Monarchy of Canada - Federal and Provincial Aspects

Federal and Provincial Aspects

Conceived by the Fathers of Confederation as a bulwark against any potential fracturing of the Canadian federation, the Canadian monarchy is a federal one in which the Crown is unitary throughout all jurisdictions in the country, the sovereignty of the different administrations being passed on through the overreaching Crown itself as a part of the executive, legislative, and judicial operations in each of the federal and provincial spheres and the headship of state being a part of all equally. However, though the singular Crown links the various governments into a federal state, it is also "divided" into eleven legal jurisdictions, or eleven "crowns"—one federal and ten provincial—with the monarch taking on a distinct legal persona in each. As such, the constitution instructs that any change to the position of the monarch or his or her representatives in Canada requires the consent of the Senate, the House of Commons, and the legislative assemblies of all the provinces.

The monarch is personally represented in each area by a viceroy who carries out the majority of the Queen's duties on her behalf: that in the federal sphere being titled Governor General of Canada and appointed by the Queen on the advice of her federal prime minister, and those in the provincial spheres being called lieutenant governor and appointed by the governor general on the advice of the federal prime minister, with input from the relevant provincial premier. The commissioners of Canada's territories are appointed by the federal Governor-in-Council, at the recommendation of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development; but, as the territories are not sovereign entities, the commissioners are not personal representatives of the sovereign. The Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments selects candidates for appointment as governor general, lieutenant governor, and commissioner.