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The Letters Patent, 1947 (formally, the Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada), are letters patent signed by George VI, as King of Canada, on 8 September 1947 and came into effect on 1 October of the same year. These letters, replacing the previous letters patent issued in 1931, reconstituted the Office of the governor general of Canada under the terms of the Constitution Act, 1867, expanding the governor general's ability to exercise the royal prerogative, thereby allowing her or him to use most of the "powers and authorities" lawfully belonging to the sovereign[5] and to carry out an increased number of the sovereign's duties in "exceptional circumstances".[6]
While the Crown theoretically has the power to revoke or alter the letters patent at will, it remains unclear to what extent that power remains after the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982, which requires all changes to the office of the King and the governor general to be done through a constitutional amendment approved by Parliament and all provincial legislatures.[7][8]
- ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. "The Governor General > Role and Responsibilities". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Department of Canadian Heritage (24 September 2014). "The Crown". Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ Department of Canadian Heritage (2 October 2014). "Governor General Ceremonies". Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ Government of Canada (2 October 2014). "The Governor General". Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ [1][2][3][4]
- ^ King, William Lyon Mackenzie (5 May 1947). Letter to Sir Alan Lascelles from Prime Minister Mackenzie King. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ Romaniuk, Scott Nicholas; Wasylciw, Joshua K. (February 2015). "Canada's Evolving Crown: From a British Crown to a "Crown of Maples"". American, British and Canadian Studies Journal. 23 (1): 116. doi:10.1515/abcsj-2014-0030.
- ^ Harris, Carolyn (15 March 2016). "Letters Patent, 1947 | The Canadian Encyclopedia". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
The monarch may theoretically revoke the Letters Patent at any time, but section 41(a) of the Constitution Act, 1982 requires the approval of provinces and the federal government for changes to the office of the King, which has the potential to impact changes to the Letters Patent.