The King's Printer (known as the Queen's Printer during the reign of a female monarch) is typically a bureau of the national, state, or provincial government responsible for producing official documents issued by the King-in-Council, Ministers of the Crown, or other departments. The position is defined by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

under the

royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...

in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Canada

Federal

The King's Printer for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, so titled as to distinguish it from the equivalent position in each of the Canadian provinces, is the individual in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

responsible for the

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

and

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

requirements of the King-in- federal-Council. The Minister of Public Works and Government Services is empowered by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act to appoint the King's Printer for Canada on behalf of the sovereign.

Provincial and territorial

Alberta

The

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

King's Printer is the position, created in 1906, that oversees the administration of Crown copyright in the province, as well as publishing and distributing copies of legislation, regulations, and related material, including the '' Alberta Gazette'', in both

hard copy In information handling, the U.S. Federal Standard 1037C (Glossary of Telecommunication Terms) defines a hard copy as a permanent reproduction, or copy, in the form of a physical object, of any media suitable for direct use by a person (in par ...

and electronic forms. Such print and digital media is also distributed by the King's Printer to libraries around Alberta, as well as being sold at a dedicated bookstore in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and via the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. The King's Printer themself is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta-in-

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

British Columbia

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, the office of the King's Printer and Comptroller of Stationery for British Columbia is a branch of the province's Procurement and Supply Services department, and not only supplies paper and electronic copies of all legislation, regulations, and related materials, including the '' British Columbia Gazette'', but also operates a book and gift store called Crown Publications, and provides to the public printing, copying, and binding services. Once legislation has been granted

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly must provide to the King's Printer a certified copy of the new law, as well as the journals of all sessions of the legislature.

Manitoba

King's Printer for Manitoba was established in 1870 at the founding of Manitoba. The current King's Printer is the Deputy Minister of Finance, however the function is delegated to the Communications and Engagement Division of Manitoba Finance. Under the Queen's Printer Act of Manitoba, the King's Printer has three roles: * it is the official source of Government of Manitoba statutory publications including acts and regulations, the Manitoba Gazette, and the CCSM (Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba); * it is responsible for arranging or entering into contracts on behalf of the government with respect to publishing, advertising and communication services; and * it holds all Crown copyright in the province, including provincial logos and marks, with most material available for use under open use license In these roles, the King's Printer of Manitoba, represented by the Communications and Engagement Division, continues a 150-year tradition of communicating the work of the Manitoba government to the public.

New Brunswick

A King's Printer for New Brunswick is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick on the advice of their Executive Council, and thereafter publishes the regulations, acts of the provincial parliament, and '' The Royal Gazette'', and supplies them to libraries across the province and for sale to the public.

Newfoundland and Labrador

A King's Printer for Newfoundland and Labrador is appointed by the Minister of Digital Government and Service.

Nova Scotia

The King's Printer for Nova Scotia publishes the Royal Gazette.

Ontario

The King's Printer for Ontario holds Crown copyright in that province, and all material hence bears the mark ''© King's Printer for Ontario''. The department must, by law, print the '' Ontario Gazette''.

Prince Edward Island

The

Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island The lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island () is the representative in Prince Edward Island of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieutenant go ...

appoints a King's Printer for the province, who is an officer of the Department of the Provincial Treasury and is overseen by the minister of the Crown for that department. The King's Printer is required by law to publish the ''Royal Gazette'', as well as copies of all legislation, journals of the legislature, and other material printed as the cost of the King in Right of Prince Edward Island.

Quebec

The equivalent agency for Quebec is the Québec Official Publisher.

Saskatchewan

The Office of the King's Printer in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

is based in Regina and has the duty of publishing and distributing official copies of all legislation, regulations, and related material, including the '' Saskatchewan Gazette'', and any other publications ordered by the

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan () is the representative in Saskatchewan of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieutenant governor of Sas ...

-in-

. The King's Printer also holds Crown copyright on behalf of the King in Right of Saskatchewan, and has the ability to release, in exceptional circumstances, such copyright on a one-time basis. The Queen's Printer themself is appointed by the

-in-

. Once legislation in has been granted Royal Assent, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly must provide to the King's Printer a certified copy of the new law, as well as the journals of all sessions of the legislature.

Northwest Territories

The official printer of the Northwest Territories is known as the Territorial Printer.

Nunavut

The official printer is known as the Nunavut Official Editor/Territorial Printer.

Yukon

In Yukon, the King's Printer has been in existence since 1976. It performs its basic function as a legislative printer, comptroller of stationery, printer for the departments, publisher of The Yukon Gazette, and printer of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly.

United Kingdom

The holder of the letters patent has the nearly exclusive right of printing, publishing and importing the Authorised Version of the Bible and

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

within the United Kingdom's jurisdiction. There are three exceptions which apply to this right. One is that the office of King's Printer only extends to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Within

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

the rights to the King James Bible are administered for the Crown by the Bible Board, which holds the office of His Majesty's sole and only Master Printers and which licenses the printing of the Bible, New Testament and Book of Psalms. The other two exceptions are that separate sets of letters patent grant the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

and

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

the right to print and distribute the Authorised Version of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer regardless of who holds the office of King's Printer. In 1767 Charles Eyre received a patent as the King's Printer and a few years later Andrew Strahan operated with Eyre in the same role. Following Strahan's retirement in 1819 his nephews Andrew and Robert Spottiswoode continued to work as the King's Printer and were later to run the firms Spottiswoode and Co. and Eyre & Spottiswoode. From 1875 George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode were "printers to the Queen's most excellent majesty for Her Majesty's Stationery Office". In 1901 after the accession of King Edward VII the firm of Eyre & Spottiswoode was "re-appointed King's Printer". The Controller of HMSO is appointed by Letters Patent to the office of King's Printer of Acts of Parliament.

Devolved

Section 92 of the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

establishes the office of King's Printer for Scotland, and provides for it to be held by the King's Printer of Acts of Parliament. The King's Printer for Scotland is responsible for administering Crown copyright in Acts of the Scottish Parliament, Scottish subordinate legislation and works made by the Scottish Administration. , the offices of King's Printer of Acts of Parliament and the King's Printer for Scotland was held by the Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, Jeff James. The Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill would formally establish the King's Printer for Wales (). The equivalent office for Northern Ireland is the Government Printer for Northern Ireland.

References

{{Canadian monarchy State publishers Printers Monarchy of Canada Law of the United Kingdom