Governor General of Canada

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. More recently the recommendation has been made by the Prime Minister of Canada.

Governors general of Canada, 1867–present

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