Down to Crown

Half a century ago, the political scientist Frank MacKinnon likened the governor general to a constitutional fire extinguisher: a potent apparatus clad in bright colours, placed in a conspicuous location, and unleashed only in cases of extreme emergency. As with a fire extinguisher, one does not think much about the governor general except in a crisis.

This view of a “break in case of emergency” viceroy prevails for many, but not for John Fraser, the author of what is surely the most interesting book ever written on the Crown’s representative in Canada.

An experienced journalist, Fraser knows that he has his work cut out for him in convincing us that the viceregal office is not only relevant but “an integral part of Canada’s system of responsible, elected government.” That may be enough to persuade academics, but they are not the intended audience for this book (although academics will surely appreciate its observations). Fraser is pitching to ordinary...