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Lieutenant-Governor (Canada)

 
Lieutenant Governor (Canada)

 
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Lieutenant-Governor (Canada)
 
 
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In Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, the Lieutenant-Governor (often without a hyphen
Hyphen

A hyphen is a punctuation mark. It is used both to join words and also to separate syllables of a single word. It is often confused with the dash , which are longer and have different uses, and with the minus sign which is also longer....
) (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 [masculine]: lieutenant-gouverneur, or [feminine]: lieutenant-gouverneure (always with a hyphen)), is the Canadian monarch's representative in a province of Canada
Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the List of countries and outlying territories by total area. The major difference between a Canada province and a territory is that a province receives its power and authority directly from the Monarchy in Canada, via the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas territories derive their manda...
, much as the Governor General
Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the viceroy representative in Canada of the Monarchy of Canada, who is the head of state. Canada is one of sixteen Commonwealth realms, all of which share the same person as their respective sovereign....
 is the sovereign's representative in the federal jurisdiction. The lieutenant-governor
Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. In the United States and many Commonwealth of Nations systems, lieutenant governors are usually deputy heads of state....
 is therefore the province's vice-regal
Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king....
 representative, though rarely exercising his or her executive powers personally without ministerial advice
Advice (constitutional)

Advice, in constitutional law, is formal, usually binding instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Head of state, in particular, often act on the basis of advice issued by Prime Minister or other government ministers....
.






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In Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, the Lieutenant-Governor (often without a hyphen
Hyphen

A hyphen is a punctuation mark. It is used both to join words and also to separate syllables of a single word. It is often confused with the dash , which are longer and have different uses, and with the minus sign which is also longer....
) (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 [masculine]: lieutenant-gouverneur, or [feminine]: lieutenant-gouverneure (always with a hyphen)), is the Canadian monarch's representative in a province of Canada
Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the List of countries and outlying territories by total area. The major difference between a Canada province and a territory is that a province receives its power and authority directly from the Monarchy in Canada, via the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas territories derive their manda...
, much as the Governor General
Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the viceroy representative in Canada of the Monarchy of Canada, who is the head of state. Canada is one of sixteen Commonwealth realms, all of which share the same person as their respective sovereign....
 is the sovereign's representative in the federal jurisdiction. The lieutenant-governor
Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. In the United States and many Commonwealth of Nations systems, lieutenant governors are usually deputy heads of state....
 is therefore the province's vice-regal
Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king....
 representative, though rarely exercising his or her executive powers personally without ministerial advice
Advice (constitutional)

Advice, in constitutional law, is formal, usually binding instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Head of state, in particular, often act on the basis of advice issued by Prime Minister or other government ministers....
. Similar positions in Canada's three territories
Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the List of countries and outlying territories by total area. The major difference between a Canada province and a territory is that a province receives its power and authority directly from the Monarchy in Canada, via the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas territories derive their manda...
 are termed Commissioner
Commissioner

Commissioner is in principal the title given to the holder of a commission, in the sense of a mandate, whether individually or shared, notably as member of a collegial commission....
s, and are representatives of the federal government, however, not the monarch directly. Yukon
Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada three Territories of Canada. It was named after the Yukon River, Yukon meaning "Great River" in Gwich?in language....
 and Nunavut
Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993....
 have had commissioners since they were founded, but in the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories are a provinces and territories of Canada of Canada.Located in northern Canada, it borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south....
, the position dates to 1905, when the most populous part of the territory was split away to become the provinces Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
 and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres and a population of 1,015,895 , mostly living in the southern half of the province....
. Before then, the Northwest Territories had a lieutenant-governor.

Lieutenant-governors are styled His/Her Honour while in office, and The Honourable for life. When addressing a lieutenant-governor, His/Her Honour the Honourable is the correct terminology. A territorial commissioner is styled The Honourable only while in office.

Constitutional role

Since Confederation
Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federalism Dominion of Canada was formed beginning July 1, 1867 from the provinces, colony and Territory of British North America....
 in 1867, the Dominion government and the Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the Departments of the United Kingdom Government responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs....
 in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 believed that the lieutenant-governors were the representatives in the provinces of the Governor General, going so far as to stipulate that the lieutenant-governors were to grant Royal Assent
Royal Assent

The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarchy completes the legislative process of lawmaking by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament....
 to provincial legislation in the name of the Governor General, and not that of the Queen. However, due to precedent set in Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
 and Quebec
Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
, the latter never happened in any province, and assent was always given in Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was from 20 June 1837 the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and from 1 May 1876 the first Empress of India of the British Raj until her death....
's name. Later, a decision by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom, established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833....
 in 1892 stated that the lieutenant-governors represented the Crown in their own right. Today, though they continue to be appointed by the Governor General, the lieutenant-governors continue to be considered as direct representatives of the sovereign. As such, though they hold considerable constitutional and reserve power
Reserve power

In a parliamentary systems or Semi-presidential systems system of government, a reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch of the government....
s, these are almost always exercised wholly upon the advice
Advice (constitutional)

Advice, in constitutional law, is formal, usually binding instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Head of state, in particular, often act on the basis of advice issued by Prime Minister or other government ministers....
 of the ministers of the Crown
Minister of the Crown

Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a Minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves in theory At Her Majesty's Pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives relative to the minister's department or...
 in Cabinet, making the lieutenant-governors' role almost entirely symbolic and cultural, acting as a symbol of the legal authority under which the government operates. The lieutenant-governors also receive advice on their roles and functions from the Department of Canadian Heritage
Department of Canadian Heritage

The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage, is the Ministry of the Cabinet of Canada with responsibility for policies and programs regarding the Art in Canada, Culture of Canada, media in Canada, Communications in Canada, Official bilingualism in Canada , Women's rights in Canada, sport in Canada , and multicultur...
 Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion Program. The lieutenant-governors may, though, in rare constitutional crisis
Constitutional crisis

A constitutional crisis is a severe breakdown in the orderly operation of government. Generally speaking, a constitutional crisis is a situation in which separate factions within a government disagree about the extent to which each of these factions hold sovereignty....
 situations, exercise the Royal Prerogative
Royal Prerogative

The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognised in common law and, sometimes, in Civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the Sovereign alone....
 against or without ministerial advice. For example, John C. Bowen
John C. Bowen

John Campbell Bowen was a clergyman and was the longest-serving Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta in the history of the province. Born in Metcalfe, Ontario, the son of Peter Bowen and Margaret Poaps, he grew up in Ottawa, Ontario....
, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta is the viceroy representative of the Monarchy in Canada in the province of Alberta. The role of the Lieutenant-Governor is to carry out the constitutional and ceremonial duties of the monarch in the Provinces and territories of Canada....
 in 1937, denied Royal Assent to three bills passed through the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of Alberta

The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta....
, one of which being the Alberta Press Bill, which was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the supreme court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal Appeal, and its decisions are stare decisis, binding upon all lower courts of...
.
Canadaltgovernorswithmichaellejean

Appointment

The lieutenant-governors are appointed by the Governor General
Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the viceroy representative in Canada of the Monarchy of Canada, who is the head of state. Canada is one of sixteen Commonwealth realms, all of which share the same person as their respective sovereign....
 on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet of Canada, and thus head of government of Canada. The office is not outlined in any of the documents that constitute the written portion of the constitution of Canada; executive authority is formally vested in the Monarchy of Canada and exercised on hi...
, usually in consultation with the relevant Premiers
Premier (Canada)

In Canada, a premier is the head of government of a Provinces and territories of Canada. There are currently ten provincial premiers and three territorial premiers in Canada....
 of the Provinces. Though the lieutenant-governor "serves at the pleasure of Her Majesty
At Her Majesty's Pleasure

At Her Majesty's pleasure is a legal term of art that is derived from the fact that the law's authority stems from the Crown. Originating from the United Kingdom, it is now used throughout the Commonwealth realms of the Commonwealth of Nations, though usually only in a traditional manner....
" meaning there is no set term five years has become the traditional amount of time an individual will serve as the provincial viceroy
Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king....
.

Canadian lieutenant-governorships have been observed to be used to promote women and minorities into a prominent position. The first female viceroy in Canada was Pauline Mills McGibbon
Pauline Mills McGibbon

Pauline Mills McGibbon, Order of Canada, Order of Ontario , served as the 22nd Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980.Pauline Mills studied at the University of Toronto and later worked with community and national organizations such as the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, for which she served as National President....
, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario is the viceroy representative of the Monarchy in Canada in the province of Ontario. The role of the Lieutenant-Governor is to carry out the constitutional and ceremonial duties of the monarch in the Provinces and territories of Canada....
 from 1974 to 1980; currently two of Canada's ten lieutenant-governors are women. There have been two black
Black Canadian

Black Canadians, Caribbean Canadians and African Canadians are designations used for people of Black people African descent who reside in Canada....
 (Lincoln Alexander
Lincoln Alexander

Lincoln MacCauley Alexander, Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Order of Canada, Order of Ontario, Canadian Forces Decoration, Queen's Counsel , served as the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1985 to 1991....
 and Mayann E. Francis) and several Aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Aboriginal people in Canada, also known as First Nations, Inuit and M?tis, are people who belong to recognized indigenous groups in the Canada Constitution Act, 1982, Section Twenty-five of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982, respectively as First Nations, M?tis people , and...
 lieutenant-governors, and the current Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta is Chinese-Canadian, as was David Lam
David Lam

David See-Chai Lam, Order of Canada, Royal Victorian Order, Order of British Columbia was Lieutenant governor of British Columbia from 1988 to 1995....
 in British Columbia (Lieutenant-Governor from 1988 to 1995). Former Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec Lise Thibault
Lise Thibault

Lise Thibault is a Canada civil servant who was appointed Lieutenant-Governors of Quebec of Quebec on January 30, 1997. As a former Viceroy representative of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, as Monarchy in Quebec, she is styled The Honourable for life....
 used a wheelchair
Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a wheeled mobility device in which the user sits. The device is propelled either manually or via various automated systems. Wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible due to illness , injury, or disability....
, while David Onley
David Onley

David Charles Onley, Order of Ontario is the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario of Ontario, Canada.Onley was a television journalist prior to his viceregal appointment....
, the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, had polio as a child and uses crutches or a scooter
Mobility scooter

A mobility scooter is a mobility aid similar to a wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. It is often referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter or electric scooter as well....
. Lois Hole
Lois Hole

Lois E. Hole, Order of Canada, Alberta Order of Excellence was a Canada politician, businesswoman, educatorand best-selling author.She was the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from February 10 2000 until her death....
 (Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta from 2000 to her death in 2005) was often seen in a wheelchair later in life due to cancer, although she could walk and stand somewhat without it.

Symbols

Each lieutenant-governor has a personal flag. Most consist of a blue field bearing the relevant provincial coat of arms surrounded by ten gold maple leafs, symbolizing each of the ten provinces
Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the List of countries and outlying territories by total area. The major difference between a Canada province and a territory is that a province receives its power and authority directly from the Monarchy in Canada, via the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas territories derive their manda...
. Quebec displays its arms on a white roundel, while Nova Scotia displays them on the Royal Union Flag
Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the national Flag of the United Kingdom. Historically, the flag was used throughout the former British Empire....
.

Current lieutenant-governors


Former governorships

Northwest Territories
Lieutenant-Governors of Northwest Territories

This is a list of historical lieutenant-governors of Northwest Territories, Canada. The position of Lieutenant-Governor lasted from the acquisition of Rupert's Land and the Northwest Territories in 1869 to the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905....
 (formerly) – websites: ,

See also

  • Commissioner
    Commissioner

    Commissioner is in principal the title given to the holder of a commission, in the sense of a mandate, whether individually or shared, notably as member of a collegial commission....