There is no precise term, but they usually serve for about five years. The governor general can authorize a judge to sign a bill into law for him, and these days, this is how the majority of royal assent is given. However, once in a while the governor general will conduct a royal assent ceremony in the Senate chamber, in which parliamentary officials physically bring him bills one-by-one and ask if he approves of them.
This includes handing out medals , visiting hospitals, cutting ribbons, attending banquets and greeting world leaders at the airport. Just as the Queen is a symbol of Britain, the governor general is supposed to function as a symbol of Canada.
At the same time, the Canadian Constitution does grant sweeping powers to the governor general. A literal reading of the Constitution would seem to indicate Canada is ruled almost single-handedly by the governor general, in fact, since almost every major political decision is described as requiring his approval or assent. He is responsible for inaugurating the prime minister and his cabinet, signing bills into law, calling elections for the House of Commons , appointing judges and members of the Senate , commanding the Canadian military and a host of other important tasks.
In practice, however, the governor general performs every single one of these constitutional duties in a purely symbolic fashion. In theory, if there was a serious enough crisis to justify it, the governor general could choose to stop being a figurehead and actually use his constitutional powers in defiance of the prime minister.
He could veto a law, deny an appointment, or, most controversially of all, fire the prime minister and appoint a new one. Just how bad would things have to get before the GG would be justified in intervening? Most of Canada's top military and civilian medals are awarded several times a year by the governor general at ceremonies held in the Rideau Hall ballroom.
The governor general is directly appointed by the prime minister of Canada , and until fairly recently it was common for the appointment to be openly partisan. This became gradually more and more controversial, considering that the GG is supposed to be a figure of national unity and a neutral arbitrator in times of democratic crisis — two tasks which can be quite hard for a partisan politician. Of the last five governor generals, four have been women and three have been women of color.
The current governor general, Mary May Simon b. A creative governor general appointment is thus one important way that a prime minister can demonstrate his appreciation of the diversity of modern Canada. Once in office, governor generals are often fairly quiet and low-profile. It would not be an exaggeration to say that a great many Canadians would probably have a hard time naming the governor general if asked.
The British governor generals who served Canada between and are not particularly well remembered today, and most modern governor general lists usually focus exclusively on the Canadian men and women who have held the office since Prime Minister Trudeau's second governor general, Mary Simon b.
The oldest governor general in a long while, she has spent nearly 50 years working for — and often leading — various national and international organizations relating to the Arctic and the Indigenous peoples who live there.
If the governor general resigns or dies in office, the Chief Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court takes over. Chief Justice Robert Wagner b. Officially, the title of an acting governor general is "administrator of the government.
In Julie Payette b. A former astronaut, Payette is one of the few Canadian women to visit outer space, and her appointment was intended to be inspiring. Unfortunately, however, Payette's term was deeply troubled — she was said to dislike the job and the press was filled with stories about her nasty and abusive treatment of employees.
In she resigned amid growing criticism. David Johnston b. The Australian Constitution firmly places the prerogative powers of the Crown in the hands of the Governor-General as the representative of The Queen of Australia. The only person competent to commission an Australian Prime Minister is the Governor-General, and The Queen has no part in the decisions which the Governor-General must take in accordance with the Constitution.
Her Majesty, as Queen of Australia, is watching events in Canberra with close interest and attention, but it would not be proper for her to intervene in person in matters which are so clearly placed within the jurisdiction of the Governor-General by the Constitution Act.
Based on informed opinion, the exercise of discretionary power by the Governor-General can be interpreted and regarded as conditional upon the following principal factors:. The act of dissolution puts to an end at the same time the duration of the House of Representatives and ipso facto the term of the Parliament.
While the Constitution vests in the Governor-General the power to dissolve the House, the criteria for taking this action are not prescribed and, therefore, they are matters generally governed by constitutional convention. As described earlier in this chapter, while it is the prerogative of the Crown to dissolve the House of Representatives, the exercise of the power is subject to the constitutional convention that it does so only on the advice and approval of a Minister of State, in practice the Prime Minister, directly responsible to the House of Representatives.
The granting of dissolution is an executive act, the ministerial responsibility for which can be easily established. The nature of the power to dissolve and some of the historical principles, according to which the discretion is exercised, are illustrated by the following authoritative statements:.
Of the legal power of the Crown in this matter there is of course no question. Throughout the Commonwealth … the King or his representative may, in law, grant, refuse or force dissolution of the Lower House of the Legislature … In legal theory the discretion of the Crown is absolute though of course any action requires the consent of some Minister , but the actual exercise of the power is everywhere regulated by conventions.
If a situation arises, however, in which it is proposed that the House be dissolved sooner than the end of its three-year term, the Governor-General has to reassure himself on other matters. This is an area for argument among constitutional lawyers and political historians and is a matter where the conventions and not the text of the Constitution are the chief guide.
It is the function of the Prime Minister to advise that the House be dissolved. The most recent practices in Australia support the convention that he will make his proposal formally in writing supported by a written case in favour of the dissolution.
It is open to the Governor-General to obtain advice on the constitutional question from other quarters—perhaps from the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General or eminent counsel—and then … a solemn responsibility rests on [the Governor-General] to make a judgment on whether a dissolution is needed to serve the purposes of good government by giving to the electorate the duty of resolving a situation which Parliament cannot resolve for itself.
The right to dissolve the House of Representatives is reserved to the Crown. It is clear that it is incumbent on the Prime Minister to establish sufficient grounds for the need for dissolution, particularly when the House is not near the end of its three year term.
The Governor-General makes a judgment on the sufficiency of the grounds. It is in this situation where it is generally recognised that the Governor-General may exercise a discretion not to accept the advice given.
The grounds on which the Governor-General has accepted advice to dissolve the House of Representatives have not always been made public. It is reasonable to presume that no special reasons may be given to the Governor-General, or indeed are necessary, for a dissolution of the House if the House is near the end of its three year term. Table 1. To synchronise election of the House with election for half the Senate and to gain a mandate from the people prior to the forthcoming Imperial War Conference H.
The effect of the amendment was that the bill should not be brought into operation until submitted to a referendum or an election. The Government was defeated on a formal motion for the adjournment of the House. To synchronise elections of the House with elections for half the Senate; the need to avoid conflict with State election campaigns mid-way through the ensuing year; the impracticability of elections in January or February; authority mandate to deal with economic problems H.
Prime Minister Menzies referred to the fact that the Government had gone close to defeat on five occasions; the need to obtain a mandate on policies concerning North West Cape radio station, the defence of Malaysia and the proposed southern hemisphere nuclear free zone H.
To synchronise House election with election for half the Senate; to provide an opportunity to end election speculation and the resulting uncertainty and to enable the Government to seek from the people an expression of their will; to conform with the pattern of elections taking place in the latter months of a calendar year H.
To synchronise elections for the House with election for half the Senate; claimed business community concerns that if there were to be an election in the spring it should be held as early as possible ending electioneering atmosphere etc.
The table does not include simultaneous dissolutions of both Houses granted by the Governor-General under s. On four occasions reasons, if any, were not given to the House—for example, the House may not have been sitting at the time.
As far as is known, the majority of dissolutions have taken place in circumstances which presented no special features. Where necessary, it is a normal feature for the Governor-General to grant a dissolution on the condition and assurance that adequate provision, that is, parliamentary appropriation, is made for the Administration in all its branches to be carried on until the new Parliament meets. The precedents in Table 1. A feature of the precedents is that in , , and the grounds given included a perceived need to synchronise the election of the House of Representatives with a periodic election for half the Senate.
Since then Governors-General have been appointed by the Crown after informal consultation with and on the formal advice of Australian Ministers. An Administrator is in effect an Acting Governor-General. As with the Governor-General, the Administrator is required to take the oath or affirmation of allegiance and the oath or affirmation of office before the commission takes effect.
An Administrator is not entitled to receive any salary from the Commonwealth in respect of any other office during the period of administration.
State Governors considered to be more readily available in cases of urgency have been appointed as Deputies of the Governor-General with authority to exercise a wide range of powers and functions, including the making of recommendations with respect to the appropriation of revenues or moneys, the giving of assent to proposed laws and the making, signing or issuing of proclamations, orders, etc.
The same judge is also authorised to administer the oath or affirmation of allegiance to Members. In the Governor-General Act was amended to provide for the establishment of the statutory office of Official Secretary to the Governor-General.
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