Governor General of Canada

The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the advice of his or her Canadian prime minister, appoints a governor general to administer the government of Canada in the monarch's name. The commission is for an indefinite period—known as serving at His Majesty's pleasure—but is usually for five years. Since 1959, it has also been traditional to alternate between francophone and anglophone officeholders. The 30th and current governor general is Mary Simon, who was sworn in on 26 July 2021. An Inuk leader from Nunavik, Quebec, Simon is the first Indigenous person to hold the office.

As the sovereign's representative, the governor general carries out the day-to-day constitutional and ceremonial duties of the monarch. The constitutional duties include appointing lieutenant governors, Supreme Court justices, and senators; signing orders-in-council; summoning, proroguing, and dissolving the federal parliament; granting royal assent to bills; calling elections; and signing commissions for officers of the Canadian Armed Forces. The ceremonial duties include delivering the speech from the throne at the state opening of parliament; accepting letters of credence from incoming ambassadors; and distributing honours, decorations, and medals. Per the tenets of responsible government, the governor general acts almost always (except on the matter of honours) on the advice of the prime minister.

The office began in the 17th century, when the French Crown appointed governors of the colony of Canada and, following the British conquest of the colony in 1763, the British monarch appointed governors of the Province of Quebec (later the Canadas). Consequently, the office is, along with the Crown, the oldest continuous institution in Canada. The present version of the office emerged with Canadian Confederation and the passing of the British North America Act, 1867.

Although the post initially still represented the government of the United Kingdom (that is, the monarch in his British council), the office was gradually Canadianized until, with the passage of the Statute of Westminster, 1931, and the establishment of a separate and uniquely Canadian monarchy, the governor general became the direct personal representative of the independently Canadian sovereign (the monarch in his Canadian council). Throughout this process of gradually increasing Canadian independence, the role of governor general took on additional responsibilities, such as acting as commander-in-chief of the Canadian militia in the monarch's stead, and, in 1927, the first official international visit by a governor general was made. In 1947, King George VI issued letters patent allowing the viceroy to exercise almost all powers on behalf of the monarch. As a matter of law, however, the governor general is not in the same constitutional position as the sovereign; the office itself does not, as such, possess any powers of the royal prerogative. Any constitutional amendment that affects the Crown, including the office of governor general, requires the unanimous consent of each provincial legislative assembly as well as the Senate and House of Commons of Canada.

Appointment

thumb|alt=Letters Patent 1947|First page of the proclamation of the [[Letters Patent, 1947, as published in the Canada Gazette]]

The position of governor general is mandated by both the Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly known as the British North America Act, 1867), and the Letters Patent, 1947 by King George VI. (Until the appointment of Vincent Massey in 1952, the royal commission was authorized by the monarch's signature and signet.

Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor general-designate. and will begin preparations for their upcoming role, meeting with various high-level officials to ensure a smooth transition between governors general. The sovereign will also hold an audience with the appointee and will at that time induct both the governor general-designate and their spouse into the Order of Canada as Companions, as well as appointing the former as a Commander of both the Order of Military Merit and the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (should either person not have already received either of those honours). The governor general serves "at His Majesty's pleasure" (or the royal pleasure), meaning the prime minister may recommend to the King that the viceroy remain in his service for a longer period of time; some governors general have been in office for more than seven years. No additional formalities are necessary for such an "extension"; the governor general carries on until death, resignation, or the appointment of his or her successor. Only once, with the Earl Alexander of Tunis, has a royal proclamation been issued to end a governor general's incumbency.

Canada shares the person of the sovereign equally with 14 other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and that individual, in the monarch's capacity as the Canadian sovereign, has 10 other legal personas within the Canadian federation. As the sovereign works and resides in the United Kingdom, the governor general's primary task is to perform federal constitutional duties on behalf of the monarch. As such, the governor general carries on "the government of Canada on behalf and in the name of the sovereign".

The governor general acts within the principles of parliamentary democracy and responsible government as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and as a nonpartisan safeguard against the abuse of power. For the most part, however, the powers of the Crown are exercised on a day-to-day basis by elected and appointed individuals, leaving the governor general to perform the various ceremonial duties the sovereign otherwise carries out when in the country; at such a moment, the governor general removes him or herself from public, though the presence of the monarch does not affect the governor general's ability to perform governmental roles.

Past governor general John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, said of the job, "it is no easy thing to be a governor general of Canada. You must have the patience of a saint, the smile of a cherub, the generosity of an Indian prince, and the back of a camel", and the Earl of Dufferin stated that the governor general is "a representative of all that is august, stable, and sedate in the government, the history and the traditions of the country; incapable of partizanship and lifted far above the atmosphere of faction; without adherents to reward or opponents to oust from office; docile to the suggestions of his Ministers and, yet, securing to the people the certainty of being able to get rid of an administration or parliament the moment either had forfeited their confidence."

Constitutional role

All executive, legislative, and judicial power in and over Canada is vested in the monarch. The governor general is permitted to exercise most of this power, including the royal prerogative, in the sovereign's name; some as outlined in the Constitution Act, 1867, and some through various letters patent issued over the decades, particularly those from 1947 that constitute the Office of Governor General of Canada. The 1947 letters patent state, "and We do hereby authorize and empower Our Governor General, with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada or of any members thereof or individually, as the case requires, to exercise all powers and authorities lawfully belonging to Us in respect of Canada." The office itself does not, however, independently possess any powers of the royal prerogative, only exercising the Crown's powers with its permission; a fact the Constitution Act, 1867, left unchanged. Among other duties, the monarch retains the sole right to appoint the governor general. and the chief justice of the Supreme Court (or a puisne justice in the chief justice's absence) will act as the administrator of the government upon the death or removal, as well as the incapacitation, or absence of the governor general for more than one month.

thumb|[[Andrew Scheer (right), then Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, being admitted to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada by Governor General David Johnston (centre) at Rideau Hall, 25 September 2017]]

The governor general is required by the Constitution Act, 1867, to appoint for life persons to the King's Privy Council for Canada, who are all technically tasked with tendering to the monarch and viceroy guidance on the exercise of the royal prerogative. Convention dictates, though, that the governor general must draw from the Privy Council an individual to appoint as prime minister. In almost all cases, this is the member of Parliament who commands the confidence of the House of Commons, whom the governor general must appoint to the Privy Council, if that person is not already a member, so the individual can be appointed prime minister. The prime minister then advises the governor general to appoint other members of parliament to a committee of the Privy Council known as the Cabinet and it is, in practice, only from this group of ministers of the Crown that the king and governor general will take advice on the use of executive power; an arrangement called the king-in-Council or, senators, the speaker of the Senate, superior, district, and county court judges in each province, except those of the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and high commissioners and ambassadors. The advice given by the Cabinet is, in order to ensure the stability of government, by political convention typically binding. The governor general has mainly only the right to advise, encourage, and warn; to offer valued counsel to the prime minister.

Both the King and his viceroy, however, may in exceptional circumstances invoke the reserve powers, which remain the Crown's final check against a ministry's abuse of power. The reserve power of dismissal has never been used in Canada, although other reserve powers have been employed to force the prime minister to resign on two occasions. In 1896, prime minister Charles Tupper refused to step down after his party failed to win a majority in the House of Commons during that year's election, leading governor general Gordon to no longer recognize Tupper as prime minister and disapprove of several appointments Tupper had recommended. In 1925, the King–Byng affair took place, in which prime minister Mackenzie King, facing a non-confidence motion in the House of Commons, advised governor general Byng to dissolve the new parliament, but Byng refused.

Peter Hogg, a constitutional scholar, has opined that "a system of responsible government cannot work without a formal head of state who is possessed of certain reserve powers." Further, Eugene Forsey stated "the reserve power is indeed, under our Constitution, an absolutely essential safeguard of democracy. It takes the place of the legal and judicial safeguards provided in the United States by written Constitutions, enforceable in the courts."

Within the dominions, until the 1920s, most reserve powers were exercised by a governor general on the advice of either the local or the British Cabinet, with the latter taking precedence. After the Imperial Conference of 1926 produced the Balfour Declaration, formally establishing the autonomy and equal status of Commonwealth governments, governors general ceased to be advised in any way by British ministers.

It was decided at the same Imperial Conference that the governor general "should be kept as fully informed as His Majesty the King in Great Britain of Cabinet business and public affairs." How frequently governors general and their prime ministers conversed has varied;|group=n However, the practice is usually informal The governor general regularly receives the minutes from cabinet meetings and any documents referred to in those minutes.

thumb|left|[[John Buchan|Lord Tweedsmuir gives the Throne Speech at the opening of the third session of the 18th Canadian Parliament, 27 January 1938]]

The governor general also summons parliament, reads the speech from the throne, and prorogues and dissolves parliament. The governor general grants royal assent in the king's name; legally, the governor general has three options: grant royal assent (making the bill a law), withhold royal assent (vetoing the bill), or reserve the bill for the signification of the king's pleasure (allowing the sovereign to personally grant or withhold assent). If the governor general withholds the king's assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No governor general has denied royal assent to a bill. Provincial viceroys, however, are able to reserve royal assent to provincial bills for the governor general, which was last invoked in 1961 by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan.

Ceremonial role

With most constitutional functions lent to Cabinet, the governor general acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. The governor general will host members of Canada's royal family, as well as foreign royalty and heads of state, and will represent the and country abroad on state visits to other nations, Also as part of international relations, the governor general issues letters of credence and of recall for Canadian ambassadors and high commissioners and receives the same from foreign ambassadors and other Commonwealth countries' high commissioners appointed to Canada.

thumb|Governor general David Johnston greeting a crowd during Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa, July 2016

The governor general is also tasked with fostering national unity and pride. Queen Elizabeth II stated in 1959 to governor general Massey, "maintain[ing] the right relationship between the Crown and the people of Canada [is] the most important function among the many duties of the appointment which you have held with such distinction." One way in which this is carried out is travelling the country and meeting with Canadians from all regions and ethnic groups in Canada, The governor general will also induct individuals into the various national orders and present national medals and decorations. Similarly, the viceroy administers and distributes the Governor General's Awards, and will also give out awards associated with private organizations, some of which are named for past governors general.

Residences and household

Rideau Hall, located in Ottawa, is the official residence of the Canadian monarch and of the governor general and is thus the location of the viceregal household and the Chancellery of Honours. For a part of each year since 1872, governors general have also resided at the Citadel () in Quebec City, Quebec. A governor general's wife is known as the of Rideau Hall, though there is no equivalent term for a governor general's husband.

The viceregal household aids the governor general in the execution of the royal constitutional and ceremonial duties and is managed by the secretary to the governor general. The Chancellery of Honours depends from the and is thus also located at Rideau Hall and administered by the governor general. As such, the viceroy's secretary ex officio holds the position of Herald Chancellor of Canada, overseeing the Canadian Heraldic Authority—the mechanism of the Canadian honours system by which armorial bearings are granted to Canadians by the governor general in the name of the sovereign. and its departments are funded through the normal federal budgetary process, as is the governor general's salary of CAD$288,900, which has been taxed since 2013. Additional costs are incurred from separate ministries and organizations such as the National Capital Commission, the Department of National Defence, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The governor general's air transportation is assigned to 412 Transport Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron uses Bombardier Challenger 600 VIP jets to transport the governor general to locations within and outside of Canada.

Symbols and protocol

As the personal representative of the monarch, the governor general follows only the sovereign in the Canadian order of precedence, preceding even other members of the royal family. Though the federal viceroy is considered primus inter pares amongst provincial counterparts, the governor general also outranks the lieutenant governors in the federal sphere; at provincial functions, however, the relevant lieutenant governor, as the 's representative in the province, precedes the governor general. The incumbent governor general and their spouse are also the only people in Canada, other than serving Canadian ambassadors and high commissioners, entitled to the use of the style His or Her Excellency and the governor general is granted the additional honorific of the Right Honourable for their time in office and for life afterwards.

thumb|left|[[Michaëlle Jean wearing the insignia of the Order of Canada and Order of Military Merit along with the Canadian Forces' Decoration]]

Until 1952, all governors general of Canada were members of the peerage or heir apparent to a peerage. Typically, individuals appointed as federal viceroy were already a peer, either by inheriting the title, such as the Duke of Devonshire, or by prior elevation by the sovereign in their own right, as was the case with Earl Alexander of Tunis. None were life peers, the Life Peerages Act 1958 postdating the beginning of the tradition of appointing Canadian citizens as governor general. John Buchan was, in preparation for his appointment as governor general, made the Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield in the County of Oxford by King George V, six months before Buchan was sworn in as viceroy. The leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition at the time, Mackenzie King, felt Buchan should serve as governor general as a commoner. However, George V insisted he be represented by a peer. With the appointment of Massey as governor general in 1952, governors general ceased to be members of the peerage; successive prime ministers since that date have held to the non-binding and defeated (in 1934) principles of the 1919 Nickle Resolution.

Under the orders' constitutions, the governor general serves as Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor of the Order of Military Merit, and Chancellor of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. The governor general also upon installation automatically becomes a Knight or Dame of Justice and the Prior and Chief Officer in Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. As acting commander-in-chief, the governor general is further routinely granted the Canadian Forces' Decoration by the chief of the Defence Staff on behalf of the monarch. All of these honours are retained following an incumbent's departure from office, with the individual remaining in the highest categories of the orders, and they may also be further distinguished with induction into other orders or the receipt of other awards.

The Viceregal Salute — composed of the first six bars of the Royal Anthem ("God Save the ") followed by the first and last four bars of the national anthem ("O Canada") — is the salute used to greet the governor general upon arrival and departure from most official events. To mark the viceroy's presence at any building, ship, airplane, or car in Canada, the governor general's flag is employed. The present form was adopted on 23 February 1981 and, in the federal jurisdiction, takes precedence over all other flags except for the sovereign's flag for Canada. When the governor general undertakes a state visit, however, the national flag is generally employed to mark governor general's presence.

thumb|The present [[Flag of the Governor General of Canada|flag of the governor general was adopted in 1981.]]

The crest of the Royal Arms of Canada is employed as the badge of the governor general, appearing on the viceroy's flag and on other objects associated with the person or the office. This is the fourth such incarnation of the governor general's mark since confederation.

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The governor general may also wear the uniform and corresponding cap or hat badge of a flag or general officer, with a special flag or general officer sleeve braid embellished with the governor general's badge, and a large embroidered governor general's badge on the shoulder straps or boards, facing forward.

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French and British colonies

French colonization of North America began in the 1580s and Aymar Chaste was appointed in 1602 by King Henry IV as Viceroy of Canada. The explorer Samuel de Champlain became the first unofficial governor of New France in the early 17th century, serving until Charles Huault de Montmagny was in 1636 formally appointed to the post by King Louis XIII. The French Company of One Hundred Associates then administered New France until King Louis XIV took control of the colony and appointed Augustin de Saffray de Mésy as the first governor general in 1663, after whom 12 more people served in the post.

thumb|left|Statue of [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac, the third and sixth Governor General of New France, at the Quebec Parliament Building.]]

With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France relinquished most of its North American territories, including Canada, to Great Britain. King George III then issued in that same year a royal proclamation establishing, amongst other regulations, the Office of the Governor of Quebec to preside over the new Province of Quebec. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick remained completely separate colonies, each with their own governor, until the cabinet of William Pitt the Younger adopted in the 1780s the idea that they, along with Quebec and Prince Edward Island, should have as their respective governors a single individual styled as governor-in-chief. The post was created in 1786, with Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester as its first occupant. However, the governor-in-chief directly governed only Quebec. It was not until the splitting in 1791 of the province of Quebec, to accommodate the influx of United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, that the King's representative, with a change in title to Governor General, directly governed Lower Canada, while the other three colonies were each administered by a lieutenant governor in his stead.

Following the 1783 recognition of the independence of the 13 continental colonies that became the United States of America and the transfer of East Florida and West Florida to Spain, the remaining British colonies of North America, including Bermuda, were partly integrated as British North America. During the War of 1812, lieutenant-general Sir George Prevost was appointed as "Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and Over the Provinces of Upper-Canada, Lower-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New-Brunswick, and Their Several Dependencies, Vice-Admiral of the Same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty's Forces in the Said Provinces of Lower Canada and Upper-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New-Brunswick, and Their Several Dependencies, and in the Islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, Cape Breton, and the Bermudas, &c. &c. &c."

Responsible government

thumb|Political organization of the [[Province of Canada, after the introduction of responsible government under the Union Act, 1848]]

The Rebellions of 1837 brought about great changes to the role of the governor general, prompting, as they did, the British government to grant responsible government to the Canadian provinces. As a result, the viceroys became largely nominal heads, while the democratically elected legislatures and the premiers they supported exercised the authority belonging to the Crown; a concept first put to the test when, in 1849, Governor-General of the Province of Canada and Lieutenant-Governor of Canada East James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin granted Royal Assent to the Rebellion Losses Bill, despite his personal misgivings towards the legislation.

This arrangement continued after the reunification in 1840 of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada, and the establishment of the Dominion of Canada in 1867. The governor general carried out in Canada all the parliamentary and ceremonial functions of a constitutional monarch—amongst other things, granting Royal Assent, issuing Orders-in-Council, and taking advice from the Canadian Privy Council. However, the governor still remained not a viceroy, in the true sense of the word, being still a representative of and liaison to the British government—the Queen in her British council of ministers—who answered to the secretary of state for the colonies in London and who, as a British observer of Canadian politics, held well into the First World War a suite of offices in the East Block of Parliament Hill.