The Constitution

The Governor General - Introduction

Canada is a constitutional monarchy and as such, the de jure head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, as set out in Section 9 of the Constitution:

The Executive Government and Authority of and over Canada is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen.

The Governor General is the Queen's representative in Canada. As such, she or he represents the Head of State in Canada. Each province has a Lieutenant Governor, who also acts as the Queen's representative, as set out in Section 2 of the Constitution:

All Powers, Authorities, and Functions which under any Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or of the Legislature of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick, are at the Union vested in or exerciseable by the respective Governors or Lieutenant Governors of those Provinces, with the Advice, or with the Advice and Consent, of the respective Executive Councils thereof, or in conjunction with those Councils, or with any Number of Members thereof, or by those Governors or Lieutenant Governors individually, shall, as far as the same continue in existence and capable of being exercised after the Union in relation to the Government of Canada, be vested in and exerciseable by the Governor General, with the Advice or with the Advice and Consent of or in conjunction with the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, or any Members thereof, or by the Governor General individually, as the Case requires, subject nevertheless (except with respect to such as exist under Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain or of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) to be abolished or altered by the Parliament of Canada.

The appointment of a Governor General is made by the monarch on advice from the Prime Minister of the day. It was only in 1967 that Prime Ministers began submitting lists of potential candidates that consisted of one name only. Consequently, the Governor General (and the Lieutenant Governors) are appointed solely by the Prime Minister. The current Governor General, Mme Michaëlle Jean, was appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin and sworn in on September 27, 2005, You can read her installation speech here.

This section includes the following:

• Table of Governors General of Canada since 1867
• Letters Patent: The official instructions given to the Governor General by the Queen, last modified in 1947.
• A discussion of the Queen's Privy Council
• A look at the King-Byng Affair: the famous 1926 staredown between Liberal PM William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Governor General at the time, Lord Byng.

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Related Links

• The Governor General of Canada: Official Website
• About the Governor General