Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada 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, 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 time. 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 Indigenous person to hold the office.
Governor General of Canada
(Left to right) T.A. Crerar, King George VI, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, Queen Elizabeth, and Governor General the Lord Tweedsmuir at the Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa, 1939. Mackenzie King was the only leader of the opposition to ever be involved in the appointment of a governor general, in 1935 deciding with then-Prime Minister Richard Bennett to choose Tweedsmuir.
Vincent Massey (left), the first Canadian-born viceroy since Confederation
Michaëlle Jean swearing the oaths of office as administered by Puisne Justice Michel Bastarache, 27 September 2005
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the foundation of the executive (King-in-Council), legislative (King-in-Parliament), and judicial (King-on-the-Bench) branches of both federal and provincial jurisdictions. The current monarch is King Charles III, who has reigned since 8 September 2022.
Monarchy of Canada
A Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Flight, used to transport the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their 2011 royal tour of Canada.
Sophia, Electress of Hanover, from whom heirs to the throne must directly descend
A memorial procession in Ottawa before the national commemoration ceremony for the death of Queen Elizabeth II