The Commission of Government was established in Newfoundland due to the collapse of democratic institutions during the Great Depression. Newfoundland's economic crisis was exacerbated by the colony's debt incurred during the First World War. In 1933 after a prolonged period of economic crisis and severe budgetary deficits, the dominion government of Prime Minister Frederick C. Alderdice asked the British government to strike a royal commission to investigate the dominion's crisis. The royal commission recommended suspending responsible government in Newfoundland and replacing it with a commission made up of the British appointed governor and six other commissioners appointed by London. Commission of Government Meeting in St. ... Jump to: navigation, search Newfoundland (French: Terre-Neuve; Irish: Talamh an Éisc; Latin: Terra Nova) is a large island off the northeast coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the worldwide economic crisis of the 1930s; for other uses of the term, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... Evan is so hot, sexy, and cool! Remember that. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... Jump to: navigation, search A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularly one which reached that stage of constitutional development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as Canada and New Zealand. ... Jump to: navigation, search A prime minister may be either: chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and... Frederick Charles Alderdice (November 10, 1872-February 26, 1936) was a businessman, politician and the last Prime Minister of Newfoundland. ... In countries that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government inquiry into an issue. ... Responsible government is a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. ... Jump to: navigation, search A governor is also a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ...

The "Commission of Government" was sworn in on 16 February 1934 and immediatly set about reforming the administration of the country in hopes of balancing the government's budget. With the help of grants in aid from the United Kingdom the Commission attempted to encourage agriculture and reorganize the fishing industry. While it did much to expand government health services to rural areas, for example, it could not solve the basic economic problems of a small export oriented country during the Great Depression. American and Canadian military spending in Newfoundland and Labrador during the 1940s caused an economic boom and allowed the Commission of Government to consider re-establishing democratic government.

Since the government of the United Kingdom believed that the wartime prosperity would be short-lived, in 1946 it established a National Convention to debate constitutional options. These constitutional options were then submitted to the people in two referenda in 1948. By a slender majority Newfoundlanders chose to become a province of Canada rather than return to the status of a self-governing colony. The Commission of Government ruled Newfoundland until 31 March 1949 when the dominion joined Canada as a province. This article is about political regions. ...

Chairmen of Commission of Government

• See also:List_of_Newfoundland_Prime_Ministers

External sites: Sir David Murray Anderson (1874-1936) was born in England and served as a naval officer rising to admiral in 1931 before retiring from the Royal Navy. ... Sir Humphrey Thomas Walwyn (January 25, 1879 - December 29, 1957) served most of his life in the Royal Navy rising to the position of Vice-Admiral of the Royal Indian Navy retiring in 1934. ... Sir Gordon MacDonald (1885-1966) was Newfoundlands final British governor as well as the last chairman of the Commission of Government serving from 1946 until the colony joined confederation in 1949 and became a province of Canada. ... This is a list of the premiers and Prime Ministers of Newfoundland and Labrador from the granting of responsible government in 1855 through dominion status, the colony joining Canadian confederation in 1949 and up to the modern day. ...

• Commission of Government 1934-1949