As governor general, David Johnston could well find himself having to decide which party or coalition of parties is most likely to secure the confidence of the House of Commons after an indecisive election.
The method of his selection and the reason he was chosen are the basis of this claim that he may be the first move toward a future presidential style of government in Canada.
It has been revealed that the Prime Minister’s Office had set up an unprecedented advisory panel to choose the next governor general with the fundamental mandate of finding someone who could “serve without partisanship.”
This advisory committee engaged in extensive consultations across the country before giving the Prime Minister the panel’s confidential recommendations. Some of the key members of the committee were beyond any doubt non-partisan. They included Sheila-Marie Cook, who has been secretary and deputy to Governor General Michaëlle Jean; Kevin MacLeod, the Senate’s Usher of the Black Rod, who is also the personal attendant and messenger of the Queen in Right of Canada; Christopher McCreery, the private secretary to the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, and historian Jacques Monet.
This advisory committee decided not to recommend well known figures from the arts or sports or anyone affiliated with any political party. Some previous governors general had been closely affiliated with one or other of the two main federal parties, such as Jeanne Sauvé, who was a former Liberal cabinet minister, appointed in 1984 by Pierre Trudeau, and Ray Hnatyshyn, a former Conservative cabinet minister, appointed in 1990 by Brian Mulroney.
A similar appointment by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of a former political colleague, such as former Reform party leader Preston Manning for example, would have been highly controversial given the key roles that the 28th governor general may have to play in what are likely to be successive minority governments in the coming months and years.
We have already had a taste of the political challenges that Johnston will face with the nationwide controversy over the prorogation granted by Jean in December of 2008 at the request of the Prime Minister in an attempt to avoid a vote of confidence.
The future use of the reserve powers of the governor general in a similar situation, or following a narrow election result in deciding which party or coalition of parties is most likely to have the confidence of the House of Commons, will be just about the most important power of any single individual or institution in the Canadian democratic constitutional order.
Because of the presence of the Bloc Québécois and a fragmented opposition on the left of the spectrum, this may be the most challenging political era of minority governments in Canadian history. The governor general’s non-partisan credentials must be beyond reproach if we are to avoid delegitimizing the office.
In addition, either the existing legal and constitutional expertise or one that could be quickly acquired with credibility would be an essential aspect of any future governor general in an era of minority governments. In both respects, Johnston’s qualifications are almost unrivalled. For that reason, he is an excellent choice.
However, these essential prerequisites move the office away from primarily ceremonial roles that previous office-holders so ably performed. Such ceremonial roles could be performed by leaders from the arts, journalism or sports communities. The new constitutional mediator and referee duties of the 28th governor general may well presage the emergence of a quasi-presidential Queen’s representative in Canada.
The growing realization that the office-holder has such great reserve powers may give rise to demands by Canadians that the selection of future governors general be broadened beyond the prime minister to be the ultimate decision-maker.
As in other countries where similar constitutional powers are exercised, such as the president of the Czech Republic, who is indirectly elected by the country’s parliament, the future may well see demands for a much broader group of both federal and provincial elected members and eminent Canadians forming a national assembly to propose the selection of all future governors general. This is a model used in Germany.
While the links with the monarchy could continue, this move toward a quasi-presidential governor general is not only essential in an era of minority governments, but also a step toward an overdue maturing of Canadian democracy.
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