Editing Governor General of Canada (section)

==History==
{{Further|List of Governors General of Canada}}

===French and British colonies===
[[France|French]] colonization of [[North America]] began in the 1580s and [[Aymar Chaste|Aymar de Chaste]] was appointed in 1602 by King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] as Viceroy of Canada.<ref>{{cite book| last=Hoxie| first=Frederick E.| title=Encyclopedia of North American Indians| publisher=Diane Publishing Company| date=September 1999| location=Darby| page=284| isbn=978-0-7881-6690-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Tidridge| first=Nathan| title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy: An Introduction to Our Form of Government| page=26| publisher=Dundurn Press| location=Toronto| year=2011| isbn=978-1-4597-0084-0| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvGsvHsAtDgC}}</ref> The explorer [[Samuel de Champlain]] became the first unofficial [[Governor of New France]] in the early 17th century,{{refn|[[Kevin S. MacLeod|Kevin MacLeod]], in his book ''A Crown of Maples'', pegs the start date of Champlain's governorship at 1627,<ref name=MacLeod34/> whereas the official website of the Governor General of Canada puts it at 1608.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=3| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Governor General > Role and Responsibilities > Role and Responsibilities of the Governor General| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=29 May 2009}}</ref>|group=n|name=GGdate}} serving until [[Charles Huault de Montmagny]] was in 1636 formally appointed to the post by King [[Louis XIII]]. The French [[Company of One Hundred Associates]] then administered New France until King [[Louis XIV]] took control of the colony and appointed [[Augustin de Saffray de Mésy]] as the first [[Governor General of New France|governor general]] in 1663,<ref>{{cite DCB |title=Saffray de Mézy (Mésy), Augustin de |first=W.J. |last=Eccles |volume=1 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/saffray_de_mezy_augustin_de_1E.html}}</ref> after whom 12 more people served in the post.
[[File:Louis de Buade de Frontenac 02.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac]], the third and sixth [[Governor General of New France]], at the [[Parliament Building (Quebec)|Quebec Parliament Building]].]]
With the signing of the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1763, France relinquished most of its North American territories, including Canada, to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Emerich| first=John Edward|author2=Acton, Dalberg| author3=Benians, Ernest Alfred| author4=Ward, Adolphus William| author5= Prothero George Walter|  title=The Cambridge Modern History| volume=8| publisher=Cambridge University Press| date=29 October 1976| location=London| pages=346–347| isbn=978-0-521-29108-8}}</ref> King [[George III]] then issued in that same year [[Royal Proclamation of 1763|a royal proclamation]] establishing, amongst other regulations, the Office of the Governor of Quebec to preside over the new [[Province of Quebec (1763-1791)|Province of Quebec]].<ref>[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/PreConfederation/rp_1763.html Royal Proclamation, 1763, RSC 1985, App. II, No. 1).]</ref> [[Nova Scotia]] and [[New Brunswick]] remained completely separate colonies, each with their own governor, until the cabinet of [[William Pitt the Younger|William Pitt]] adopted in the 1780s the idea that they, along with Quebec and [[Prince Edward Island]], should have as their respective governors a single individual styled as ''governor-in-chief''. The post was created in 1786, with [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester]] as its first occupant. However, the governor-in-chief directly governed only Quebec. It was not until the splitting in 1791 of the Province of Quebec, to accommodate the influx of [[United Empire Loyalist]]s fleeing the [[American Revolution|American revolutionary war]], that the king's representative, with a change in title to ''Governor General'', directly governed [[Lower Canada]], while the other three colonies were each administered by a lieutenant governor in his stead.

Following the 1783 recognition of the independence of the 13 continental colonies that became the [[United States]] of America and the transfer of [[East Florida]] and [[West Florida]] to Spain, the remaining British colonies of North America, including [[Bermuda]], were partly integrated as [[British North America]]. During the [[War of 1812]], Lieutenant-General Sir [[George Prevost]] was appointed as "Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and Over the Provinces of Upper-Canada, Lower-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New-Brunswick, and Their Several Dependencies, Vice-Admiral of the Same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty's Forces in the Said Provinces of Lower Canada and Upper-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New-Brunswick, and Their Several Dependencies, and in the Islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, Cape Breton, and the Bermudas, &c. &c. &c."<ref>''The Quebec Almanack'', 1815.</ref>

===Responsible government===
[[File:United Canada 1848.png|thumb|Political organization of the [[Province of Canada]], after the introduction of [[responsible government]] under the Union Act, 1848]]
The [[Rebellions of 1837]] brought about great changes to the role of the governor general, prompting, as they did, the British government to grant [[responsible government]] to the Canadian provinces.<ref>{{Harvnb| MacLeod| 2015| p=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/executive-decree/023004-2010-e.html| last=Library and Archives Canada| author-link=Library and Archives Canada| title=Politics and Government > By Executive Decree > The Executive Branch in Canadian History| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=4 June 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630194209/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/executive-decree/023004-2010-e.html| archive-date=30 June 2009}}</ref> As a result, the viceroys became largely nominal heads, while the democratically elected [[Legislative buildings of Canada|legislatures]] and the [[Premier (Canada)|premiers]] they supported exercised the authority belonging to the Crown; a concept first put to the test when, in 1849, [[List of Governors General of Canada#Governors general of the Province of Canada, 1841–1867|Governor-General of the Province of Canada]] and Lieutenant-Governor of [[Canada East]] [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin]] granted Royal Assent to the [[Rebellion Losses Bill]], despite his personal misgivings towards the legislation.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Mills |first=David |title=Rebellion Losses Bill |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |date=4 March 2015 |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |edition=online |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rebellion-losses-bill}}</ref>

This arrangement continued after the reunification in 1840 of Upper and Lower Canada into the [[Province of Canada]], and the establishment of the Dominion of Canada in 1867. The governor general carried out in Canada all the parliamentary and ceremonial functions of a constitutional monarch—amongst other things, granting Royal Assent, issuing Orders-in-Council, and taking advice from the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada|Canadian Privy Council]]. However, the governor still remained not a viceroy, in the true sense of the word, being still a representative of and liaison to the British government<ref name=Heard /><ref>{{Cite book| last=Hilliker| first=John| title=Canada's Department of External Affairs: The early years, 1909–1946| publisher=McGill-Queen's Press| year=1990| location=Montreal| page=71| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZD0inJnMJQC| isbn=978-0-7735-0751-7}}</ref>—the Queen in her British council of ministers—who answered to the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|secretary of state for the colonies]] in [[London]] and who,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/executive-decree/023004-2021-e.html| last=Library and Archives Canada| author-link=Library and Archives Canada| title=Politics and Government > By Executive Decree > The Governor General| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=4 June 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609115536/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/executive-decree/023004-2021-e.html| archive-date=9 June 2009}}</ref> as a British observer of Canadian politics, held well into the [[First World War]] a suite of offices in the [[East Block]] of [[Parliament Hill]].{{refn|The offices were subsequently incorporated into the [[Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)|Prime Minister's Office]] (PMO), but have been restored to their 19th century appearance after the PMO moved to the [[Langevin Block]] in the 1970s, and are now preserved as a tourist attraction along with other historic offices in the East Block.<ref name=GGParl/>|group=n|name=EB}} But, the new position of [[High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom|Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom]], created in 1880, began to take over the governor general's role as a link between the Canadian and British governments, leaving the viceroy increasingly as a personal representative of the monarch.<ref>{{Citation| last=Skelton| first=Oscar D.| date=2009| contribution=The Day of Sir Wilfrid Laurier: A Chronicle of the 20th Century| editor-last=Wrong| editor-first=George M.| editor2-last=Langton| editor2-first=H. H.| title=The Chronicles of Canada| volume=III| page=228| location=Tucson| publisher=Fireship Press| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs6IKxQxUjsC| isbn=978-1-934757-51-2| access-date=1 July 2010}}</ref> As such, the governor general had to retain a sense of political neutrality; a skill that was put to the test when [[John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll|John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne]], disagreed with his Canadian prime minister, [[John A. Macdonald]], over the dismissal of [[Lieutenant Governor of Quebec]] [[Luc Letellier de St-Just]]. On the advice of the colonial secretary, and to avoid conflict with the Canadian Cabinet, Campbell did eventually concede and released St-Just from duty.<ref>{{Harvnb| MacNutt| 1955| p=47}}</ref> The governor general was then in May 1891 called upon to resolve the dominion's first cabinet crisis, wherein Macdonald died, leaving [[Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby|Lord Stanley of Preston]] to select a new prime minister.
[[File:5th Royal Highlanders- inspection by Governor General at Champ de Mars, Montreal, August 1914 (19533676175).jpg|thumb|Governor General [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Prince Arthur]] inspects members of the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]] at [[Valcartier Camp]], 1914]]

As early as 1880, the viceregal family and court attracted minor ridicule from the Queen's subjects: in July of that year, someone under the [[pseudonym]] ''Captain Mac'' included in a pamphlet called ''Canada: from the Lakes to the Gulf'', a coarse satire of an investiture ceremony at Rideau Hall, in which a retired inn-keeper and his wife undergo the rigorous protocol of the royal household and sprawl on the floor before the [[John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll|Duke of Argyll]] so as to be granted the knighthood for which they had "paid in cold, hard cash".<ref>{{Harvnb| Hubbard| 1977| pp=55–56}}</ref> Later, prior to the arrival of [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]] (the uncle of King George V), to take up the post of governor general, there was a "feeble undercurrent of criticism" centring on worries about a rigid court at Rideau Hall; worries that turned out to be unfounded as the royal couple was actually more relaxed than their predecessors.<ref>{{Harvnb| Hubbard| 1977| p=125}}</ref>

===Emerging nationality to an independent kingdom===
[[File:Governor General of Canada is welcomed to Washington by Secretary of State Kellogg. Attended by all the pomp and ceremony a republic can bestow, Governor General Willingdon of Canada was LCCN2016888558.tif|thumb|[[Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon|Marquess of Willingdon]] (left) during an [[official visit]] to [[Washington, D.C.]] as the governor general of Canada.]]
During the [[First World War]], into which Canada was drawn due to its association with the United Kingdom, the governor general's role turned from one of cultural patron and state ceremony to one of military inspector and morale booster. Starting in 1914, Governor General Prince Arthur donned his [[Field Marshal]]'s uniform and put his efforts into raising contingents, inspecting army camps, and seeing troops off before their voyage to Europe. These actions, however, led to conflict with the prime minister at the time, [[Robert Borden]]; though the latter placed blame on Military Secretary Edward Stanton, he also opined that the Duke "laboured under the handicap of his position as a member of the Royal Family and never realized his limitations as Governor General".<ref>{{Cite book| last=Borden| first=Robert| author-link=Robert Borden| date=1938| editor-last=Borden| editor-first=Henry| title=Memoirs| volume=1| pages=601–602| location=New York| publisher=Macmillan Publishers}}</ref> Prince Arthur's successor, [[Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire]], faced the [[Conscription Crisis of 1917]] and held discussions with his Canadian prime minister, as well as members of the official opposition, on the matter. Once the government implemented conscription, Devonshire, after consulting on the pulse of the nation with Sir [[Wilfrid Laurier]], Vincent Massey, [[Henri Bourassa]], [[Archbishop of Montreal]] [[Paul Bruchési]], [[Duncan Campbell Scott]], [[Vilhjalmur Stefansson]], and [[Stephen Leacock]], made efforts to conciliate [[Quebec]], though he had little real success.<ref>{{Harvnb| Hubbard| 1977| pp=141–142}}</ref>

Canada's national sentiment had gained fortitude through the country's sacrifices on the battlefields of the First World War and, by war's end, the interference of the British government in Canadian affairs was causing ever-increasing discontent amongst Canadian officials;{{refn|The appointment in 1916 of the Duke of Devonshire as governor general caused political problems, as Canadian prime minister Robert Borden had, counter to established common practice, not been consulted on the matter by his British counterpart, [[H. H. Asquith]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=55| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Former Governors General: The Duke of Devonshire| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=18 April 2009}}</ref>|group=n|name=Adv}} In 1918, ''[[The Toronto Star]]'' was even advocating the end of the office.<ref>{{Harvnb| Hubbard| 1977| p=42}}</ref> The governor general's role was also changing to focus less on the larger Empire and more on uniquely Canadian affairs,{{refn|During the [[Great Depression]], the [[Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough|Earl of Bessborough]] voluntarily cut his salary by ten percent as a sign of his solidarity with the Canadian people.<ref>{{cite book| last=Cowan| first=John| title=Canada's Governors General, Lord Monck to General Vanier| publisher=York Publishing Co.| edition=2| year=1965| location=York| page=156}}</ref>|group=n|name=Pons}} including the undertaking of official international visits on behalf of Canada, the first being that of the [[Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon|Marquess of Willingdon]] to the [[United States]], where he was accorded by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Calvin Coolidge]] the full honours of representative of a head of state.{{refn|Governors general had been venturing to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] to meet informally with the [[President of the United States]] since the time of [[Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck|Viscount Monck]].|group=n|name=US}}<ref name=Hubbard166 /> It would be another decade, however, before the King-Byng Affair: another catalyst for change in the relationship between Canada—indeed, all the dominions—and the United Kingdom, and thus the purpose of the governor general.
[[File:Lord-byng.jpg|thumb|[[Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy|Viscount Byng of Vimy]], who was involved in the [[King–Byng affair]], a catalyst for change over the role of the governor general in the British Empire]]

In 1926, Prime Minister Mackenzie King, facing a [[Motion of no confidence|no-confidence vote]] in the House of Commons over a scandal in his party, requested that Governor General Viscount Byng of Vimy dissolve parliament and call an election. Byng, however, refused his Canadian prime minister's advice, citing both the facts that King held the [[Minority government|minority of seats]] in the house and that a general election had been held only months earlier; he thus called on [[Arthur Meighen]] to [[Kissing Hands|form a government]]. Within a week however, Meighen's [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative]] government lost its own non-confidence vote, forcing the Governor General to dissolve parliament and call elections that saw Mackenzie King returned to power.<ref>{{cite book| title=Byng of Vimy: General and Governor General| url=https://archive.org/details/byngofvimygenera0000will| url-access=registration| last=Williams| first=Jeffery| year=1983| publisher=Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg| location=Barnsley, S. Yorkshire| pages=[https://archive.org/details/byngofvimygenera0000will/page/314 314–317]| isbn=978-0-436-57110-7}}</ref> King then went on to the [[1926 Imperial Conference|Imperial Conference]] that same year and there pushed for reorganizations that resulted in the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926|Balfour Declaration]], which declared formally the practical reality that had existed for some years: namely, that the dominions were fully autonomous and equal in status to the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Marshall| first=Peter| date=September 2001| title=The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth| journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]]| volume=90| issue=361| pages=541–53| doi=10.1080/00358530120082823| s2cid=143421201}}</ref> These new developments were codified in the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]], through the enactment of which on 11 December 1931, Canada, along with the [[Union of South Africa]] and the [[Irish Free State]], immediately obtained formal legislative independence from the UK.<ref>{{cite book| last=Baker| first=Philip Noel| title=The Present Juridical Status of the British Dominions in International Law| publisher=Longmans| year=1929| location=London| page=231}}</ref> In addition, the Balfour Declaration also held that the governor general would cease to act as the representative of the British government. Accordingly, in 1928, the United Kingdom appointed its first [[List of High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Canada|High Commissioner to Canada]] thus effectively ending the governor general's diplomatic role as the British government's envoy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psa.ac.uk/publications/psd/1998/lloyd1.htm#1| title="What's in a name?" – The curious tale of the office of High Commissioner| first=Lorna| last=Lloyd| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518172615/http://www.psa.ac.uk/publications/psd/1998/lloyd1.htm#1| archive-date=18 May 2008 }}</ref>

The governor general thus became solely the representative of the monarch within Canadian jurisdiction, ceasing completely to be an agent of the British Cabinet,{{refn|The ministers in attendance at the Imperial Conference agreed that: "In our opinion it is an essential consequence of the equality of status existing among the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations that the Governor General of a Dominion is the representative of the Crown, holding in all essential respects the same position in relation to the administration of public affairs in the Dominion as is held by His Majesty the King in Great Britain, and that he is not the representative or agent of His Majesty's Government in Great Britain or of any Department of that Government."<ref>[https://archive.org/details/imperialconferen0000impe/page/n21/mode/1up ''Imperial Conference of 1926 — Summary of Proceedings'' (Ottawa:  King's Printer, 1926), p 14.]</ref>|group=n|name=Balf}}<ref name=DCH3 /><ref>{{cite book| last=Judd| first=Denis| title=Empire: The British Imperial Experience from 1765 to the Present| publisher=Basic Books| date=9 July 1998| location=New York| page=287| isbn=978-0-465-01954-0}}</ref> and as such would be appointed only on the advice of his Canadian prime minister.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=McConnell |first=W.H. |title=Constitutional History of Canada |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |date=18 August 2022 |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |access-date=4 June 2009 |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/constitutional-history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608173042/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC818742 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Canadian Cabinet's first recommendation under this new system was still, however, a [[British subject]] born outside of Canada, John Buchan (later Lord Tweedsmuir).

Tweedsmuir's birthplace aside, though, the professional author took further than any of his predecessors the idea of a distinct Canadian identity,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=55| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Former Governors General: Lord Tweedsmuir of Elsfield| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> travelling the length and breadth of the country, including, for the first time for a governor general, the [[Canadian Arctic|Arctic]] regions.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Hillmer| first=Norman| title=John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-buchan-1st-baron-tweedsmuir-1 |access-date=31 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703002004/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001071 | archive-date=3 July 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> Not all Canadians, however, shared Tweedsmuir's views; the Baron raised the ire of [[Imperialism|imperialists]] when he said in Montreal in 1937: "a Canadian's first loyalty is not to the British [[Commonwealth of Nations]], but to Canada and Canada's King",<ref>{{cite book| last=Smith| first=Janet Adam| title=John Buchanan: a Biography| publisher=Little Brown and Company| year=1965| location=Boston| page=423}}</ref> a statement the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' dubbed as "disloyal".<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Royal Visit| magazine=Time| volume=IXX| issue=17| publisher=Time Inc.| location=New York| date=21 October 1957| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937945,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513184211/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937945,00.html| archive-date=13 May 2007| issn=0040-781X| access-date=29 March 2009}}</ref> During Tweedsmuir's time as viceroy, which started in 1935, calls began to emerge for a Canadian-born individual to be appointed as governor general; but Tweedsmuir died suddenly in office in 1940, while Canada was in the midst of the [[Second World War]], and Mackenzie King did not feel it was the right time to search for a suitable Canadian.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=55| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Former Governors General: Major General The Earl of Athlone| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=24 March 2009}}</ref> The [[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|Earl of Athlone]] was instead appointed by King George VI, Athlone's nephew, to be his viceroy for the duration of the war.

===Quebec nationalism and constitutional patriation===
[[File:Portrait of Governor General Georges Vanier (1965 UPI press photo).jpg|thumb|left|[[Georges Vanier]], the 19th governor general of Canada. The convention of alternating between francophones and anglophones began with Vanier's appointment.]]

It was in 1952, a mere five days before King George VI's death, that [[Vincent Massey]] became the first Canadian-born person to be appointed as a governor general in Canada since the [[Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal|Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal]] was made Governor General of New France on 1 January 1755, as well as the first not to be elevated to the [[peerage]] since Sir [[Edmund Walker Head]] in 1854. There was some trepidation about this departure from tradition and Massey was intended to be a compromise: he was known to embody loyalty, dignity, and formality, as expected from a viceroy.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Galbraith |first=William |title=The Canadian and the Crown |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=February 2002 |url=http://www.johnbuchansociety.co.uk/samples/crown.htm |access-date=19 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120150821/http://www.johnbuchansociety.co.uk/samples/crown.htm |archive-date=20 November 2008}}</ref>

As his viceregal tenure neared an end, it was thought that Massey, an [[English language|anglophone]], should be followed by a [[francophone]] Canadian; and so, in spite of his [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] attachments, [[Georges Vanier]] was chosen by [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] prime minister [[John Diefenbaker]] as the next governor general. Vanier was subsequently appointed by Queen [[Elizabeth II]], in person, at a meeting of her Canadian Cabinet,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=55| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Former Governors General: General The Right Honourable Georges Philias Vanier| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=5 June 2009}}</ref> thus initiating the convention of alternating between individuals from [[Languages of Canada|Canada's two main linguistic groups]]. This move did not, however, placate those who were fostering the new [[Quebec nationalism|Quebec nationalist movement]], for whom the monarchy and other federal institutions were a target for attack. Though Vanier was a native of Quebec and fostered biculturalism, he was not immune to the barbs of [[Quebec sovereignty movement|the province's sovereigntists]] and, when he attended ''[[National Holiday (Quebec)|la Fête St-Jean-Baptiste]]'' in [[Montreal]] in 1964, a group of separatists held placards reading "''{{Lang|fr|Vanier vendu}}''" ("Vanier sold out") and "''{{Lang|fr|Vanier fou de la Reine}}''" ("Vanier Queen's jester").<ref>{{Harvnb| Hubbard| 1977| p=233}}</ref>

In light of this regional nationalism and a resultant change in attitudes towards Canadian identity, images and the role of the monarchy were cautiously downplayed, and Vanier's successor, [[Roland Michener]], was the last viceroy to practice many of the office's ancient traditions, such as the wearing of [[Court uniform and dress in the United Kingdom|court uniform]] by the governor general, the requirement of [[Court uniform and dress in the United Kingdom|court dress]] for state occasions, and expecting women to [[curtsey]] before the governor general.<ref name=GGMich>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=55| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Former Governors General: The Right Honourable Daniel Roland Michener| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=5 June 2009}}</ref> At the same time, he initiated new practices for the viceroy, including regular conferences with the lieutenant governors and the undertaking of [[state visits]].<ref name=GGMich /> He presided over [[Canadian Centennial|Canada's centennial celebrations]] and the coincidental [[Expo 67]], to which [[President of France|French president]] [[Charles de Gaulle]] was invited. Michener was with de Gaulle when he made his infamous "''{{Lang|fr|[[Vive le Québec libre]]}}''" speech in [[Montreal]] and was cheered wildly by the gathered crowd while they booed and jeered Michener.<ref>{{cite book| last=Berton| first=Pierre| author-link=Pierre Berton| title=[[1967: The Last Good Year]]| publisher=Doubleday Canada Limited| year=1997| location=Toronto| pages=[https://archive.org/details/1967lastgoodyear0000bert/page/300 300–312]| isbn=0-385-25662-0}}</ref> With the additional recognition of the monarchy as a Canadian institution,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/senate//Monarchy/SenMonarchy_15-e.htm| last=Speaker of the Senate| title=Canada: a Constitutional Monarchy| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=5 June 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617034641/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/senate/Monarchy/SenMonarchy_15-e.htm | archive-date=17 June 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{citation | author=Department of Canadian Heritage| author-link=Department of Canadian Heritage|  title=The Crown in Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| year=2005}}</ref> the establishment of a distinct [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada|Canadian honours system]], an increase of state visits coming with Canada's growing role on the world stage, and the more prevalent use of [[television]] to visually broadcast ceremonial state affairs, the governor general became more publicly active in national life.
[[File:Jeanne Sauvé 1985.jpg|thumb|[[Jeanne Sauvé]] (left), Canada's first female governor general, with a Guardsman (private) of the Canadian Grenadier Guards of Montreal]]

The Cabinet in June 1978 proposed the constitutional amendment Bill C-60, that, amongst other changes, vested executive authority directly in the governor general and renamed the position as ''First Canadian'',<ref>{{Cite journal|  last=Heinricks| first=Geoff| year=2001| title=Opinion: Trudeau and the Monarchy| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada (reprinted courtesy National Post)|  publication-date=July 2001| location=Toronto| issue=Winter/Spring 2001–2001| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2001/opinion.htm| access-date=10 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622173849/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2001/opinion.htm | archive-date=22 June 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Smith| first=David| date=1999| title=Republican Tendencies| url=http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/may99/smith.pdf| editor-last=Watson| editor-first=William| periodical=Policy Options| issue=May 1999| page=8| location=Montreal| publisher=Institute for Research on Public Policy| access-date=10 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217112938/http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/may99/smith.pdf| archive-date=17 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=Pepall>{{Cite journal| last=Pepall| first=John| title=Who is the Governor General?| journal=The Idler| location=Toronto| date=1 March 1990| url=http://www.pepall.ca/archive_article.asp?YEAR=&VRT=330| access-date=13 November 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192918/http://www.pepall.ca/archive_article.asp?YEAR=&VRT=330| archive-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> but the proposal was thwarted by the provincial premiers.<ref>{{Cite news| last=Valpy| first=Michael| title=Don't Mess With Success – and Good Luck Trying| url=http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/may99/valpy.pdf| editor-last=Watson| editor-first=William| periodical=Policy Options| issue=May 1999| page=26| location=Montreal| publisher=Institute for Research on Public Policy| access-date=17 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217112947/http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/may99/valpy.pdf| archive-date=17 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb| Smith| 1999| p=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Phillips |first=Stephen |title=Republicanism in Canada in the reign of Elizabeth II: the dog that didn't bark |journal=Canadian Monarchist News |volume=Summer 2004 |issue=22 |pages=19–20 |publisher=Monarchist League of Canada |location=Toronto |url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2004/Sum04PDFRepublicanism.pdf |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090708032249/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2004/Sum04PDFRepublicanism.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2009 |access-date=10 February 2009 }}</ref> When the [[Patriation|constitution was patriated]] four years later, the new amending formula for the documents outlined that any changes to the Crown, including the Office of the Governor General, would require the consent of all the provincial legislatures plus the federal parliament.<ref>{{Cite canlaw| link=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-13.html| linkloc=Government of Canada| short title=Constitution Act, 1982| abbr=S.C.| chapter=V| section=41(a)| wikilink=Constitution Act, 1982| type=Constitutional| year=1982}}</ref> By 1984, Canada's first female governor general, [[Jeanne Sauvé]], was appointed. While it was she who created the [[Canadian Heraldic Authority]], as permitted by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth II, and who championed youth and world peace, Sauvé proved to be a controversial vicereine, closing to the public the grounds of the Queen's residence and self-aggrandizingly breaching protocol on a number of occasions.<ref name=Pepall /><ref>{{Cite book| last=Jackson| first=Michael| date=2002| contribution=Political Paradox: The Lieutenant Governor in Saskatchewan| editor-last=Leeson| editor-first=Howard A.| title=Saskatchewan Politics into the 21st Century| location=Regina| publisher=Canadian Plains Research Center}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gardner |first=Dan |title=A stealth campaign against the Queen |newspaper=Calgary Herald |date=17 February 2009 |url=https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/blogs/stealth+campaign+against+Queen/1297679/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617115509/http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/blogs/stealth%2Bcampaign%2Bagainst%2BQueen/1297679/story.html |archive-date=17 June 2009 |access-date=26 February 2009}}</ref>

===Withering and renaissance===
[[Sarah, Duchess of York]], said in 2009 that sometime during her marriage to [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York]], her husband was offered the position of governor general of Canada, and she speculated in hindsight that their agreement to refuse the commission may have been a contributing factor in their eventual break-up.<ref>{{Cite news| last=Miranda| first=Charles| title=Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson on love in royal palace| newspaper=The Daily Telegraph| date=2 March 2009| url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25122633-5001030,00.html| access-date=6 June 2009| archive-date=11 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311033750/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25122633-5001030,00.html}}</ref> Instead, Sauvé's tenure as governor general was book-ended by a series of appointments—[[Edward Schreyer]], [[Ray Hnatyshyn]], and [[Roméo LeBlanc]]—that have been generally regarded as mere [[patronage]] postings for former politicians and friends of the incumbent prime minister at the time,{{refn|LeBlanc's strong ties to the Liberal Party led other party leaders to protest his appointment by boycotting his installation ceremony.<ref name=CMNLeB />|group=n|name=LeBlanc}}<ref name=Boyce /><ref name=Pepall /> and despite the duties they carried out, their combined time in the viceregal office is generally viewed as unremarkable at best, and damaging to the office at worst.<ref name=Boyce /><ref name=Pepall /><ref name=Toffoli/><ref name=CMNLeB>{{cite journal|last=Fidelis| title=The LeBlanc Years: A Frank Assessment| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Autumn 1999| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=1999| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/leblanc.htm| access-date=2 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708032551/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/leblanc.htm | archive-date=8 July 2009 }}</ref><ref name=Martin>{{Cite news|last=Martin |first=Don |title=Jean is now least boring G-G ever |newspaper=National Post |date=28 May 2009 |url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=f1e51d92-758b-4d2a-a554-6572d09186b1 |access-date=25 February 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141023064959/http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=f1e51d92-758b-4d2a-a554-6572d09186b1 |archive-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> As David Smith described it: "Notwithstanding the personal qualities of the appointees, which have often been extraordinary, the Canadian governor general has become a hermetic head of state—ignored by press, politicians and public."<ref>{{Cite news| last=Jackson | first=D. Michael| year=1999| publication-date=2007| title=The Crown in Today's Federal State| periodical=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Autumn-Winter 2007| issue=27| page=12| place=Toronto-Buffalo-London| publication-place=Toronto| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/AutumnWinter_2007_CMN.pdf| access-date=26 July 2009| archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090708031338/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/AutumnWinter_2007_CMN.pdf | archive-date=8 July 2009}}</ref> It was theorized by Peter Boyce that this was due, in part, to widespread misunderstanding about the governor general's role coupled with a lack of public presence compared to the media coverage dedicated to the increasingly presidentialized prime minister.<ref name=Boyce />
[[File:Vladimir Putin in Canada 18-19 December 2000-7.jpg|thumb|left|Governor General [[Adrienne Clarkson]] (right) toasts [[President of Russia|Russian president]] [[Vladimir Putin]] in the ballroom of Rideau Hall, 18 December 2000]]

It was with the Queen's appointment of [[Adrienne Clarkson]], on the advice of then Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]], that a shift in the office took place. Clarkson was the first Canadian viceroy to have not previously held any political or military position—coming as she did from a background of television journalism with the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]—was the first since 1952 to have been born outside of Canada, the first from a [[visible minority]] (she is of Chinese ancestry), and, by her being accompanied to Rideau Hall by her husband, author and philosopher [[John Ralston Saul]], the official appointment brought an unofficial pair to the viceregal placement,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Janigan| first=Mary| author2=Nicol, John| title=Clarkson Appointed Governor General| journal=Maclean's| publisher=Kenneth Whyte| location=Toronto| date=20 September 1999| url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clarkson-appointed-governor-general | issn=0024-9262| access-date=2 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608173512/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012014 | archive-date=8 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Walker| first=William| title=PM names Clarkson| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=9 September 1999| url=http://www.fact.on.ca/newpaper/ts990909.htm| access-date=2 March 2009}}</ref> in that the governor general would not be the only person actively exploring Canadian theory and culture. Clarkson managed to bring the viceregal office back into the collective consciousness of Canadians, winning praise for touring the country more than any of her predecessors, her inspiring speeches, and her dedication to the military in her role as the commander-in-chief's representative.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Fraser| first=John| author-link=John Fraser (journalist)| title=Excellency| newspaper=National Post| date=1 February 2003| url=http://www.ccmms.ca/clarkson.asp| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706171832/http://www.ccmms.ca/clarkson.asp | archive-date=6 July 2011 }}</ref><ref name=CMNSP05>{{cite journal|last=Editorial| title=Our Governor General| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=6| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=2005| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=28 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Clarkson out of hospital after pacemaker surgery| publisher=CTV| date=11 July 2005| url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050711/clarkson_recovering_050710?s_name=tiff2006&no_ads=| archive-url=https://archive.today/20071120223345/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050711/clarkson_recovering_050710?s_name=tiff2006&no_ads=| archive-date=20 November 2007| access-date=1 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=Black| first=Dan| title=The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier| journal=Legion Magazine| volume=September 2000| publisher=Canvet Publications Ltd.| location=Kanata| date=1 September 2000| url=http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2000/09/the-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-date=29 January 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129135437/http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2000/09/the-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Graham| first=Bill| author-link=Bill Graham (Canadian politician)| date=9 December 2004| title=Debate Extracts: Commons Cuts the GG's Budget| periodical=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=9| location=Toronto| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Greenway| first=Norma| title=Jean puts imprint on swearing-in| publisher=CanWest News Service| date=27 September 2005| url=http://www2.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6ec41c75-a3c3-43be-a182-6b8cccd4e8ed| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603150041/http://www2.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6ec41c75-a3c3-43be-a182-6b8cccd4e8ed| archive-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> This did not come without a cost, however, as the attention also drew widespread criticism of the governor general's increased spending on state affairs, for which the office was symbolically rebuked by parliament when it voted in favour of cutting by 10% the viceregal budget it had earlier supported,<ref>{{cite book| last=McWhinney| first=Edward| author-link=Ted McWhinney| title=The Governor General and the Prime Ministers| publisher=Ronsdale Press| year=2005| location=Vancouver| page=46| isbn=1-55380-031-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=MacKay| first=Peter| author-link=Peter MacKay| date=9 December 2004| title=Debate Extracts: Commons Cuts the GG's Budget| periodical=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=9| location=Toronto| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref> as well as for fostering the notion, through various demonstrations, that the governor general was ultimately the Canadian head of state above the Queen herself,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Fidelis| title=A Very Alarming Situation: the New Threat to the Canadian Monarchy – What Next?| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=2| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=2005| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=28 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Editorial| title=Hope for the Monarchy in Canada: The Provincial Crown| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=12| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=2005| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name=FraserNP>{{citation| url=http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/28/john-fraser-when-quebecers-loved-the-crown-and-why-they-stopped/| archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120429232227/http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/28/john-fraser-when-quebecers-loved-the-crown-and-why-they-stopped/| archive-date=29 April 2012| last=Fraser| first=John| title=John Fraser: When Quebecers loved the Crown (and why they stopped)| date=28 April 2012| newspaper=National Post| access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref> an approach that was said by [[Jack Granatstein]] to have caused "a fury" with the Queen on one occasion in 2004.<ref>{{Citation| last=Galloway| first=Gloria| title=Jean to squeeze in trip to China between royal tour hello and goodbye| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=7 June 2010| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/jean-to-squeeze-in-trip-to-china-between-royal-tour-hello-and-goodbye/article1595538/| access-date=7 June 2010| location=Toronto}}</ref> This attitude was not unique to Clarkson, though; it had been observed that, for some decades, staff at Rideau Hall and various government departments in Ottawa had been pushing to present the governor general as head of state,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boswell |first=Randy |title=Governor General calling herself 'head of state' riles monarchists |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=7 October 2009 |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/Governor+General+calling+herself+head+state+riles+monarchists/2077884/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010185406/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Governor%2BGeneral%2Bcalling%2Bherself%2Bhead%2Bstate%2Briles%2Bmonarchists/2077884/story.html |archive-date=10 October 2009 |access-date=7 October 2009}}</ref> part of a wider Liberal policy on the monarchy that had been in effect at least since the proposed constitutional changes in the 1970s,<ref name=Pepall /> if not the [[History of monarchy in Canada#Turbulent decades|1964 Truncheon Saturday riot]] in Quebec City.<ref name=FraserNP /> Indeed, international observers opined that the viceroys had been, over the years, making deliberate attempts to distance themselves from the sovereign, for fear of being too closely associated with any "Britishness" the monarch embodied.<ref name=Boyce />
[[File:Barack Obama & Michaëlle Jean 2-19-09.jpg|thumb|right|As the representative of Canada's head of state, the governor general, [[Michaëlle Jean]], welcomes [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Barack Obama]] to Canada, 19 February 2009]]

Prime Minister [[Paul Martin]] followed Chrétien's example and, for Clarkson's successor, put forward to the Queen the name of [[Michaëlle Jean]], who was, like Clarkson, a woman, a refugee, a member of a visible minority, a CBC career journalist, and married to an intellectual husband who worked in the arts.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ibbitson| first=John| author-link=John Ibbitson| title=The remarkable new Governor-General| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=28 September 2005| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050928.wxibbitson28/BNStory/International/| access-date=7 June 2009| location=Toronto| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116020333/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050928.wxibbitson28/BNStory/International/ | archive-date=16 January 2009 }}</ref> Her appointment initially sparked accusations that she was a supporter of Quebec sovereignty, and it was observed that she had on a few occasions trodden into political matters,<ref>{{cite press release| title=Governor General proposes two new options to recognize Constable Garrett| publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada| date=27 November 2007| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=8| access-date=12 December 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Hébert| first=Chantal| author-link=Chantal Hébert| title=Will Jean thwart election call?| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=27 September 2006| url=https://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159307412136&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929165425/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159307412136&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795| archive-date=29 September 2007| access-date=28 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Valpy| first=Michael| author-link=Michael Valpy| title='Your biggest problem is Rideau Hall', top bureaucrat warned Harper| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=24 April 2007| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070424.JEAN24/TPStory/National| access-date=1 May 2007| location=Toronto}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> as well as continuing to foster the notion that the governor general had replaced the Queen as head of state, thereby "unbalancing&nbsp;... the federalist symmetry".<ref>{{Cite news| last=Gardner| first=Dan| title=Governor General to Dan Gardner: you're right| newspaper=Ottawa Citizen| date=13 February 2009| url=http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/katzenjammer/archive/2009/02/14/governor-general-to-dan-gardner-you-re-right.aspx| access-date=26 July 2009| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707180847/http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/katzenjammer/archive/2009/02/14/governor-general-to-dan-gardner-you-re-right.aspx| archive-date=7 July 2012}}</ref> But Jean ultimately won plaudits,<ref name=Martin/> particularly for her solidarity with the Canadian Forces and the [[indigenous peoples in Canada]], as well as her role in the [[2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute|parliamentary dispute that took place between December 2008 and January 2009]].<ref>{{Cite news| last=Taylor| first=Nathan| title=Stanton defends Harper| newspaper=Packet & Times| date=6 December 2008| url=http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1333605| access-date=8 December 2008| archive-date=30 December 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230031441/http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1333605| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Dreschel| first=Andrew| title=Jean was right to stave off Bloc coalition| newspaper=Hamilton Spectator| date=5 December 2008| url=http://thespec.com/Opinions/article/477213| access-date=8 December 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207024324/http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/477213| archive-date=7 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Wente| first=Margaret| author-link=Margaret Wente| title=That was the weird week that was| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=5 December 2008| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081205.wcowent06/BNStory/politics/home| access-date=8 December 2008| location=Toronto| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207054042/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081205.wcowent06/BNStory/politics/home | archive-date=7 December 2008 }}</ref>

With the appointment of academic [[David Johnston (governor general)|David Johnston]], former principal of [[McGill University]] and subsequently president of the [[University of Waterloo]], there was a signalled emphasis for the governor general to vigorously promote learning and innovation. Johnston stated in his inaugural address: "[We want to be] a society that innovates, embraces its talent and uses the knowledge of each of its citizens to improve the human condition for all."<ref>{{Cite news|title=GG David Johnston sworn in| publisher=CBC| date=1 October 2010| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gov-gen-david-johnston-sworn-in-1.919944| access-date=3 November 2010|url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004001823/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/01/governor-general-david-johnston-ceremony.html | archive-date=4 October 2010 }}</ref> There was also a recognition of Johnston's expertise in [[constitutional law]], following the controversial [[Prorogation in Canada|prorogations of Parliament]] in 2008 and 2009, which initiated some debate about the governor general's role as the representative of Canada's head of state.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Johnston named Canada's next governor general| publisher=CBC| date=8 July 2010| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/johnston-named-canada-s-next-governor-general-1.933359| access-date=3 November 2010|url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711061632/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/08/governor-general-johnston.html | archive-date=11 July 2010 }}</ref>

In late 2021, the Governor General's office confirmed that its internal office network was breached as part of a "sophisticated cyber incident".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Canada |first1=Governor General of |title=Statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General |url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/statement-from-the-office-of-the-secretary-to-the-governor-general-842086407.html |access-date=24 March 2023 |work=www.newswire.ca |language=en}}</ref><ref name="CityNewsSecBreach">{{cite news |title=Cyber security breach at Rideau Hall confirmed by governor general |url=https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/12/02/cyber-security-breach-rideau-hall/ |access-date=24 March 2023 |work=City News Vancouver}}</ref><ref name="TorStarSecBreach">{{cite news |title=Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's office says its internal network was hacked |url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2021/12/02/gov-gen-mary-simons-office-says-its-internal-network-was-hacked.html |work=thestar.com |date=2 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="CBCSecBreach">{{cite news |title=Cyberbreach at Rideau Hall was 'sophisticated' intrusion, internal documents reveal |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/privacy-breach-rideau-hall-sophisticated-1.6422070 |access-date=24 March 2023}}</ref> Officials were unable to determine the extent of the information that was accessed.<ref name = "CBCSecBreach"/> Former security officials speculated that another country may be responsible.<ref name="CityNewsSecBreach"/><ref name="TorStarSecBreach"/> The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, a branch of the [[Communications Security Establishment]], is investigating the incident.<ref name = "CBCSecBreach"/>