Governor General of Canada

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Canada is a Constitutional monarchy, and the Governor General of Canada is delegated to act as the de facto Head of State, on behalf of the actual head of State, the current monarch.

The current monarch appoints the Governor General, but, in practice, monarchs always defer to the advice of the Prime Minister.

Unlike the United States of America, Canada's evolution to full sovereignty has been gradual. Originally the recommendation as to who should be the next Governor General was made in the United Kingdom, by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 16 of the first 17 Governors General were members of the UK House of Lords, while the other was a Prince.

More recently the recommendation has been made by the Prime Minister of Canada, and the Governors General recommended by them, starting with Vincent Massey, have all been prominent Canadians.

Governors general of Canada, 1867–present[edit]

Governors general of Canada, 1867–present

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office
			Took office	Left office
1		The Viscount Monck	1867-07-01	1868-11-14
2		The Lord Lisgar	1868-11-14	1872-06-25
3		The Earl of Dufferin	1872-06-25	1878-11-25
4		John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne	1878-11-25	1883-10-23
5		The Marquess of Lansdowne	1883-10-23	1888-06-11
6		The Lord Stanley of Preston	1888-06-11	1893-09-18
7		The Earl of Aberdeen	1893-09-18	1898-11-02
8		The Earl of Minto	1898-11-12	1904-12-10
9		The Earl Grey	1904-12-10	1911-10-13
10		Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn	1911-10-13	1916-11-11
11		The Duke of Devonshire	1916-11-11	1921-08-11
12		The Viscount Byng of Vimy	1921-08-11	1926-10-02
13		The Marquess of Willingdon	1926-10-02	1931-04-04
14		The Earl of Bessborough	1931-04-04	1935-11-02
15		The Lord Tweedsmuir	1935-11-02	1940-02-11
16		The Earl of Athlone	1940-02-11	1946-04-12
17		The Viscount Alexander of Tunis	1946-04-12	1952-01-18
18		Vincent Massey	1952-01-18	1959-09-15
19		Georges Vanier	1959-09-15	1967-03-05
20		Roland Michener	1967-04-17	1974-01-14
21		Jules Léger	1974-01-14	1979-01-22
22		Edward Schreyer	1979-01-22	1984-05-14
23		Jeanne Sauvé	1984-05-14	1990-01-29
24		Ray Hnatyshyn	1990-01-29	1995-02-08
25		Roméo LeBlanc	1995-02-08	1999-10-07
26	File:GG-Adrienne Clarkson2.jpg	Adrienne Clarkson	1999-10-07	2005-09-27
27	File:GG-Michaëlle Jean.jpg	Michaëlle Jean	2005-09-27	2010-10-01
28	File:David Johnston 2011-12-01.jpg	David Johnston	2010-10-01	2017-10-02
29	File:Julie Payette 2017.jpg	Julie Payette	2017-10-02	2021-01-22
30	File:Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada.jpg	Mary Simon	2021-07-26	Incumbent