List of governors general of Canada explained

The following is a list of the governors and governors general of Canada. Though the present-day office of the Governor General of Canada is legislatively covered under the Constitution Act, 1867 and legally constituted by the Letters Patent, 1947, the institution is, along with the institution of the Crown it represents, the oldest continuous and uniquely Canadian institution in Canada, having existed in an unbroken line since the appointment of Samuel de Champlain in 1627.^[1]

Lieutenant General/Viceroy of New France, 1541–1627

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Monarch	Ref.
1		Jean-François Roberval	1541	1543	years	Francis I	^[2] ^[3]
2		Troilus de Mesqouez	1578	unknown	unknown	Henry III	^[4]
						Henry IV
3		Aymar Chaste	1602	1603	years
4		Henri II, Prince of Condé	1614	1619	years	Louis XIII
5		Henri II, Duke of Montmorency	1619	1625	years
6		Henri de Lévis de Ventadour, Duke of Ventadour	1625	1627	years

Governors of New France, 1627–1663

See main article: Governor of New France.

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Monarch
1		Samuel de Champlain	1627	1635	years	Louis XIII
2		Charles de Montmagny	1635	1648	years
						Louis XIV
3		Louis d'Ailleboust de Coulonge	1648	1651	years
4		Jean de Lauson	1651	1657	years
5		Pierre de Voyer d'Argenson, Vicomte de Mouzay	1658	1661	years
6		Pierre Dubois Davaugour	1661	1663	years

Governors general of New France, 1663–1760

See main article: Governor General of New France.

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Monarch
1		Augustin de Saffray de Mésy	1663	1665	years	Louis XIV
2		Daniel de Rémy de Courcelle	1665	1672	years
3		Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac	1672	1682	years
4		Joseph-Antoine le Fèbvre, Sieur of La Barre	1682	1685	years
5		Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville	1685	1689	years
(3)		Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac	1689	1698	years
6		Louis-Hector de Callière	1698	1703	years
7		Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil	1703	1725	years
						Louis XV
8		Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois	1725	1747	years
9		Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière	1747	1749	years
10		Jacques-Pierre de Taffanel de la Jonquière, Marquis de la Jonquière	1749	1752	years
11		Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville, Marquess Duquesne	1752	1755	years
12		Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial	1755	1760	years

Governors of the Province of Quebec, 1760–1786

Following the Seven Years' War, control passed from France to Great Britain in the terms of the Treaty of Paris, creating the British Province of Quebec. Governors subsequently served under the British monarchy.

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Monarch
1		Jeffery Amherst	1760	1763	years	George III
2		James Murray	1764	1768	years
3		Guy Carleton	1768	1778	years
4		Sir Frederick Haldimand	1778	1786	years

Governors general of the Canadas/British North America, 1786–1841

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Monarch
1		The Lord Dorchester	1786	1796	years	George III
2		Robert Prescott	1796	1799	years
3		Sir Robert Milnes, Baronet	1799	1805	years
4		Thomas Dunn	1805	1807	years
5		Sir James Henry Craig	1807	1811	years
6		Sir George Prévost, Baronet	1811	1815	years
7		Sir Gordon Drummond	1815	1816	years
8		Sir John Coape Sherbrooke	1816	1818	years
9		The Duke of Richmond	1818	1819	years
10		The Earl of Dalhousie	1820	1828	years	George IV
11		Sir James Kempt	1828	1830	years
12		The Lord Aylmer	1830	1835	years	William IV
13		The Earl of Gosford	1835	1837	years
14		Sir John Colborne	1837	1838	years	Victoria
15		The Earl of Durham	1838	1839	years
16		The Lord Sydenham	1839	1841	years

Governors general of the Province of Canada, 1841–1867

See main article: Governor General of the Province of Canada.

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Monarch
1		The Lord Sydenham	1841	1841		Victoria
2		Sir Charles Bagot	1842	1843
3		The Lord Metcalfe	1843	1845
4		The Earl Cathcart	1845	1847
5		The Earl of Elgin	1847	1854
6		Sir Edmund Walker Head, Baronet	1854	1861
7		The Viscount Monck	1861	1867

Governors general of Canada, 1867–present

See main article: Governor General of Canada.

No.	Portrait	Name	Profession	Term of office			Monarch	Prime Minister	Ref.
1		The Viscount Monck	Politician	1867	1868		Victoria	Sir John A. Macdonald	^[5]
2		The Lord Lisgar	Politician	1868	1872				^[6]
3		The Earl of Dufferin	Diplomat	1872	1878				^[7]
								Alexander Mackenzie
								Sir John A. Macdonald
4		John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne	Author, Politician	1878	1883				^[8]
5		The Marquess of Lansdowne	Politician	1883	1888				^[9]
6		The Lord Stanley of Preston	Politician	1888	1893				^[10]
								Sir John Abbott
								Sir John Sparrow David Thompson
7		The Earl of Aberdeen	Politician	1893	1898				^[11]
								Sir Mackenzie Bowell
								Sir Charles Tupper
								Sir Wilfrid Laurier
8		The Earl of Minto	Military officer	1898	1904				^[12]
							Edward VII
9		The Earl Grey	Politician	1904	1911				^[13]
							George V
								Sir Robert Borden
10		Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn	Military officer	1911	1916				^[14]
11		The Duke of Devonshire	Politician	1916	1921				^[15]
								Arthur Meighen
12		The Viscount Byng of Vimy	Military officer	1921	1926				^[16]
								William Lyon Mackenzie King
								Arthur Meighen
								William Lyon Mackenzie King
13		The Marquess of Willingdon	Politician	1926	1931				^[17]
								R.B. Bennett
14		The Earl of Bessborough	Businessman	1931	1935				^[18]
								William Lyon Mackenzie King
15		The Lord Tweedsmuir	Author, Politician	1935	1940				^[19]
							Edward VIII
							George VI
16		The Earl of Athlone	Military officer	1940	1946				^[20]
17		The Viscount Alexander of Tunis	Military officer	1946	1952				^[21]
								Louis St. Laurent
18		Vincent Massey	Diplomat	1952	1959		Elizabeth II		^[22]
								John Diefenbaker
19		Georges Vanier	Military officer, Diplomat	1959	1967				^[23]
								Lester B. Pearson
20		Roland Michener	Politician	1967	1974				^[24]
								Pierre Trudeau
21		Jules Léger	Diplomat	1974	1979				^[25]
22		Edward Schreyer	Politician	1979	1984				^[26]
								Joe Clark
								Pierre Trudeau
23		Jeanne Sauvé	Journalist, Politician	1984	1990				^[27]
								John Turner
								Brian Mulroney
24		Ray Hnatyshyn	Politician	1990	1995				^[28]
								Kim Campbell
								Jean Chrétien
25		Roméo LeBlanc	Journalist, Politician	1995	1999				^[29]
26		Adrienne Clarkson	Journalist	1999	2005				^[30]
								Paul Martin
27		Michaëlle Jean	Journalist	2005	2010				^[31]
								Stephen Harper
28		David Johnston	Law professor, University administrator	2010	2017				^[32] ^[33]
								Justin Trudeau
29		Julie Payette	Astronaut, Engineer	2017	2021				^[34] ^[35] ^[36]
30		Mary Simon	Broadcaster, Diplomat	2021	Incumbent
							Charles III

Administrators

See main article: Administrator of the Government of Canada. The following is a list of Administrators of the Government, Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada who were acting governors appointed as the result of the death, resignation, prolonged absence of the sitting viceroy, or for any other reason:

1. Chief Justice Lyman Duff between the death of Lord Tweedsmuir and the arrival of Lord Athlone (February 11 to June 21, 1940);^[37]
2. Senior Puisne Justice Patrick Kerwin during the absence of Governor General Lord Alexander and Chief Justice Thibaudeau Rinfret (June 11 to August 2, 1951).^[38]
3. Chief Justice Thibaudeau Rinfret once the commission was ended on the departure of the Lord Alexander and the installation of Vincent Massey (January 28 to February 28, 1952);
4. Chief Justice Robert Taschereau following the death of Georges Vanier to the installation of Roland Michener (March 5 to April 17, 1967);^[39]
5. Chief Justice Bora Laskin while Governor General Jules Léger was recovering from a stroke (July 2 to December 9, 1974);^[40]
6. Chief Justice Richard Wagner, from the resignation of Julie Payette to the installation of Mary Simon (January 22 to July 26, 2021).^[41]

See also

• List of Canadian monarchs
• List of vicereines in Canada
• Viceregal consort of Canada
• Viceregal eponyms in Canada

External links

• Governor General of Canada > Former Governors General
• Department of Canadian Heritage > A Crown of Maples – Appendices > Governors/Governors General of Canada

Notes and References

1. Book: Department of Canadian Heritage . A Crown of Maples: Constitutional Monarchy in Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . 2015 . 978-1-100-20079-8 . Ottawa . 34 .
2. Web site: Senate of Canada . Canada: A Constitutional Monarchy . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110509072741/http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Senate/Monarchy/SenMonarchy_00-e.htm . 9 May 2011 . 18 September 2015 . Queen's Printer for Canada.
3. La Rocque de Roberval, Jean-François de. R.. La Roque de Roquebrune. 1.
4. Web site: Government of Canada . The Kings and Queens of Canada: The Crown in Canadian History > Henri III (1551–1589) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160128115620/http://canadiancrown.gc.ca/eng/1396027502283 . 28 January 2016 . 9 October 2014 . Queen's Printer for Canada.
5. Web site: The Viscount Monck . The Governor General of Canada . Office of the Secretary to the Governor General.
6. Web site: Sir John Young, Baron Lisgar . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
7. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . Lord Dufferin . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
8. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Marquess of Lorne . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
9. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . The Marquess of Landsdowne, Governor General of Canada . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
10. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . Lord Stanley . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
11. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
12. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . Gibert John Murray Kynynmound Elliot, 4th Earl of Minto . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
13. Web site: Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
14. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
15. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
16. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . Viscount Byng of Vimy . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
17. Web site: The Marquess of Willingdon . September 16, 2020 . Governor General of Canada . Office of the Governor General.
18. Web site: Hillmer . Norman . Vere Barbazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
19. Web site: Hillmer . Norman . John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
20. Web site: Harris . Carolyn . Alexander Cambridge, Earl of Athlone . The Canadian Encyclopedia.
21. Web site: Hillmer . Norman . Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
22. Web site: Granatstein . J.L. . Vincent Massey . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
23. Web site: Monet . Jacques . Georges Vanier . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
24. Web site: Hillmer . Norman . Roland Michener . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
25. Web site: Monet . Jacques . Jules Leger . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
26. Web site: Hillmer . Norman . Ed Schreyer . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
27. Web site: Tremblay . Jean-Noel . Jeanne Sauvé . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
28. Web site: Hillmer . Norman . Ray Hnatyshyn . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
29. Web site: Roméo LeBlanc . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
30. Web site: Adrienne Clarkson . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
31. Web site: Michaëlle Jean . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
32. Web site: Azzi . Stephen . David Lloyd Johnston . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
33. Web site: 21 August 2017 . Incoming Governor General Julie Payette drops attempt to seal U.S. court records . ctvnews.ca.
34. Web site: Raymond . Katrine . Julie Payette . September 16, 2020 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada.
35. Web site: 21 August 2017 . Incoming Governor General Julie Payette drops attempt to seal U.S. court records . ctvnews.ca.
36. Web site: General . Office of the Secretary to the Governor . September 22, 2017 . Former Governors General . January 30, 2021 . The Governor General of Canada.
37. Gosse . Richard . The Four Courts of Sir Lyman Duff . The Canadian Bar Review . 53 . 3 . 1 September 1975 . 511–512.
38. Book: McKenna, Stephen . Grace and Wisdom: Patrick G. Kerwin, Chief Justice of Canada . Petra Books . 2020 . 101 . 978-1-927032-68-8.
39. Web site: Gov. Gen. Julie Payette has resigned. What happens now? . . Jacques . Gallant . 18 February 2021.
40. Book: Girard, Philip . Bora Laskin: Bringing Law to Life . University of Toronto Press . 2015 . 423 . 978-1-4426-1688-2.
41. Web site: Canada's top judge is now acting Governor General, but expert urges speedy replacement . . Graham . Slaughter . 18 February 2021.