List of vicereines in Canada
This is a list of women who have served as vicereines in Canada. Canada is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the reigning Canadian monarch. As the Queen does not always reside in Canada, her daily responsibilities in the country are in the federal jurisdiction undertaken by the Governor General of Canada and by a lieutenant governor in each of the ten provincial jurisdictions. Collectively, these individuals are the Queen's official viceregal representatives; as women, they can be described as vicereines, the female variant of viceroy.
This list also includes women who have served as commissioners, an office in each of Canada's three federal territories with similar function to provincial viceroys.
Governors general
A total of four women have served, or are currently serving, as the Governor General of Canada.
| Name | Home province | Start of mandate | End of mandate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanne Sauvé | Saskatchewan | 14 May 1984 | 28 January 1990 | First female governor general in Canadian history; appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau; member of the Fransaskois community. |
| Adrienne Clarkson | Ontario | 7 October 1999 | 27 September 2005 | First visible minority and first Chinese Canadian to be appointed governor general by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien; first governor general without a military or political background. |
| Michaëlle Jean | Quebec | 27 September 2005 | 1 October 2010 | First Black Canadian woman to serve as a vicereine in Canada. Appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on advice of Prime Minister Paul Martin. |
| Julie Payette | Quebec | 2 October 2017 | 21 January 2021 | First former astronaut to serve as a vicereine in Canada. Appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. |
Lieutenant governors
A total of twenty-four women have served, or are currently serving, as the lieutenant governor of a province. As of 23 October 2020, there are seven serving provincial vicereines in Canada.
| Name | Province | Start of mandate | End of mandate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pauline McGibbon | Ontario | 10 April 1974 | 15 September 1980 | First vicereine in Canadian history; appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario by Governor General Jules Léger upon the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. |
| Pearl McGonigal | Manitoba | 23 October 1981 | 11 December 1986 | First female lieutenant governor in Manitoba. |
| Wilma Helen Hunley | Alberta | 22 January 1985 | 11 March 1991 | First female lieutenant governor in Alberta. |
| Sylvia Fedoruk | Saskatchewan | 7 September 1988 | 31 May 1994 | First female lieutenant governor in Saskatchewan. |
| Marion Reid | Prince Edward Island | 16 August 1990 | 30 August 1995 | First female lieutenant governor in Prince Edward Island. |
| Margaret McCain | New Brunswick | 21 June 1994 | 18 April 1997 | First female lieutenant governor in New Brunswick. |
| Lise Thibault | Quebec | 30 January 1997 | 7 June 2007 | First female lieutenant governor in Quebec; first person with a physical disability to serve as a viceroy in Canada. |
| Marilyn Trenholme Counsell | New Brunswick | 18 April 1997 | 26 August 2003 | Succeeded Margaret McCain as Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick; first woman to succeed another female vicereine in Canada. |
| Hilary Weston | Ontario | 24 January 1997 | 7 March 2002 | |
| Lois Hole | Alberta | 11 February 2000 | 6 January 2005 | Died while in office at the age of 75. |
| Lynda Haverstock | Saskatchewan | 21 February 2000 | 1 August 2006 | |
| Myra Freeman | Nova Scotia | 17 May 2000 | 7 September 2006 | First female lieutenant governor in Nova Scotia. |
| Iona Campagnolo | British Columbia | 25 September 2001 | 30 September 2007 | First female lieutenant governor in British Columbia. |
| Barbara Oliver Hagerman | Prince Edward Island | 31 July 2006 | 15 August 2011 | |
| Mayann Francis | Nova Scotia | 7 September 2006 | 12 April 2012 | Second Black Canadian to serve as a vicereine in Canada, after Governor General Michaëlle Jean. |
| Judith Guichon | British Columbia | 2 November 2012 | 24 April 2018 | |
| Vaughn Solomon Schofield | Saskatchewan | 22 March 2012 | 21 March 2018 | |
| Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau | New Brunswick | 23 October 2014 | 2 August 2019 | Died while in office at the age of 63 |
| Lois Mitchell | Alberta | 12 June 2015 | 26 August 2020 | |
| Elizabeth Dowdeswell | Ontario | 23 September 2014 | incumbent | |
| Janice Filmon | Manitoba | 19 June 2015 | incumbent | Wife of former Premier Gary Filmon. |
| Antoinette Perry | Prince Edward Island | 20 October 2017 | incumbent | |
| Janet Austin | British Columbia | 24 April 2018 | incumbent | |
| Judy Foote | Newfoundland and Labrador | 3 May 2018 | incumbent | First female lieutenant governor in Newfoundland and Labrador. |
| Brenda Murphy | New Brunswick | 8 September 2019 | incumbent | First openly LGBTQ lieutenant governor; and the first openly LGBTQ person to hold any viceregal office in Canada. |
| Salma Lakhani | Alberta | 26 August 2020 | incumbent | First South Asian and the first Muslim to hold a viceregal office in Canada. |
Territorial commissioners
In each of the three territories of Canada, a commissioner acts as the formal head of state. Unlike the Governor General or a lieutenant governor (who are officially representatives of the Canadian monarch) the commissioners are appointed by and represent the Government of Canada. However, while they are not formally viceroys, they perform in their respective territories the same duties as a provincial lieutenant governor.
A total of thirteen women have served, or are currently serving, as a commissioner; one woman, Helen Maksagak, has served terms as a commissioner in two territories.
| Name | Territory | Start of mandate | End of mandate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ione Christensen | Yukon | 20 January 1979 | 10 October 1979 [1] | First female territorial commissioner in Canadian history; resigned from position within one year to run for public office in the 1980 Canadian federal election. |
| Helen Maksagak | Northwest Territories | 16 January 1995 | 26 March 1999 | First female Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. |
| Nunavut | 1 April 1999 | 1 April 2000 | First Commissioner of Nunavut following its creation on 1 April 1999. | |
| Judy Gingell | Yukon | 23 June 1995 | 1 October 2000 | |
| Glenna Hansen | Northwest Territories | 31 March 2000 | 29 April 2005 | |
| Ann Meekitjuk Hanson | Nunavut | 21 April 2005 | 10 April 2010 | |
| Geraldine Van Bibber | Yukon | 1 December 2005 | 17 December 2010 | |
| Nellie Kusugak | Nunavut | 10 April 2010 (acting) |
10 May 2010 | Would become acting Commissioner (as Deputy Commissioner) in 2015 and finally service as full Commissioner. |
| Edna Elias | Nunavut | 10 May 2010 | 11 May 2015 | |
| Nellie Kusugak | Nunavut | 11 May 2015 (acting); 23 June 2015 (official) |
22 June 2020 | Two-time acting Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner, 2010 and 2015. |
| Margaret Thom | Northwest Territories | 18 September 2017 | incumbent | |
| Angélique Bernard | Yukon | 12 March 2018 | incumbent | |
| Rebekah Uqi Williams | Nunavut | 22 June 2020 (acting) |
12 January 2021 | |
| Eva Aariak | Nunavut | 14 January 2021 | incumbent |
See also
- List of female premiers in Canada
- List of elected and appointed female heads of state
- List of Canadian monarchs
- List of Canadian women government ministers