InCanada, alieutenant governor (/lɛfˈtɛnənt/;French [masculine]:lieutenant-gouverneur, or [feminine]:lieutenante-gouverneure) is the representative of theKing of Canada in the government of eachprovince. Thegovernor general of Canada appoints the lieutenant governors on theadvice of theprime minister of Canada to carry out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties for an unfixed period of time[1]—known as serving "His Excellency’s pleasure" — though five years is the normal convention. Similar positions inCanada's three territories are termed "commissioners" and are representatives of the federal government, not the monarch directly.
The offices have their roots in the 16th and 17th century colonial governors ofNew France andBritish North America, though the present incarnations of the positions emerged withCanadian Confederation and theBritish North America Act in 1867, which defined the viceregal offices as the "Lieutenant Governor of the Province acting by and with the Advice theExecutive Council thereof."[2] The posts still ultimately represented thegovernment of Canada (that is, theGovernor-General-in-Council) until the ruling in 1882 ofthe Lord Watson of theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case ofMaritime Bank v. Receiver-General of New Brunswick,[3] whereafter the lieutenant governors were recognized as the direct representatives of the monarch.[4][5][6] TheConstitution Act, 1982 provides that any constitutional amendment that affects the office of the lieutenant governor requires the unanimous consent of each provincial Legislative Assembly as well as theHouse of Commons and theSenate.
The position of lieutenant governor has existed in Canada since beforeConfederation in 1867. In 1786, the post of Governor-in-Chief ofBritish North America was created as a central viceregal office overseeing the British colonies ofPrince Edward Island,Nova Scotia,New Brunswick, and theProvince of Quebec, whose governors then became lieutenant governors, though that of Quebec was occupied simultaneously by the governor-in-chief. This structure remained in place until the partitioning in 1791 of the Province of Quebec intoUpper Canada andLower Canada, which then each had an office of lieutenant governor. The Governor in chief continued to be the lieutenant governor of Lower Canada.
In 1867, when Canada was created as a federal state, it had four provinces, each with their own lieutenant governor. Under theBritish North America Act, 1867, theLieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia andLieutenant Governor of New Brunswick continued essentially as before.[7] New positions ofLieutenant Governor of Ontario andLieutenant Governor of Quebec were created for the new provinces ofOntario andQuebec.[8] Thereafter, when other colonies joined Canada, their governors became lieutenant governors,[n 1] while the creation of new provinces out ofRupert's Land and theNorthwest Territories—which each hadtheir own lieutenant governors[12]—led to the establishment of new viceregal posts.[n 2]
Beginning immediately after confederation, theDominion government and theColonial Office inLondon considered the lieutenant governors as representatives of, and subordinate to, the governor general inOttawa, reflecting the view of SirJohn A. Macdonald andthe Earl of Derby, who set up theConstitution Act, 1867, so as to have the lieutenant governors appointed by the governor general, and who expected thatRoyal Assent would be given in the name of the governor general, rather than the King.[16] This was a deliberate constitutional choice in reaction to theAmerican Civil War, which had proven a potent "disastrous outcome of the doctrine ofstates' rights" that characterizedAmerican federalism.[17] A ruling by theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1882 altered this view,[3] establishing that the lieutenant governors represented the Queen in the provinces as much as the governor general did in the federal jurisdiction.[4][6][18] Nevertheless,unlike in the Australian federation formed in 1901, lieutenant governors remain selected on the advice of the federal prime minister rather than the provincial premiers, and federal governments remaintheoretically capable of disallowing provincial legislation, whether from the reservation by a lieutenant governor or not.
Unlike the federal viceroy, the Canadian lieutenant-governors have been since 1867, if not Canadian-born, at least long-time residents of Canada and not of thepeerage, though a number, up until theNickle Resolution in 1919, wereknighted. While required by the tenets of constitutional monarchy to benonpartisan during their time in office, lieutenant-governors have frequently been former politicians and some have returned to politics following their viceregal service. Canadian lieutenant governorships have also been used to promote women andminorities into a prominent position:[19] The first female viceroy in Canada wasPauline Mills McGibbon, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980, and many women have since served in both that province and others. There have been twoBlack (Lincoln Alexander andMayann E. Francis) and severalIndigenous lieutenant governors.Norman Kwong, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 2005 to 2010, wasChinese-Canadian andDavid Lam, the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 1988 to 1995, wasHong Kong-Canadian. Former Lieutenant-Governor of QuebecLise Thibault used awheelchair, whileDavid Onley, the former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, hadpolio as a child and used crutches or ascooter.
The lieutenant-governors are appointed by theGovernor General of Canada on the advice of theprime minister. There is no constitutional requirement or consistent practice for the Prime Minister to consult with the province's premier on the appointment of the lieutenant governor.[20][21]
Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a lieutenant-governor-designate. Though there may therefore be variations to the following, the appointee will generally travel to the legislative assembly building in the provincial capital, where aguard of honour awaits to give ageneral salute. From there, the party is led by the speaker of the legislative assembly to the legislative chamber, wherein all justices of the province's superior court,members of the legislative assembly, and other guests are assembled. The governor general's commission for the lieutenant-governor-designate is then read aloud, and the required oaths are administered to the appointee by either the governor general or a delegate thereof; the three oaths are: theOath of Allegiance, the Oath of Office as lieutenant-governor, and the oath as keeper of the province's great seal.[22] With the affixing of their signature to these three solemn promises, the individual is officially the lieutenant governor, and at that moment theViceregal Salute is played and a 15-gun salute is conducted outside.[23] The lieutenant governor then receives the insignia of the province's order or orders. Since the appointment in 1956 ofJohn J. Bowlen as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, newly installed lieutenant governors will, at some point in the first year of their mandate, be invited to a personalaudience with the monarch.[24]
Though incumbents are constitutionally mandated to serve for at least five years, unless the federal parliament agrees to remove the individual from office,[25] the lieutenant-governors still technically actat the governor general's pleasure,[26] meaning the prime minister may recommend to the governor general that a lieutenant governor remain in the Crown's service for a longer period of time, sometimes upwards of more than ten years.[n 3] A lieutenant governor may also resign[n 4] and some have died in office.[n 5]
The governor general also has the power to appoint a person as "administrator of the Government", under adormant commission to act in the place of a lieutenant-governor who is unable to act, for example due to illness or absence from the province.[27] Since 1953, the practice has been that the chief justice of the province has a standing appointment to act as administrator. If the position of lieutenant governor is vacant, for example due to the death of the lieutenant governor, the administrator is not able to act until a new lieutenant governor is appointed.[28][29][30][31]
This situation arose in Saskatchewan in 1978, when the Lieutenant Governor,George Porteous, died suddenly on February 6, 1978. The administrator,Chief Justice Culliton, declined to exercise any powers of the Lieutenant-Governor, on the basis that he had no power to act when the office was vacant. Thefederal Department of Justice and thePrime Minister's Office took the same position.[32] As a result, the Saskatchewan Government could not recall theprorogued Legislative Assembly, nor pass any orders-in-council to proclaim statutes in force, pass regulations, or exercise any other statutory powers requiring an order-in-council. This situation lasted until the federal government appointed Porteous's successor,Irwin McIntosh, on February 22, 1978.[33]
As the Canadian monarch is shared equally amongst the ten provinces of Canada, as well as the federal realm, and the sovereign lives outside Canada's borders, a lieutenant governors' primary task is to perform the sovereign's constitutional duties on his or her behalf, acting within the principles ofparliamentary democracy andresponsible government as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance, and as anonpartisan safeguard against the abuse of power.[34][35] The office is the core of authority in a province.[36]
For the most part, the powers of the Crown are exercised on a day-to-day basis by elected and appointed individuals, leaving the lieutenant-governors to perform the various ceremonial duties the sovereign otherwise carries out when in the country; at such a moment, a lieutenant-governor will decrease his or her public appearances, though the presence of the monarch does not undermine any lieutenant-governor's ability to perform governmental roles.[37]
Though the monarch retains allexecutive,legislative, andjudicial power in and over Canada,[38][39] the lieutenant governors are permitted to exercise most of this, including theRoyal Prerogative, in the sovereign's name, as laid out in various acts in theconstitution, though most revolve around the original clauses in section V of theConstitution Act, 1867.[40] While they continue to be appointed by the governor general, the lieutenant governors are considered to be direct representatives of the sovereign. In a province, it is thus the lieutenant governor who is required to appoint persons to theexecutive council (orcabinet) andconvention dictates that the lieutenant governor must further draw from them an individual to act aspremier[8]—in almost all cases themember of the legislative assembly who commands theconfidence of the legislature. This group ofministers of the Crown is theoretically tasked with tendering to the viceroy guidance on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, an arrangement called theKing-in-Council or,[39] more specifically, theGovernor-in-Council, in which capacity the lieutenant governor will issue royalproclamations and signorders in council. The Governor-in-Council of both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are also specifically tasked to appoint in the King's name the judges of thecourts of probate.[41] Theadvice given by the cabinet is, in order to ensure the stability of government, typically binding; the viceroy may, in exceptional circumstances, invoke thereserve powers, which remain the Crown's final check against a ministry's abuse of power.[n 6][42][43][44][45][46][47]
The lieutenant-governor alone is also constitutionally mandated to summon the legislature.[49] Beyond that, the viceroy carries out the other conventional parliamentary duties in the sovereign's stead, including reading theSpeech From the Throne andproroguing anddissolving parliament. The lieutenant-governor also grantsroyal assent in the King's name; legally, granting royal assent (making the bill law), withholding royal assent (vetoing the bill), or reserving the bill for the signification of the governor general's pleasure.[50] If the governor general withholds royal assent, the sovereign may within two yearsdisallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question.
R. MacGregor Dawson opined that, following Confederation, the lieutenant-governors diverged from the governor general in that they continued to demonstrate a power independent of the Cabinet and parliament; lieutenant-governors had variously dismissed governments, refused the advice of ministers, and insisted on the creation ofroyal commissions. Altogether, lieutenant-governors had also withheld Royal Assent to bills 28 times and reserved bills for the consideration of the governor general 71 times. The last example of the former was in 1945 and the latter in 1961.[n 7][48][53] Relations between lieutenant governor and Cabinet have also at times been strained by ministers' unwillingness to openly acknowledge the authority of a federal appointee, often recommended by a federal prime minister who adhered to different political beliefs.[48]
With most constitutional functions lent to cabinet, a lieutenant governor acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion, carrying out some of the ritual duties normally associated with heads of state and thus symbolizing the sovereignty of the provinces within confederation.[54] The provincial viceroys have been said to be, outside of Quebec, "a focus of community ideals and a reinforcement of provincial identity."[55]
The lieutenant governor hosts members of theCanadian Royal Family, as well as foreign royalty and heads of state, and is also tasked with fostering national unity and pride. One way in which this is carried out is travelling the province and meeting with residents from all regions andethnic groups, some of whom a lieutenant governor will induct into theprovince's orders and present to others medals and decorations. This travel takes place mostly within a lieutenant governor's province, the viceroys rarely performing state duties anywhere else in Canada, and never internationally, unless it is on behalf of the monarch in a federal capacity;[n 8] it has been argued that the provincial representatives of the King should start to undertake trips to represent their province abroad.[57] In the exercise of these duties, the lieutenant governors may sometimes receive advice from theDepartment of Canadian Heritage Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion Program.[58] During a provincial election, a lieutenant governor will curtail these public duties, so as not to appear as though they are involving themselves in political affairs.
The viceroys themselves also offer awards, such as the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Outstanding Service to Rural Saskatchewan, the Lieutenant Governor's Nova Scotia Talent Trust Award, and the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Architecture, awarded inNew Brunswick, and theHeritage Canada Foundation also presents the Lieutenant Governor's Award,[59] presented to an individual or group who has achieved an outstanding result in heritage conservation in the province in which the Heritage Canada Foundation's annual conference is held. Further, the lieutenant governors (as well as the territorial commissioners) present theVice-Regal and Commissioners' Commendation to individuals who offer their service—paid or volunteer—to the viceregal offices.[60] It was originally intended to be a distinction in place of appointment to theRoyal Victorian Order, regularly granted to those who aided the monarch or governor general with distinction, but nominees from the lieutenant governors were frequently overlooked by staff atRideau Hall.[61] After 1984, suggestions from the lieutenant governors' offices for membership in the Royal Victorian Order were more readily accepted and the Vice-Regal and Commissioners' Commendation became an award for one or more commendable acts benefiting the viceroy.[62]
As the personal representative of the monarch, a lieutenant-governor follows only the sovereign in the province'sorder of precedence, preceding even other members of the Royal Family. Though the federal viceroy is consideredprimus inter pares amongst his or her provincial counterparts, the governor general also takes a lower rank to the lieutenant-governors in the provincial spheres; at federal functions, the governor general, as the King's viceregal representative in the country, precedes the lieutenant-governors.[63] An incumbent lieutenant governor is also entitled to the use of thestyleHis orHer Honour,[64][65] and is granted the additional honorific ofThe Honourable for their time in office and for life afterwards.[66][67][68]
Traditionally, lieutenant governors were entitled to wear first-classcourt uniform.[61] Today, the practice continues in some provinces, such asNova Scotia,Alberta, andBritish Columbia. Since 1999, lieutenant-governors have been entitled to wear a special badge of office.[61]
Per the orders' constitutions, the lieutenant-governors, except for that of Quebec, serve as the chancellor of their province'sorder. They also upon installation automatically become a Knight or Dame of Justice and a Vice-Prior in Canada of theMost Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.[69] All of these honours are retained following an incumbent's departure from office, with the individual remaining in the highest category of the order, and they may also be further distinguished with induction into other orders or the receipt of other awards.
TheViceregal Salute —c omposed of the first sixbars of the Royal Anthem ("God Save the King") followed by the first and last four bars of thenational anthem ("O Canada") — is thesalute used to greet a lieutenant-governor upon arrival at, and mark his or her departure from most official events.[70] To mark a viceroy's presence at any building, ship, airplane, or car in Canada, the relevantlieutenant-governor's flag is employed. Most provincial viceregal flags consist of a blue field bearing the shield of the province'scoat of arms surrounded by ten gold maple leaves[63]—each symbolizing one province—surmounted by a crown. In a provincial jurisdiction, the lieutenant governor's flag takes precedence over all other flags, save theKing's standard,[71] and is also, along with all flags onCanadian Forces property, flown athalf-mast upon the death of an incumbent or former lieutenant governor.[72]
| Province | Name | Assumed office | Appointed by | Appointed on the advice of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Brunswick | Louise Imbeault | January 22, 2025 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 Ontario | Edith Dumont | November 14, 2023 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 Quebec | Manon Jeannotte | January 25, 2024 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 Nova Scotia | Mike Savage | December 13, 2024 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 Manitoba | Anita Neville | October 24, 2022 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 British Columbia | Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia | January 30, 2025 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 Prince Edward Island | Wassim Salamoun | October 17, 2024 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 Saskatchewan | Bernadette McIntyre | January 31, 2025 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
 Alberta | Salma Lakhani | August 26, 2020 | Julie Payette | Justin Trudeau |
 Newfoundland and Labrador | Joan Marie Aylward | November 14, 2023 | Mary Simon | Justin Trudeau |
| Territory | Name | Assumed office | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|
 Northwest Territories | Gerald Kisoun | May 14, 2024 | Governor in Council |
 Yukon | Adeline Webber | May 31, 2023 | |
 Nunavut | Eva Aariak | January 14, 2021 |
In the Canadian context, there are numerous, and not mutually agreeable, notions regardinghyphenation andcapitalization of the position title. Various acts in theCanadian constitution and numerous provincial websites typically indicateLieutenant Governor of [Province] (upper case and no hyphen), likely due to the primacy of those positions in their respectivejurisdictions.The Canadian Style indicatesLieutenant-Governor (upper case with hyphen),[73] thoughlieutenant-governors (lower case and hyphenated) whenpluralized.[74] TheGuide to Canadian English Usage equivocates somewhat, indicating upper case only when used in and associated with a specific provincial lieutenant governor or name (e.g., Lieutenant-GovernorLincoln Alexander), not generally, and varied use.[75] In French, the term is always hyphenated, and varies slightly by gender. Also, asgovernor is the mainnoun in the title, it is the word that is pluralized; thus, it islieutenant governors, rather thanlieutenants governor.
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