The Constitution

The Governor General: The King-Byng Affair

The King-Byng Affair is the name given to a 1926 constitutional crisis that occurred when the Governor General, Lord Byng of Vimy refused a request by the Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, to dissolve parliament and call a general election.

The crisis was watched closely by both the Canadian and British governments, and came to redefine the role of Governor General not only in Canada but throughout the dominions. It was also a major impetus in negotiations at Imperial Conferences held in the late 1920s that led to the Statute of Westminster 1931.

As we have discussed, a governor general represented both the Sovereign and the British government, a situation that had evolved with Lord Byng's predecessors and the Canadian government as well as the Canadian people into a tradition of non-interference in Canadian political affairs.

In September 1925, Prime Minister Mackenzie King requested a dissolution of Parliament to call an election, which Lord Byng granted. In the 1925 election, the Conservative Party won the most seats, but not a majority. Counting on the support of the Progressive Party to overcome the Conservative minority, Mackenzie King, the Liberal Party leader, did not resign as Prime Minister and remained in power with a minority government.

Then, a political scandal in the Ministry of Customs and Excise became public, and in Parliament the Conservative Party alleged that the corruption extended to the highest levels of government, including the Prime Minister. Mackenzie King fired the Minister of Customs and promptly named him to the Senate, creating even more dismay among the members of the Progressive Party, who had already been withdrawing their support for the Liberal government.

Facing a third vote on the question of government corruption, and having already lost two previous votes on questions of procedure, King went to the Governor General seeking a dissolution of Parliament. Lord Byng used his reserve power to refuse the request thus igniting the crisis. Prime Minister King requested that before any decision was made, Lord Byng consult the British government which he represented. Governor General Byng again refused, citing non-interference in Canadian affairs.

The next day, King presented Lord Byng with an Order-in-Council seeking the dissolution of Parliament, which Lord Byng refused to sign. King resigned and, as a result, Canada was left temporarily without a Prime Minister and government until the Governor General invited Arthur Meighen to form a government. Meighen did so, but within a week lost a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Meighen requested a dissolution of Parliament, which was granted by Byng, and an election was called.

Politically, much was made of the 'Byng-King Crisis' during the election campaign. The Liberals were returned to power with a clear majority and King as Prime Minister. Once in power, King's government sought to redefine the role of Governor General as a representative of the sovereign and not the British government at a Commonwealth conference. Known as the Balfour Declaration, it acknowledged that the Dominions were equal in status to the United Kingdom, and that each Governor General would henceforth function solely as a representative of the Crown in their respective Dominions, and not as an agent of the British Government. Instead, the latter function would be taken over by High Commissioners, who are akin to ambassadors. The principle of the equality of the Dominions was further extended by the Statute of Westminster 1931. The concept that the entire Empire was the territory that belonged to the British Crown was abandoned; instead, it was held that each Dominion was a kingdom in its own right, so that the monarch was separately King of the United Kingdom, King of Canada, King of Australia, and so forth. Even though the Dominion of Canada was recognised as independent of and equal to the United Kingdom, it remained customary for Governors General to be British, and not Canadian. The term "Dominion" is no longer used either, as it harkens back to the British Government having some kind of authority over Canada, which it does not. The first Canadian Governor General, Vincent Massey, was not appointed until 1952.

On leaving Canada on September 30, 1926, Lord Byng returned to England. Despite the political crisis, he left a much-respected man.

The King-Byng Affair was the most controversial use of a Governor General's powers until the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 in which the Australian Governor General dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

Correspondence from the King-Byng Affair

To read the letters written by Lord Byng and Prime Minister Mackenzie King, please click here.

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Related Links

• The Whitlam Dismissal