| Governor General of Canada | |
|---|---|
| Gouverneure générale du Canada | |
 Badge of the governor general | |
 | |
| Style | |
| Abbreviation | GG |
| Residence |
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| Appointer | Monarch of Canada on the advice of the prime minister |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation | 1 July 1867 |
| First holder | The Viscount Monck |
| Deputy | Deputies of the governor general |
| Salary | $342,100 annually |
| Website | www |
| Monarchy of Canada |
|---|
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| This article is part of a series |
The governor general of Canada (French: gouverneure générale du Canada)[n 1] is the federal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently King Charles III. The king or queen of Canada is also monarch and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the advice of his or her Canadian prime minister,[1] 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—though, five years is the usual length of term. 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 in Quebec, Simon is the first aboriginal person to hold the office.[2]
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.[3] The present version of the office emerged with Canadian Confederation and the passing of the British North America Act, 1867.[4]
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).[5][6][7][8] 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,[9][10] and, in 1927, the first official international visit by a governor general was made.[11][12] 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;[13] the office itself does not independently 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.
Cite error: There are <ref group=n> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n}} template (see the help page).
- ^ The Royal Household, The Queen and the Commonwealth > Queen and Canada > The Queen's role in Canada, Queen's Printer, archived from the original on 20 February 2009, retrieved 2 June 2009
- ^ Aiello, Rachel (26 July 2021). "Mary Simon installed as Canada's 30th Governor General". CTVNews. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ MacLeod, Kevin S. (2015), A Crown of Maples (PDF), Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, p. 34, ISBN 978-0-662-46012-1
- ^ Constitution Act, 1867, S.C. 1867, c. III, s. 10, as amended by R.S.C. 1985, App. II, No. 5 (Constitution Act, 1867 at Government of Canada)
- ^ MacLeod 2015, pp. 34–35
- ^ Public Works and Government Services Canada. "Parliament Hill > The History of Parliament Hill > East Block > Office of the Governor General". Queen's Printer for Canada. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ MacLeod 2015, p. 35
- ^ Department of Canadian Heritage (2008). Canada: Symbols of Canada. Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada. p. 3. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015.
- ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada, Commander in Chief, Queen's Printer for Canada, archived from the original on 30 September 2007, retrieved 5 November 2007
- ^ Constitution Act 1867, S. 15
- ^ Hubbard, R.H. (1977). Rideau Hall. Montreal and London: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-7735-0310-6.
- ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. "Governor General > Former Governors General > The Marquess of Willingdon". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
- ^ Walters, Mark D. (2011). "The Law behind the Conventions of the Constitution: Reassessing the Prorogation Debate" (PDF). Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law. 5: 131–154. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2016.