REGINA - The new year of 2025 has arrived at Government House, and it promises to be a year of change.
Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty ushered in the new year by hosting the annual New Year’s Levee at Government House. It is the final time Mirasty is hosting the event in his current role as he prepares to leave office in a few weeks.
Mirasty is entering his final month as Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan. He told reporters Wednesday that the new Lieutenant Governor Bernadette McIntyre is due to be officially installed in a ceremony on Jan. 31.
For that reason, this last Levee for Mirasty in his current role was a particularly meaningful event for him and his family.
“Absolutely,” said Mirasty. “It does have special meaning because of that, and we've enjoyed them, all of the Levees that we've hosted here.”
The Lieutenant Governor’s New Year’s Day Levee is a tradition that dates back to 1884 before Saskatchewan was even a province. New Year's Levees in general have been a tradition going back even further.
“Well, the New Year's Levee dates back to the 1700s in Europe, and it was a time where the aristocracy of the day would welcome community members into their house, so to speak, or their place,” Mirasty said.
“And so that tradition has continued and started here in Canada in the 1800s with Lieutenant Governors kind of following that tradition from Europe. And really, it's an opportunity for the Lieutenant Governors to open their doors to the community and to meet as many people as possible and bring in the new year, and vice versa. They get to meet the Lieutenant Governor and in our case, Donna, my wife, and yeah, it's the main part of it.”
The event Wednesday included coffee and tea for the public in the Sir Richard Lake Hall, and music in the carriage area including the Regina Mandolin Orchestra Quintet and from fiddler Tahnis Cunningham and guitarist Ray Bell. The public also got to see the Henry Newlands Ballroom and the Amedee Forget Museum.
It is one of several events open to the public at Government House including the annual events on Canada Day and Victoria Day, and events marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Lieutenant Governor Mirasty pointed to the importance of Government House being open and accessible to the public.
“Oh, it's very important, absolutely critical, because really this is the people's house, right? It's not mine or the Lieutenant Governor's. And so it's important that people have access to the building as they do every day. It is open. And so for them to see what history was when this place was first built, and also to make that connection to this part of our government structure and process.”
Looking back to his time as Lieutenant Governor, Mirasty says it is his interactions with the public that stand out to him.
“Well, it all revolves around the people that we've met and interacted with in this role throughout Saskatchewan, here at Government House, but really the special people that make up the province of Saskatchewan.”
Mirasty is proud of being the first Indigenous Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.
“When we talked about accepting the role, it was about bringing part of who we are into this office, even though it's steeped in tradition, centuries old,” Mirasty said. “It really was something that was important to us to bring a part of who we are into this office.”
As for what he hopes his legacy will be:
“Well, I think mainly just being approachable and trying to respond to as many events as possible in different parts of the province. It's really about that connection that we've made and strengthened with people around the province.”
