P.E.I.'s lieutenant-governor costs taxpayers $650K a year

P.E.I. and Canadian taxpayers split a bill of $650,205 in salaries and expenses to maintain P.E.I.'s lieutenant-governor and his official residence at Fanningbank for one year, 2011-2012.

And while the P.E.I. New Democratic Party has suggested that's a bill that needs trimming, it's actually the second-lowest cost among all provinces in Canada.

P.E.I. taxpayers are responsible for the largest portion of the bill.

In 2011-2012, they paid $466,893 to maintain the official residence in Charlottetown, a stately, 29-room private residence built in 1834. Most of that money — $313,197 — went to pay staff salaries.

There are five staff members that serve the lieutenant-governor, including two administrative workers, two housekeepers and a chef.

The federal government pays the salaries of all lieutenant-governors. In 2011-2012, those salaries were $126,241 each.

Ottawa also picks up the tab for "Expenses Incurred in the Exercise of Their Official Duties." In 2011-2012 the bill for P.E.I. amounted to another $57,071.

P.E.I. expenses 2nd-lowest in Canada

Looking at just the provincial portion of the bill, P.E.I. spends the second-lowest amount out of all the provinces to maintain its lieutenant-governor.

New Brunswick has the lowest provincial cost at $319,500. Next-lowest is P.E.I. at $466,893, followed by Alberta at $493,000.

On a per capita basis though, P.E.I.'s lieutenant-governor costs each Island taxpayer far more than what taxpayers pay elsewhere in Canada. In 2011-12 the per capita provincial cost was $3.19. At the other end of the spectrum, each Quebec resident paid $0.09 to support that province's lieutenant-governor.

CBC News tried to contact current Lt.-Gov. Frank Lewis to discuss the expense of maintaining Government House, but the call was not returned.

Barbara Hagerman, who was lieutenant-governor from 2006 to 2011, agreed to speak (but not be recorded) to clear up what she felt was misinformation put forward this week by the NDP in suggesting Government House be turned into a provincial museum.

She explained that when she was lieutenant-governor, she did not have a bodyguard or a chauffeur. NDP Leader Mike Redmond was quoted this week attributing those positions to the lieutenant-governor's entourage.

'A bargain'

Hagerman said aides-de-camp served on a volunteer basis. And while the province paid for drivers, they were provided on an as-needed basis. She also clarified the vehicle was not a limousine, but a Cadillac, which was a year old when purchased by government.

She said she tried to have the chef work part-time but that wasn't feasible. She said food had to be prepared for frequent functions with as many as 70 people. The chef also came in to prepare lunch and supper on the days when no functions were held. She said, between her duties as Lieutenant-Governor and her husband's full-time work, neither of them had time to prepare meals.

Every few years, a group called the Monarchist League of Canada publishes a report analyzing the costs of maintaining Canada's constitutional monarchy. The league's chair Robert Finch says Island taxpayers are receiving good value for their money.

"I would challenge anybody to come up with an institution or something of a similar nature, an entire office to run under half a million dollars on an annual basis," he said. "That is a bargain when you consider it.

"The other thing I would say is constitutionally, P.E.I. like any other province, has a lieutenant-governor to represent the crown. There has to be some cost associated with that. No one's talking about getting rid of the position, that would completely change the dynamic of the federal-provincial relationship."

NDP would trim expenses

But some provinces have divested themselves of the original, official residences of their lieutenant-governors. Others no longer have the lieutenant-governors living at the residences.

Neither Quebec nor Ontario has an official residence. In Ontario, the province will provide an apartment in Toronto for the lieutenant-governor if he or she does not already reside there.

Decades ago, Saskatchewan did what the NDP is now proposing P.E.I do: turned their Government House into a museum.

Saskatchewan's Government House hasn't been the official residence of the lieutenant governor since 1945, when the building was converted into a convalescent home for soldiers returning after the Second World War.

In the early 1970s, it was slated for demolition, but was saved. It now serves not only as a museum but also as a setting for many official functions of Saskatchewan's Lt.-Gov. Vaughn Solomon Schofield. She is provided with a condominium in Regina for her residence.

Besides turning P.E.I.'s Government House into a museum, NDP Leader Mike Redmond says his party, if in power, would look for further ways to trim expenses related to the position.

"We would look to claw back exactly the responsibilities, move the lieutenant-governor and his wife to an apartment, and sort of start to diminish the role," he told CBC News this week.

"It is ceremonial, largely, but it does play a significant role on Prince Edward Island. We wouldn't want to detract from that obviously, but we need to use our assets in a way that best suits Islanders, plus we have to be fiscally responsible. And sometimes there's a difference between a want and a need."

On mobile? See a chart breaking down the expenses here.