Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments
The Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments was established on 4 November 2012 to assist the government of Canada (the Crown-in-Council) with the appointment of the governor general of Canada, provincial lieutenant governors, and territorial commissioners. The committee was disbanded following the defeat of the Conservative Party of Canada, led by Stephen Harper, in the 2015 federal election and remains "dormant" under Harper's successor as prime minister, Justin Trudeau.{{cite web| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/queen-canadian-secretary-royal-visits-heritage-1.4295322| title=Queen Elizabeth without Canadian secretary as Liberal government mulls future of job}}
First iteration (Governor General Consultation Committee)
The Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments grew out of the ad hoc committee established in 2010 for the selection of a new governor general following the tenure of Michaëlle Jean. For the task, Prime Minister Stephen Harper convened a special search group—the Governor General Consultation Committee{{cite web| url=http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=546739| author=Canada News Centre| title=Governor General Consultation Committee| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| accessdate=6 August 2010| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928040711/http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=%2Findex&nid=546739| archivedate=28 September 2011}}—which consisted of Sheila-Marie Cook, Secretary to the Governor General (the chairperson); Kevin MacLeod; Christopher Manfredi, dean of the Faculty of Arts at McGill University; Rainer Knopff, a political scientist at the University of Calgary; Jacques Monet; and Christopher McCreery, historian and private secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.{{refn|{{Citation| last1=Galloway| first1=Gloria| last2=Ibbitson| first2=John| title=Next governor-general unveiled| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=8 July 2010| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/next-governor-general-unveiled/article1632781/| accessdate=10 July 2010}}{{Citation| title=David Johnston: a worthy viceroy| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=9 July 2010| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/david-johnston-a-worthy-viceroy/article1633550/| accessdate=9 July 2010| archive-date=10 September 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910100727/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/david-johnston-a-worthy-viceroy/article1633550/| url-status=dead}}{{Citation| last=Curry| first=Bill| title=Selection panel ordered to find non-partisan governor-general: PMO| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=11 July 2010| url=http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/selection-panel-ordered-to-find-non-partisan-governor-general-pmo/article1636004/?service=mobile| accessdate=11 July 2010| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716075324/http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/selection-panel-ordered-to-find-non-partisan-governor-general-pmo/article1636004/?service=mobile| archivedate=16 July 2010}}}} The group, which was described as a "tight circle of monarchists," was instructed to submit a list of non-partisan candidates, each of whom would respect the monarchical aspects of the viceregal office. They conducted extensive consultations with more than 200 people across the country,{{Citation|last=Ditchburn| first=Jennifer| title=Tight circle of monarchists helping Harper pick next Governor General| newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press| date=28 June 2010| url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/tight-circle-of-monarchists-helping-harper-pick-next-governor-general-97341094.html| accessdate=10 July 2010| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708072815/http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/tight-circle-of-monarchists-helping-harper-pick-next-governor-general-97341094.html| archivedate=8 July 2010}} including academics, provincial premiers, current and former political party leaders, former prime ministers, and others, in order to develop a short list of five candidates from which the Prime Minister would make the final selection.{{refn|{{cite web| url=http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=3536&featureId=6&pageId=26| author=Office of the Prime Minister of Canada| authorlink=Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)| title=PM welcomes appointment of David Johnston as Governor General Designate| date=8 July 2010| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| accessdate=8 July 2010| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712125419/http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=3536&featureId=6&pageId=26| archivedate=12 July 2010}}{{citation| url=https://philosophiaregis.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/osgoode-constitutional-law-society-crown-constitution-speakers-series-monarchy-in-action/| last=Gillespie| first=Kevin| title=Osgoode Constitutional Law Society — Crown & Constitution Speakers' Series: Monarchy in Action| date=29 December 2015| publisher=Philosophia regis| accessdate=29 December 2015}}}}
Second iteration (Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments)
The non-partisan Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments consisted of its chairperson—the Canadian Secretary to the Queen (most recently Kevin MacLeod)—as well as two permanent federal delegates, one Anglophone (most recently Robert Watt, citizenship judge and former Chief Herald of Canada) and one Francophone (most recently Jacques Monet, constitutional scholar and member of the Canadian Institute of Jesuit Studies); each served for a time not exceeding six years.{{cite web| url=http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=5141| last=Office of the Prime Minister of Canada| title=Terms of reference: Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments| date=4 November 2012| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| accessdate=4 November 2012| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005145202/http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=5141| archivedate=5 October 2013}} For the appointment of a lieutenant governor or commissioner, two additional members drawn from the relevant province or territory would be temporarily added as members;{{citation| url=http://home.mytelus.com/telusen/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?ArticleID=news%2Fcapfeed%2Fnational%2F20654467.xml&CatID=National| last=Cheadle| first=Bruce| title=Harper creates new panel to ensure 'non-partisan' vice regal appointments| date=4 November 2012| publisher=The Canadian Press| accessdate=4 November 2012| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207122847/http://home.mytelus.com/telusen/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?ArticleID=news%2Fcapfeed%2Fnational%2F20654467.xml&CatID=National| archivedate=7 February 2013}}{{cite web| url=http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&featureId=6&pageId=26&id=5139| author=Office of the Prime Minister of Canada| title=PM announces new Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments| date=4 November 2012| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| accessdate=4 November 2012| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106084858/http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&featureId=6&pageId=26&id=5139| archivedate=6 November 2012}} each was a member for no longer than six months. A representative from the Office of the Prime Minister acted as an observer only.
Various other groups and individuals were consulted before the committee produced a shortlist of candidates; the recommendations were non-binding, as the appointment of the governor general remains the prerogative of the Canadian monarch acting on the advice of the prime minister of Canada, the appointment of the lieutenant governors the prerogative of the governor general acting on the advice of the prime minister of Canada, and the appointment of the commissioners the prerogative of the governor general acting on the advice of the minister of indigenous and northern affairs.
Harper later explained that he set up the committee and did not legislate it because he saw it as "only a first step to creating a much more formal selection process, beyond the sole judgment of the prime minister of the day." Writing this after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Harper also stated, "I hope that, as King Charles III [...] takes the throne, there will be more discussion as to how he should be best represented in Canada and its provinces."{{citation| url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/stephen-harper-the-crown-at-the-end-of-the-second-elizabethan-age| last=Harper| first=Stephen| title=The Crown at the end of the second Elizabethan age| date=15 October 2022| newspaper=National Post| accessdate=27 March 2023}}
Third iteration (Advisory Group on the Selection of the Next Governor General)
The 29th ministry, headed by Justin Trudeau, dissolved the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments in 2017,{{citation| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/queen-canadian-secretary-royal-visits-heritage-1.4295322| last=Beeby| first=Dean| title=Liberals leave royal position vacant in Queen's Sapphire Jubilee year| date=19 September 2017| publisher=CBC News| accessdate=11 August 2023}} before Trudeau selected Julie Payette to replace David Johnston as governor general. After reports of a toxic work environment in Rideau Hall during Payette's tenure, Trudeau was criticized for not thoroughly vetting Payette prior to her appointment and for not having used the advisory committee to find candidates.{{cite news| title=Trudeau consults Queen on process for picking a new governor general| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-virtual-audience-queen-governor-general-1.6062338| accessdate=12 June 2021| publisher=CBC News| date=11 June 2021}}{{cite news| last1=Messamore| first1=Barbara J.| title=What the Payette episode teaches us about fit and the Governor General| url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/january-2021/what-the-payette-episode-teaches-us-about-fit-and-the-governor-general/| accessdate=12 June 2021| publisher=Policy Options| date=26 January 2021}}
Following Payette's resignation in January 2021, a six-member advisory panel—the Advisory Group on the Selection of the Next Governor General—was struck to seek out candidates for the vice-regal position and develop a shortlist of names to give the Prime Minister.{{citation| url=https://www.canada.ca/en/democratic-institutions/news/2021/03/minister-leblanc-announces-advisory-group-to-assist-with-the-selection-of-the-next-governor-general.html| title=Minister LeBlanc announces advisory group to assist with the selection of the next Governor General| date=12 March 2021}} This committee consisted of Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, acting Clerk of the Privy Council Janice Charette, Inuit leader Natan Obed, Université de Montréal rector Daniel Jutras, interim Canada Post chair Suromitra Sanatani, and Judith A. LaRocque, a former secretary to the governor general.{{cite news| title=Short list of potential governor general candidates will go to Trudeau in 'next few days'| url=https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/pm-to-get-short-list-of-potential-governor-general-candidates-in-a-few-days| accessdate=12 June 2021| newspaper=National Post| agency=Canadian Press| date=10 June 2021}} While the membership of the earlier consultation and advisory committees included those with interest in and connections to the viceregal office, the advisory group formed in 2021 was composed of members "selected for the diverse perspectives they bring to the work." This group was also the first to include a political representative from Cabinet.{{citation| url=https://hillnotes.ca/2021/04/19/the-evolution-of-the-selection-and-appointment-of-the-governor-general/| last=Feldman| first=Stephanie| title=The Evolution of the Selection and Appointment of the Governor General| date=19 April 2021| publisher=Library of Parliament| accessdate=11 August 2023}}
The eventual selection of Mary Simon was informed through the advice of the advisory group.{{citation| url=https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2021/07/06/prime-minister-announces-queens-approval-canadas-next-governor| author=Office of the Prime Minister of Canada| title=Prime Minister announces The Queen's approval of Canada's next Governor General| date=6 July 2021| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| accessdate=11 August 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20131005144837/http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=5142 New Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20131005145206/http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=5140 Biographical notes]
{{Canadian monarchy}}