Page "Monarchy of Canada" Paragraph 0

The monarchy of Canada is the core of both Canada's federalism and its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, being the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Canadian government and each provincial government.

The monarchy has been headed since 6 February 1952 by Queen Elizabeth II, who as sovereign is shared equally with fifteen other countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, all being independent and the monarchy of each legally distinct.

For Canada, the current monarch is officially titled Queen of Canada (), and she, her consort, and other members of the Canadian Royal Family undertake various public and private functions across the country and on its behalf abroad.

However, the Queen is the only member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role.

While several powers are the sovereign's alone, because she lives predominantly in the United Kingdom, most of the royal governmental and ceremonial duties in Canada are carried out by the Queen's representative, the governor general.

In each of Canada's provinces, the monarch is represented by a lieutenant governor, while the territories are not sovereign and thus do not have a viceroy.