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An Enduring Link: The Usher of the Black Rod’s chain of office

There has been an Usher of the Black Rod in what is now Canada since 1791 but the Usher’s chain of office is a relatively recent addition to parliamentary custom.

The silver chain has become a familiar sight since it was completed in 2014 — and it has the personal approval of Queen Elizabeth II.

“Every time I wear that chain, I’m reminded that it’s not just a symbolic connection,” current Usher J. Greg Peters said. “It’s been in the Queen of Canada’s hands.”

Usher of the Black Rod J. Greg Peters wears the silver chain of office in the Senate Chamber.
The medallion features the royal cypher as well as two crossed rods “as a tribute to the Black Rod that was lost in the 1916 fire,” said Mr. Peters. Canada’s motto — a Latin phrase meaning “from sea to sea” — encircles the medallion.

The idea for the chain first came up over 50 years ago.

Garrard & Co., the official Crown Jeweller at the time, drew up a preliminary design in 1966. But it was not until 2013 that the Usher of the Black Rod — working in collaboration with the Canadian Heraldic Authority — turned the idea into reality by engaging Quebec jeweller Luc Laframboise of Créations Lucas. He used his expertise to incorporate design elements of the 1966 proposal and the current Black Rod.

Every detail is significant.

Suspended at the front is a blue medallion, bordered by the motto of Canada (a Latin phrase meaning “from sea to sea”) and topped with the royal crown. At its centre, the Queen’s cypher surmounts a gold sovereign coin dated 2013, the year Mr. Peters was appointed Usher of the Black Rod. The coin alludes to the 1904 gold sovereign embedded in the base of the Usher’s ebony staff.

“The coin is a bit of a buried surprise,” said Mr. Peters. “It’s like slipping a loonie under centre ice for the big playoff game.”

The Usher wears the chain of office for important ceremonies such as the installation of a new governor general and the Opening of Parliament, as well as official welcoming ceremonies for foreign heads of state.

In November 2014, Queen Elizabeth invited Mr. Peters and then Senate Speaker the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella to Windsor Castle, her royal residence in the U.K., to receive the chain.

After the ceremony, the Queen and the Usher chatted about the chain’s craftsmanship and symbolism.

“The Queen held the medallion and examined her cypher intently. She was interested in every intricate detail,” Mr. Peters recalled.

For Mr. Peters, that ceremony cemented the fact that parliamentary traditions are not static — they’re living connections between Canada and its Queen.

“Tradition, ceremony and regalia galvanize the relationship between the Crown and Parliament,” he said. “It’s essential to nourish that connection.”

The centrepiece of the chain of office is a silver-and-blue medallion. It is suspended from two chains forming a series of S-shaped links that represent the Senate.

The shield from the Arms of Canada hangs at the back. It is superimposed over the maces of the Senate and the House of Commons, alluding to the fact that the Usher is the only senior officer of Parliament permitted on the floor of both chambers.

Queen Elizabeth II and Mr. Peters stand with the newly created chain of office during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in 2014.

The Right Reverend David Conner presides over the dedication and blessing of the Usher of the Black Rod’s chain of office, held in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2014.

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