List of Governors General of Canada

The following is a list of the Governors and Governors General of Canada and the previous territories and colonies that now make up the country. For the governors of New France see: Lieutenant General of New France, Governor of New France and Governor General of New France.

The role of Governor General of Canada from 1760 to 1838 was mainly as the command officer of British Forces in North America. The role was then passed onto the Governor General of the Province of Canada until 1867. British forces remained stationed in Canada until the 1880s.

Governors General of British North America from the Conquest to the union of the Canadas

Name	Term	Sovereign
Jeffrey Amherst	1760–1763	George III
James Murray	1764–1768
Guy Carleton	1768–1778
Sir Frederick Haldimand	1778–1786
The Lord Dorchester	1786–1796
Robert Prescott	1796–1807
Sir James Henry Craig	1807–1811
Sir George Prevost	1812–1815
Sir John Coape Sherbrooke	1816–1818
The Duke of Richmond and Lennox	1818–1819
The Earl of Dalhousie	1820–1828	George IV
Sir James Kempt	1828–1830	George IV
The Lord Aylmer	1830–1835	William IV
The Earl of Gosford*	1835–1837	William IV
The Earl of Gosford*	1835–1837	Victoria
Sir John Colborne*	1837–1838 (acting)	Victoria

(*) Lord Gosford resigned in November 1837 during the Lower Canada Rebellion. Colborne was raised to commander in chief of British forces and acting governor general to put down the 1837 Rebellions and restore order in both Upper Canada and Lower Canada. He remained in place until Lord Durham's arrival.

Governors General of the Province of Canada

Name	Term	Sovereign
The Earl of Durham	1838–1839	Victoria
The Lord Sydenham	1839–1841
The Rt Hon Charles, Lord Bagot	1842–1843
The Lord Metcalfe	1843–1845
The Earl Cathcart	1846–1847
The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine	1847–1854
Sir Edmund Walker Head	1854–1861
The Viscount Monck	1861–1867

Governors General of Canada since Confederation

British

Name	Term	Sovereign
The Viscount Monck	1867–1869	Victoria
The Lord Lisgar	1869–1872
The Earl of Dufferin	1872–1878
Marquess of Lorne	1878–1883
The Marquess of Lansdowne	1883–1888
The Lord Stanley of Preston	1888–1893
The Earl of Aberdeen	1893–1898
The Earl of Minto	1898–1904
The Earl of Minto	1898–1904	Edward VII
The Earl Grey	1904–1911	Edward VII
The Earl Grey	1904–1911	George V
HRH The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn	1911–1916
The Duke of Devonshire	1916–1921
The Lord Byng of Vimy	1921–1926
The Viscount Willingdon	1926–1931
The Earl of Bessborough	1931–1935
The Lord Tweedsmuir	1935–1940
		Edward VIII
		George VI
The Earl of Athlone	1940–1946
The Viscount Alexander of Tunis	1946–1952

Canadian

Name	Term	Sovereign	Prime Minister
Vincent Massey	1952–1959	Elizabeth II	Louis St. Laurent
Georges Vanier	1959–1967		John Diefenbaker
Roland Michener	1967–1974		Lester Pearson
Jules Léger	1974–1979		Pierre Trudeau
Edward Schreyer	1979–1984		Pierre Trudeau
Jeanne Sauvé	1984–1990		Pierre Trudeau
Ramon John Hnatyshyn	1990–1995		Brian Mulroney
Roméo LeBlanc	1995–1999		Jean Chretien
Adrienne Clarkson	1999–2005		Jean Chretien
Michaëlle Jean	2005–		Paul Martin

Administrators

A list of Administrators, acting Governors General appointed as the result of the death or prolonged absence of the sitting vice-regal:

1931 - Sir Lyman Poore Duff, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, between the departure of The Earl of Bessborough for India and the arrival of John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir.

1940 - Sir Lyman Poore Duff Chief Justice, served following the death of John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir.

1952 - Thibaudeau Rinfret was Chief Justice and served the vice-regal role after the appointment of Lord Alexander to the British Cabinet until the appointment of Vincent Massey as his successor.

1966-1967 - Robert Taschereau as Chief Justice served following the death of Governor-General Georges Vanier.

1974 Gabrielle Léger, wife of Governor General Jules Léger, was not an Administrator but briefly assisted her husband in the official duties of the Governor General, such as reading the Speech from the Throne, after her husband's stroke.

2005 - Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin served as administrator for several weeks in July, while Governor General Adrienne Clarkson was hospitalized for heart surgery.

External link

List of Former Governors General - Government of Canada

Governors General of Canada | Lists of office-holders | Viceroys in Canada

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