Governor General of Canada

The Governer General of Canada serves as the representative of the Canadian monarch, currently King Charles III, within Canada. While the King is the country’s head of state, he resides primarily in the United Kingdom due to his responsibilities as monarch of multiple Commonwealth realms.

The Governor General is appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada. As the King’s representative, the Governor General performs various ceremonial and constitutional duties, including granting Royal Assent to legislation, appointing the Prime Minister, and summoning or dissolving Parliament.

Although the Governor General technically possesses significant constitutional powers, these are exercised almost exclusively on the advice of the Prime Minister or Cabinet, in accordance with Canada’s system of responsible government. For example, the Governor General appoints Senators, federal judges, and other officials based on recommendations from the Prime Minister.

In rare circumstances, the Prime Minister may seek the King’s direct involvement, such as when appointing additional Senators under Section 26 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Would you like help editing the actual article? It could be fun to improve it together!

Official Title

As Canada has two official federal languages, the Governor General's title is in both English and French.  

The Governor General's style and title in full is, in , and in 

Living former governors-general of Canada
As of , there are five living former governors general of Canada. The most recently deceased former governor general, Roméo LeBlanc (1995–1999), died on 24 June 2009.


C