Table of Precedence

The Table of Precedence is the established order of people for official functions and events. Although precedence has been long established, the table has evolved over time to incorporate the recognition of diverse groups in our society.

The Table of Precedence establishes the seating plan and the order of introduction, speeches and official toasts. Each year, the Protocol Office plans a large number of official functions, relying on the Table of Precedence for guidance.

Table of Precedence for Saskatchewan

The Chief of Protocol is responsible for interpretation of the following table:

His Majesty The King

1. The Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan or the Administrator. (see notes 2a and 2b)
2. The Premier of Saskatchewan. (see note 2b)
3. The Chief Justice of Saskatchewan. (see note 3)
4. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. (see note 2c)
5. The Deputy Premier, then Members of the Executive Council in relative order of precedence as determined by the Premier.
6. The Leader of the Opposition. (see note 2d)
7. The Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench.
8. Superior Court Justices: Justices of the Court of Appeal and the Court of King's Bench, with relative precedence among them determined by date of first appointment to the Superior Courts.
9. Provincial Court: the Chief Judge, then the Associate Chief Judge(s), then Judges in order of seniority of appointment.
10. The Members of the Legislative Assembly, in the following order: Deputy Speaker; the Government House Leader (see note 4); the Opposition House Leader; the other Members, with relative precedence to be determined by date of first election to the Legislature. (see note 2e)
11. Indigenous Leaders: Elders, the Chief and Vice-Chiefs of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN); the senior officers of the Tribal Councils; the Chiefs of Saskatchewan First Nation Bands; equivalent Métis leaders.
12. Leaders of Faith Communities: the Archbishop, or Senior Bishop in the Province, of the Anglican Church of Canada; the Archbishop of Regina and Metropolitan, or the Senior Bishop in the Province, of the Roman Catholic Church; the Bishop of the Saskatoon Eparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church; the President, or the Past President or the President-Elect, of the Saskatchewan Conference of The United Church of Canada; the Bishop of the Saskatchewan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; the senior representatives in the Province of the Alliance, Baptist, Mennonite, Orthodox and Presbyterian Churches and of the Jewish, Muslim and Hindu Faiths. (Relative precedence among the various religious leaders is determined by the date of appointment or election to their present office.) (see note 6)
13. The Consular Corps in the Province, in the following order: Dean of the Consular Corps; Consuls-General; Consuls; Vice-Consuls; Consular Agents. (Relative precedence among them is determined by the date of their appointment.) (see note 6)
14. Mayors, with precedence given to the mayor of the host municipality and subsequent relative precedence determined by the date of first taking office. (see note 5)
15. Senior Officials:
    1. the Deputy Minister to the Premier; the Cabinet Secretary and Clerk of the Executive Council; the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly; the seven officers of the Legislative Assembly including: the Ombudsman, the Provincial Auditor, the Chief Electoral Officer, the Advocate for Children and Youth, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner and the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. As well, the Human Rights Commissioner and the Treaty Commissioner.
    2. Deputy Ministers; then other senior Saskatchewan government officials with rank of Deputy Minister as determined by the Executive Council; then Chief Executive Officers of Crown Corporations - relative precedence determined by date of appointment (see note 6).
16. Universities: the Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan; the Chancellor of the University of Regina; the President of the University of Saskatchewan; the President of the University of Regina, and the President of the First Nations University of Canada.
17. Police and Military: the Commanding Officer of "F" Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police; the Commanding Officer of "Depot" Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police; the President of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police; the Wing Commander of 15 Wing Moose Jaw; the senior representative in Saskatchewan of 38 Canadian Brigade Group; the senior representative in Saskatchewan of Maritime Command.

Explanatory Notes

1. The above Table of Precedence is intended for provincial occasions.
2. On federal-provincial occasions, or on occasions when federal, diplomatic, foreign or Commonwealth representatives are present, the Table of Precedence for Canada, international protocol rules, and other courtesies may alter the Saskatchewan order. Specific cases are as follows:
   1. His Majesty The King has precedence over everyone. Other members of the Royal Family have precedence immediately after the Lieutenant Governor.
   2. When present on provincial occasions the Governor General and the Prime Minister take precedence after the Lieutenant Governor and the Premier respectively. They may, as a courtesy and at the discretion of the Province, be granted precedence over the Lieutenant Governor and the Premier respectively on federal-provincial occasions taking place within the province.
   3. Heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Canada (Embassies and High Commissions) may be given precedence immediately after the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, with seniority as determined by Foreign Affairs Canada.
   4. Precedence may be given immediately after the Leader of the Opposition to Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada, first to members of the Canadian Cabinet, then to Privy Councillors who are not members of the Cabinet, in each case relative precedence to be in order of the date of appointment.
   5. Precedence may be given immediately after the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan to:
      1. Members of the Senate who represent Saskatchewan, relative precedence determined by date of appointment;
      2. Members of the House of Commons who represent Saskatchewan constituencies, relative precedence determined by date of election.
3. Precedence is given immediately after the Chief Justice of Saskatchewan to former Lieutenant Governors, then former Premiers, then former Chief Justices of Saskatchewan; relative precedence in each sub-category to be determined by date of first appointment to office. (Former Premiers who continue to hold other elected office are accorded the precedence attached to that office.)
4. A Government House Leader who is a Cabinet Minister takes the precedence of a Cabinet Minister.
5. On municipal occasions, the Mayor or other senior elected official of the municipality has precedence immediately after the Premier.
6. When a number of persons were elected or appointed to office on the same date, precedence shall be determined by alphabetical order of their last names.