surveys, business registrations and writs. As well, the position was generally responsible for the administration of the civil service and of elections. Provincial secretaries were usually the most senior member of the provincial cabinet outside of the premier, and the office holder was often designated as acting premier when the premier was out of province, ill or otherwise unavailable. The position of provincial secretary was particularly important in Manitoba from 1870 to 1874, as that province's institutions were being established. The province had no premier during this period, and its lieutenant-governors acted as the de facto leaders of government. The early provincial secretaries (including Alfred Boyd and Henry Joseph Clarke) were the most prominent elected officials in the province, and are retroactively regarded as premiers in many modern sources. The provincial secretary continued to oversee miscellaneous government activities into the twentieth-century (Nova Scotia's Public Service Act conferred to the position responsibility for all matters not specifically assigned to any other minister). Frequently, twentieth-century provincial secretaries would concurrently hold other cabinet portfolios. Non-governmental In many organizations in Canada the provincial secretary is also the name of a senior officer at the provincial level. The Monarchist League of Canada, for instance, has provincial secretaries in various parts of the country who are primarily responsible for the organizing the league's activities in a specific province. In the provincial sections of the New Democratic Party, the provincial secretary is the senior administrative officer, and may be by title or function chief executive officer, of the non-parliamentary wing of the party and is responsible for organizing provincial conventions, provincial councils and other meetings, membership drives, fundraising and other day-to-day operations. As well, the provincial secretary usually has a senior role in administering the party's electoral campaigns. See also Chief Secretary Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario Secretary of State for Canada Deputy premier Secrétariat provincial du Québec References External links Ministry of Provincial Secretary and Government Services Text of the Act outlining the responsibilities of the position and department in British Columbia repealed in 2000. Nova Scotia. Department of Provincial Secretary Page on the Archives of Nova Scotia website describes the position of Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia, which was created in 1720 and abolished in 1993. Political history of Canada Political history of New Brunswick Political history of Quebec Provincial and territorial ministers in Canada Governance of the British Empire British colonial officials