The offices have their roots in the 16th and 17th century colonial governors of New France and British North America, though the present incarnations of the positions emerged with Canadian Confederation and the British North America Act in 1867, which defined the viceregal offices as the " Lieutenant Governor of the Province acting by and with the Advice the Executive Council thereof." However, the posts still ultimately represented the government of Canada (that is, the Governor-General-in-Council) until the ruling in 1882 of the Lord Watson of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case of Maritime Bank v. Receiver-General of New Brunswick, whereafter the lieutenant governors were recognized as the direct representatives of the monarch. The Constitution Act, 1982 provides that any constitutional amendment that affects the office of the lieutenant governor requires the unanimous consent of each provincial Legislative Assembly as well as the House of Commons and the Senate.
The position of lieutenant governor has existed in Canada since before the country 's confederation. In 1786, the post of Governor-in-Chief of British North America was created as a central viceregal office overseeing the British colonies of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Quebec, whose governors then became lieutenant governors, though that of Quebec was occupied simultaneously by the governor-in-chief. This structure remained in place until the partitioning in 1791 of the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada, which then each had an office of lieutenant governor, though both posts were occupied by the incumbent Governor General of the Province of Canada.
In 1867, confederation created a new entity of four provinces, each with their respective viceregal posts; as per the British North America Act passed that year, the stations of Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick continued essentially as before, while those of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec were created to replace the viceregal offices of Canada East and Canada West. Thereafter, when other colonies joined this grouping of provinces, their governors became lieutenant governors, while the creation of new provinces out of Rupert's Land and the Northwest Territories—which each had their own lieutenant governors—led to the establishment of new viceregal posts.Beginning immediately after confederation, the Dominion government and the Colonial Office in London considered the lieutenant governors as representatives of, and subordinate to, the governor general in Ottawa, reflecting the view of John A. Macdonald and the Earl of Derby, who set up the Constitution Act, 1867, so as to have the lieutenant governors appointed by the governor general, and who expected that Royal Assent would be given in the name of the governor general, rather than the Queen.
