What is a Lieutenant Governor?

A Lieutenant Governor is the vice-regal representative of the King in a Canadian province. The 10 Lieutenant Governors perform at the provincial level the same constitutional and ceremonial functions that the Governor General performs at the federal level. Each is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the federal Prime Minister and serves a term of approximately five years (with extensions possible). The office is established by section 58 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Lieutenant Governors perform three principal functions. First, they act on behalf of the King in giving Royal Assent to provincial bills passed by the provincial Legislative Assembly, summoning and dissolving the Legislature, and swearing in the Premier and provincial Cabinet. Second, they exercise certain reserve powers including appointing the Premier (typically the leader of the largest party in the Legislature) and dissolving the Legislature. Third, they perform ceremonial duties including representing the province at official events, presenting honours, hosting state visits, and patronising charitable organisations.

Notable Lieutenant Governors include Pauline McGibbon (the first woman appointed to the office, in Ontario in 1974), Lincoln Alexander (the first Black Lieutenant Governor, in Ontario in 1985), Adrienne Clarkson (later Governor General), and Mary May Simon (later Governor General). The current Lieutenant Governors as of 2025 are Edith Dumont (Ontario, since November 2023), Manon Jeannotte (Quebec, since January 2024), Wajid Khan (BC), Salma Lakhani (Alberta), Russ Mirasty (Saskatchewan), Anita Neville (Manitoba), Arthur LeBlanc (Nova Scotia), Brenda Murphy (New Brunswick), Antoinette Perry (PEI), and Joan Marie Aylward (Newfoundland and Labrador).

The territories have Commissioners rather than Lieutenant Governors. The Commissioners of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut are appointed by the federal Governor in Council (Cabinet). Although Commissioners originally exercised actual executive authority on behalf of the federal government in the territories, by convention (formalised in letters of instruction issued by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs in 2017 to 2019) Commissioners now act as ceremonial vice-regal representatives similar to Lieutenant Governors. The Lieutenant Governor's official residences vary by province; notable residences include Government House in Halifax (the oldest, opened 1800), Government House in Edmonton (now closed as a residence), Government House in Toronto (rebuilt several times), and Old Government House in Fredericton.