Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces Information & Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces Links at HealthHaven.com

Commander-in-Chief; Commandant en chef des Forces canadiennes
	; Governor General Michaëlle Jean presenting the Queen's Colour to the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, 27 June 2009.
Type
Command	Her Majesty's Canadian Forces
Eligibility	Reigning Monarch of Canada, represented by the Governor General of Canada
Status	Currently constituted
Abbreviation	C-in-C
Precedence
Next (lower)	Chief of the Defence Staff

In Canada, the term Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces (in French: Commandant en chef des Forces canadiennes) can refer to both the position of supreme commander of the country's armed forces, and to the title granted to the viceroy. Constitutionally, command-in-chief is vested in the Canadian sovereign, though these duties have been delegated to the Governor General of Canada, who has consequently been bestowed with the title Commander-in-Chief.^[1] By viceregal protocol, the title used with Canadian audiences is Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, and in international contexts is Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

[edit] Constitutional provisions, title, and delegation

Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, in her role as Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Militia and Naval and Air Forces, pictured with the crew of the HMCS St. Laurent in Stockholm, Sweden, 11 June 1956.

The Constitution Act, 1867, states that "The Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia, and of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in Canada, is hereby declared to continue to be vested in the Queen."^[2] However, beginning in 1904, the exercise of the duties of the Commander-in-Chief was transferred to the Governor General of Canada, the monarch's representative in the country. The Militia Act from that year stated that "the Command-in-Chief of the Militia is declared to continue and be vested in the King, and shall be administered by His Majesty or by the Governor General as his representative." Following this, in 1905, the Letters Patent constituting the Office of the Governor General were amended to read the "Letters Patent constituting the Office of the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief."

Throughout the development of the Armed Forces, the monarch has remained vested with command-in-chief,^[3]^[4] while the Governor General's title altered to suit the changes in the militia's structure. Following the establishment of the Canadian Department of the Naval Service in 1910, the viceroy was styled Commander-in-Chief of the Militia and Naval Forces, and after the creation of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1918, as Commander-in-Chief of the Militia and Naval and Air Forces. Following this, letters patent issued in 1947 by King George VI referred to the Office of Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada.^[1]^[5] In 1968, following the unification of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Commander-in-Chief became the senior most officer of the Canadian Armed Forces, now the Canadian Forces.

Though all executive power is legally reposed in the Crown, the role of commander-in-chief is primarily symbolic in practice; under the Westminster system's conventions of responsible government, the Cabinet – which advises the sovereign or her viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers – holds de facto decision making power over the deployment and disposition of Canadian forces. Still, all declarations of war are issued with the approval, and in the name, of the monarch, and must be signed by either the sovereign or the Governor General, as was done with the proclamation that declared Canada at war with Nazi Germany, issued on 10 September 1939; it stated: "Whereas by and with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada We have signified Our Approval for the issue of a Proclamation in the Canada Gazette declaring that a State of War with the German Reich exists and has existed in Our Dominion of Canada as and from the tenth day of September, 1939."^[6]

In exercising the duties of commander-in-chief, the Governor General appoints the Chief of the Defence Staff, as well as royal colonels-in-chief of Canadian regiments (save for the Queen herself), approves new military badges and insignia, visits Canadian Forces personnel within Canada and abroad, bestowes honours, and signs Commission Scrolls.^[1]

[edit] Commanders-in-chief of the Canadian Forces

Year	Sovereign	Year	Represented by Governor General
Commanders-in-Chief of the Canadian Land and Naval Militia
1867 – 1901	Queen Victoria
1901 – 1910	King Edward VII	1904 – 1910	The Earl Grey
Commanders-in-Chief of the Canadian Militia and Naval Forces
1910 – 1919	King George V	1910 – 1911	The Earl Grey
		1911 – 1916	Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
		1916 – 1919	The Duke of Devonshire
Commanders-in-Chief of the Canadian Militia and Naval and Air Forces
1919 – 1936	King George V	1919 – 1921	The Duke of Devonshire
		1921 – 1926	The Viscount Byng of Vimy
		1926 – 1931	The Marquess of Willingdon
		1931 – 1935	The Earl of Bessborough
		1935 – 1936	The Lord Tweedsmuir
1936	King Edward VIII	1936
1936 – 1952	King George VI	1936 – 1940
		1940 – 1946	The Earl of Athlone
		1946 – 1952	The Earl Alexander of Tunis
1952 – 1968	Queen Elizabeth II	1952	The Earl Alexander of Tunis
		1952 – 1959	Vincent Massey
		1959 – 1967	Georges Vanier
		1967 – 1968	Roland Michener
Commanders-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces
1968 – present	Queen Elizabeth II	1968 – 1974	Roland Michener
		1974 – 1979	Jules Léger
		1979 – 1984	Edward Schreyer
		1984 – 1990	Jeanne Sauvé
		1990 – 1995	Ramon John Hnatyshyn
		1995 – 1999	Roméo LeBlanc
		1999 – 2005	Adrienne Clarkson
		2005 – present	Michaëlle Jean