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What is a Governor General?

This section will examine the following topics:

1. Governor General as the representative of the Crown
2. Selection of the Governor General
3. Duties of the Governor General
4. Governor Generals of Canada since Confederation
5. Biography of the current Governor General

Representative of the Crown

The British monarchy resides in Britain. The governor general is the resident representative of the Crown and performs all of the monarchy's duties in her absence. As the monarchy has no real power in the Canadian government, the position of the Governor General is mainly symbolic. The current Governor General of Canada is Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson. She became Governor General in 1999. The monarchy also has representatives in each of the provincial governments. These are known as Lieutenant Governors.

Selection of the Governor General

The Prime Minister selects the Canadian Governor General, with formal appointment made by the Queen. The term of office is five years to seven years. There is a tradition of alternating between English and French Governors General in Canada.

Duties of the Governor General

The Governor General has the following duties:

• Giving “Royal assent” or Crown approval to bills passed in the Canadian Parliament
• Reading the Speech from the Throne
• Appointing superior court judges (on the advice of cabinet)
• Summoning and dissolving Parliament (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
• · Inviting the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons to form the government (the party's leader becomes Prime Minister)
• Awarding Canadian honours and awards (in particular, The Order of Canada)
• Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces

Role and Responsibilities of the Governor General

Governor Generals of Canada Since Confederation

Pictures and Biographies of Past Governor Generals

Biography of the Current Governor General

The current Governor of Canada is Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson. Madame Clarkson was born in Hong Kong in 1939, and came to Canada as a refugee in 1942. She received an Honours B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Toronto, and did post-graduate work at the Sorbonne in France.

• From 1982 to 1987, Madame Clarkson served as the first Agent-General for Ontario in Paris
• From 1987 to 1988 was the President and Publisher of McClelland & Stewart.
• From 1965 to 1982 Madame Clarkson worked as host, writer and producer of several programs on CBC Television.
• In 1988, she became Executive Producer, Host and Writer for the programs Adrienne Clarkson's Summer Festival and Adrienne Clarkson Presents.
• She has also served as Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec, as well as President of the Executive Board of IMZ.

Madame Clarkson is married to John Ralston-Saul, a prominent Canadian writer.

Governor General of Canada Official Website

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