Newlands, Henry William (1862- 1954)

A respected lawyer and administrator of justice, Henry William Newlands served two successive terms as Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan from 1921 to 1931. Born March 19, 1862, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Newlands travelled west to Winnipeg in 1882 and, two years later, settled in Prince Albert where he practiced law. In 1897, he relocated to Regina where he served as inspector of the Land Titles Offices for the North-West Territories. He was appointed to the Territorial Supreme Court in 1904, the Saskatchewan Supreme Court in 1907, and the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in 1920.

Post-war reconstruction and Drought were two major concerns in Saskatchewan when Newlands was named Lieutenant-Governor on February 18, 1921. Accordingly, he attended official ceremonies and delivered speeches in support of soldier resettlement, a continued military presence in the province, and a rejuvenated agricultural economy. Government House functions were coordinated with the help of Newlands's unmarried daughter Edina, as his wife Mary lived in the United States for health reasons.

The start of Newlands's second term as Lieutenant-Governor in 1926 coincided with an improvement in Saskatchewan's economic fortunes. However, the stock market crash of October 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression ended all hope of continued prosperity. Newlands's failing health forced him to resign the vice-regal post in October 1930 even though his second term did not officially end until March 30, 1931. Henry Newlands and his daughter settled on a farm near St. Thomas, Ontario in 1936. He died there on August 9, 1954, at age 92.

Holden Stoffel

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Further Reading

Hryniuk, Margaret and Garth Pugh. 1991. “A Tower of Attraction”: An Illustrated History of Government House, Regina, Saskatchewan. Regina: Government House Historical Society/Canadian Plains Research Center; 1954. “Newlands' Funeral is Held in Ontario,” Regina Leader-Post (August 10): 3.