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The order of precedence in Canada is a long established succession of
power amongst virtually all of the government officials in Canada. Note that this is not an order of succession as does exist in the United States. If one or more of these officials becomes incapacitated or dies while in office, very little occurs in terms of the normal workings of the government. The only government post that must be filled is the Governor General, who signs bills into law, appoints various officials, and dissolves Parliament. However, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is automatically the Deputy Governor General who can fill-in for the Governor General whenver necessary, and the Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court can fill-in for the Chief Justice in a similar manner. The order of titles are listed below along with as many of the names as our research staff could track down that correspond with the titles. The list was last updated on January 20, 2010. Please report any errors or omissions to this list. |
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10. Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Ministers Plenipotentiary
11. Members of the Canadian Ministry12. The Leader of the Opposition
13. The Lieutenant Governors of the Provinces of Canada
14. Members of the Privy Council15. Premiers of the Provinces of Canada
16. The Commissioners of the Territories
17. The Government Leaders of the Territories
18. Representatives of faith communities
19. Puisne Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada
The Honourable Mr. Justice Louis Le Bel The Honourable Madam Justice Marie Deschamps The Honourable Mr. Justice Morris Fish The Honourable Madam Justice Rosalie Abella The Honourable Madam Justice Louise Charron The Honourable Mr. Justice Marshall Rothstein The Honourable Mr. Justice Thomas Cromwell 20. The Chief Justices of the Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court
21. Chief Justices of the Provincial Courts
The Honourable Warren Winkler Quebec The Honourable Michel Robert Nova Scotia The Honourable Michael MacDonald New Brunswick The Honourable Ernest Drapeau Manitoba The Honourable Richard Scott British Columbia The Honourable Lance Finch Prince Edward Island The Honourable David Jenkins Saskatchewan The Honourable John Klebuc Alberta The Honourable Catherine Fraser Newfoundland and Labrador The Honourable Clyde Wells The Northwest Territories The Honourable Edward Richard Yukon Territory The Honourable Ronald Veale Nunavut The Honourable Beverley Browne 22. Other Federal and Provincial Judges
b. Judges of the Federal Court of Canada c. Puisne Judges of the Superior Courts of the Provinces and Territories
Quebec Nova Scotia New Brunswick Manitoba British Columbia Prince Edward Island Saskatchewan Alberta Newfoundland and Labrador The Northwest Territories Yukon Territory Nunavut
The Honourable Earl Johnson
The Honourable Theodore E. Margeson The Honourable Terrence O'Connor The Honourable Pierre Archambault The Honourable Cameron Hugh McArthur The Honourable Lucie Lamarre The Honourable Alain Tardif The Honourable Eric A. Bowie The Honourable Joe E. Hershfield The Honourable Diane Campbell The Honourable Campbell J. Miller The Honourable François M. Angers The Honourable Leslie M. Little The Honourable Brent Paris The Honourable Judith Woods The Honourable Georgette Anne Sheridan The Honourable Paul Bédard The Honourable Réal Favreau The Honourable Eugene Rossiter The Honourable Wyman W. Webb The Honourable Gaston Jorré The Honourable Patrick J. Boyle The Honourable Valerie Miller 23. Senators of Canada (excluding the Speaker and Members of the Ministry)24. Members of the House of Commons (excluding the Speaker and Members of the Ministry)25. Consuls General of countries without diplomatic representation
26. Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to Cabinet
27. Military Leaders
28. Speakers of Legislative Assemblies, within their Province and Territory
29. Members of Executive Councils, within their Province and Territory (excluding the Premiers)
30. Judges of Provincial and Territorial Courts31. Members of Legislative Assemblies, within their Province and Territory (excluding Premiers, Speakers, and Members of the Cabinet)
32. Chairperson of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians
Notes1. The presence of the Sovereign in Canada does not impair or supersede the authority of the Governor General to perform the functions delegated to him under the Letters Patent constituting the office of the Governor General. The Governor General, under all circumstances, should be accorded precedence immediately after the Sovereign.2. Precedence to be given immediately after the Chief Justice of Canada to former Governors General, with relative precedence among them governed by the date of their leaving office. 2.1 Precedence to be given immediately after the former Governors General to surviving spouses of deceased former Governors General (applicable only where the spouse was married to the Governor General during the latter's term of office), with relative precedence among them governed by the dates on which the deceased former Governors General left office. 3. Precedence to be given immediately after the surviving spouses of deceased former Governors General referred to in Note 2.1 to former Prime Ministers, with relative precedence among them governed by the dates of their first assumption of office. 4. Precedence to be given immediately after former Prime Ministers to former Chief Justices of Canada, with relative precedence among them governed by the dates of their appointment as Chief Justice of Canada. 5. Precedence among Ambassadors and High Commissioners, who rank equally, to be determined by the date of the presentation of their credentials. Precedence to be given to Chargés d'Affaires immediately after Ministers Plenipotentiary. 6. This provision does not apply to such ceremonies and occasions which are of a provincial nature. 7. The religious dignitaries will be senior Canadian representatives of faith communities having a significant presence in a relevant jurisdiction. The relative precedence of the representatives of faith communities is to be governed by the date of their assumption in their present office, their representatives being given the same relative precedence. 8. This precedence to be given to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on occasions when they have official functions to perform, otherwise they are to have equal precedence with Deputy Ministers, with their relative position to be determined according to the respective dates of their appointments to office. The relative precedence of Deputy Ministers and other high officials of the public service of Canada is to be determined from time to time by the Minister of Canadian Heritage in consultation with the Prime Minister. |
