Government House, Regina, Saskatchewan, was constructed as a residence for the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, whose territorial headquarters were in Regina until the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created out of the Territories in 1905 and Regina became the capital of Saskatchewan. At that point Government House became the viceregal residence of Saskatchewan. Regina, Saskatchewan Regina is a small city in the south of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. ... A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ... ... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: From many peoples, strength) Official languages English Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Lieutenant-Governor Lynda M. Haverstock Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 14 6 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 7th 651,036 km² 9. ... Motto: Fortis et Liber (Latin: Strong and free) Official languages English Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 28 6 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 6th 661,848 km² 642,317 km² 19,531 km² (2. ...

Government House was completed in 1891 at a cost of $50,000 and was the first residence in the Territories to be electrified. A conservatory was built in 1901 and a ballroom in 1929.

Viceregal palaces were something of an anomaly in the political climate of 1940s Saskatchewan and in March 1945 the Lieutenant-Governor's office and residence were moved out of Government House and into the Hotel Saskatchewan, then operated by the CPR in downtown Regina, and Government House was leased to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs for use as a veterans rehabilitation facility. In 1958, re-named Saskatchewan House, the building entered into 10 years' use as an adult education centre until it was proposed that it be demolished and the site redeveloped. The extensive grounds before the front entrance had already been subdivided off and built over as a nursing home. For other meanings of CPR, see CPR (disambiguation). ...

However, historically-minded local groups including the Regina Chamber of Commerce, Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, Regina Council of Women and the City of Regina were perturbed at the threatened loss of a culturally significant historical structure in a city not over-burdened with such appurtenances; in 1971 the Society for the Preservation and Restoration of Saskatchewan House was formed and by 1980 its efforts were rewarded. Government House, its original name and historical fittings and many historical contents restored, re-opened as a historic site for public education and edification. In 1984 the office of the Lieutenant-Governor returned to Government House, though the Lieutenant-Governor is housed in accommodation provided by the federal government, reflecting the contitutionally somewhat anomalous role of Ottawa in providing viceregal appointments for the provinces. The Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.) is a Canadian womens charitable organization. ...

The tradition of the Lieutenant-Governor holding an New Years Day levee in the Government House foyer and ballroom for the public was resumed immediately the Lieutenant-Governor's offices returned there. The historic rooms are furnished in period style with many of the original furnishings to the extent that these have been found and are open for public inspection. Guides dressed in period costumes are provided and a Victorian tea is held thirteen weekends each year. A levee, levée (from the feminine past participle of the French verb lever, to raise), floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial embankment or dike, usually earthen, which parallels the course of a river. ...

See also

• Lieutenant-Governors of Saskatchewan