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Know Your Mace: New Brunswick
Kenda Clark-Gorey

It wasn’t until 1937, the year of King George VI’s coronation, that the Province of New Brunswick received its mace. By this time, the Parliament in Ottawa and seven provincial legislatures had long since possessed a mace of their own.

On February 15, 1937, Lieutenant Governor Murray MacLaren wrote to inform Premier A.A. Dysart it was his honour to present the Legislative Assembly with a mace. According to the synoptic reports, the Premier accepted the gift on February 18, 1937 in the Legislative Assembly Chamber after the Lieutenant Governor presented the Throne Speech. The Premier initially had suggested that the mace precede His Honour to the Assembly Chamber; however, His Honour was too modest and preferred that the gift be presented in his absence after the speech.

Made of sterling silver by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co., Ltd. of London, England, symbolic and decorative elements include: the Royal Arms on the top of the cushion of the crown, the Arms of the Province of New Brunswick and the first seal of the Province on either side of the head of the mace, the Royal Monogram G.R. VI on both sides of the head, and purple violets (the Provincial floral emblem), red spruce (the chief product of the Province) and maple leaves (showing the connection between the Province and the Dominion of Canada) on the staff.

Kenda Clark-Gorey

Legislative Librarian,
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick