued with the authority of a feudal baron upon their own lands.
Baronet of Nova Scotia insignia.
Criteria: Service to the Crown of Scotland and/or purchase of a grant of land in the Royal