Usher of the Black Rod (Canada)


The Usher of the Black Rod is the most senior protocol position in the Parliament of Canada.
The office is modelled on the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Black Rod leads the Speaker's Parade at the beginning of each sitting of the Senate and oversees protocol and administrative and logistical details of important events taking place on Parliament Hill, such as the opening of parliament and the Speech from the Throne. Upon the appointment of the first woman to the position of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on 20 October 1997, the title was changed to Usher of the Black Rod.

The Rod

The usher carries an ebony and gold staff of office modelled on that used in the House of Lords. Canada's original Rod is believed to have been made in the 1840s in Montreal for the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, and then transferred to the Senate after Confederation in 1867, but it was lost in the 1916 fire that destroyed Centre Block. The current rod was crafted the same year by then-Crown Jeweller Garrard & Co..
The rod was snapped in half in 1967, and underwent only amateur repairs at the hands of then-Senator Henry Davies Hicks in his personal workshop; over the years it has additionally suffered scratching, cracking, and loss of pieces. Accordingly, on the occasion of Canada’s 150th birthday in 2016, Her Majesty bestowed a restoration by artisans and craftspeople at Windsor Castle under the direction of Adrian Smith, L.V.O., which went as far as to replace the central ebony Rod itself with a 20th Century ebony walking cane.
The top consists of a lion on its hind legs displaying a shield decorated with a royal cypher George IV of the United Kingdom, the reigning monarch of the time, and bearing the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense. Its middle knob is made of silver with maple leaf engravings, and is currently engraved with the name of Queen Elizabeth II, inscribed during its restoration. The base is set with a 1904 Gold Sovereign, displaying St. George slaying the Dragon.

List of Gentlemen Ushers of the Black Rod