Newfoundland Royal Commission

The Newfoundland Royal Commission or Amulree Commission (as it came to be known) was a royal commission established on February 17, 1933 by the Government of the United Kingdom "to examine into the future of Newfoundland and in particular to report on the financial situation and prospects therein."

During the Great Depression Newfoundland faced an economic crisis; Canadian banks extended credit to the colonial government, but did so under harsh terms. On 5 April 1932 a riot at the Colonial Building in St John’s precipitated the government's collapse.^[1]

In November 1932, the Newfoundland government led by Frederick C. Alderdice told the public and international community that it would be in default on payments to the public debt, which then stood at $100 million. This worried the British and Canadian governments who feared this would cause a bad reaction on the already fragile stock markets during the Depression. It was agreed then, that Canada and Britain would provide short term financial assistance pending the full report of a royal commission.

The British government appointed the chairman, Lord Amulree. The Canadian government appointed Charles Alexander Magrath, a former member of the House of Commons of Canada, and the Newfoundland government appointed Sir William Ewen Stavert, a Canadian who was financial advisor to the Newfoundland government.