The following is a list of the governors and governors general of Canada. Though the present-day office of the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

is legislatively covered under the ''

Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 3) (),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 1867'' (BNA Act), ...

'' and legally constituted by the ''

Letters Patent, 1947 The ''Letters Patent, 1947'' (formally, the ''Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada''), are letters patent signed by George VI, as King of Canada, on 8 September 1947 and came into effect ...

'', 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 Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

in 1627.

Lieutenant General/Viceroy of New France, 1541–1627

Governors of New France, 1627–1663

Governors general of New France, 1663–1760

Governors of the Province of Quebec, 1760–1786

Following the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, control passed from France to Great Britain in the terms of the Treaty of Paris, creating the British

Province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. Governors subsequently served under the

British monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

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

Governors general of the Province of Canada, 1841–1867

Governors general of Canada, 1867–present

Administrators

The following is a list of Administrators of the Government, Justices of the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

who were acting governors appointed as the result of the death, resignation, prolonged absence of the sitting viceroy, or for any other reason: # Chief Justice

Lyman Duff Sir Lyman Poore Duff, , PC(UK) (7 January 1865 – 26 April 1955) was a Canadian lawyer and judge who served as the eighth Chief Justice of Canada. He was the longest-serving justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, until Beverley McLachlin� ...

, between the death of Lord Tweedsmuir and the arrival of Lord Athlone (February 11 to June 21, 1940); # Senior Puisne Justice

Patrick Kerwin Patrick Kerwin (October 25, 1889 – February 2, 1963) was a Canadian judge who served as the tenth Chief Justice of Canada from 1954 to 1963 and as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1935 to 1954. Life and career Patric ...

, during the absence of Governor General Lord Alexander and Chief Justice

Thibaudeau Rinfret Thibaudeau Rinfret (June 22, 1879 – July 25, 1962) was a Canadian jurist who served as the ninth Chief Justice of Canada from 1944 to 1954 and briefly as Administrator of Canada from January to February 1952. He also served as a puisne jus ...

(June 11 to August 2, 1951). # 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); # Chief Justice

Robert Taschereau Robert Taschereau (September 10, 1896 – July 26, 1970) was a lawyer who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Canada from 1963 to 1967, as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1940 to 1963, and briefly as the Administrator o ...

, following the death of Georges Vanier to the installation of Roland Michener (March 5 to April 17, 1967); # Chief Justice

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadians, Canadian jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of Canada, chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984 and as a List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, puisne just ...

, while Governor General Jules Léger was recovering from a stroke (July 2 to December 9, 1974); # Chief Justice

Beverley McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the ...

, for a few weeks in July 2005 when Governor General

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...

was hospitalized. # Chief Justice

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, from the resignation of Julie Payette to the installation of Mary Simon (January 22 to July 26, 2021).

References

External links

Governor General of Canada > Former Governors General

Department of Canadian Heritage > A Crown of Maples – Appendices > Governors/Governors General of Canada
{{British dependencies governors *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Canada, List of governors general of