President of Canada

The President of Canada (French: Président(e) du Canada) is the head of state of the Canadian Republic, commonly known as Canada. As the country is a parliamentary republic, the president's role is largely ceremonial. However, the president is constitutionally commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces, and has the power of veto over bills passed by the Parliament of Canada, although this veto power is rarely exercised, and all bills passed must be ratified and thus signed into law by the president. The President of Canada is directly elected in a popular election once every six years; there is no limit to the number of consecutive terms a president may serve. The head of government is the Prime Minister of Canada, who is the leader of the party or coalition with a majority of seats in the House of Commons (the lower chamber of Parliament). While the House of Commons chooses the Prime Minister, the President is responsible for officially appointing the Prime Minister on advice of the House of Commons. As a parliamentary republic, Canada's chief executive is almost exclusively the Prime Minister; the only exception is during wartime due to the President's constitutional role as commander-in-chief of the military.

Each of Canada's 13 provinces elects a premier to serve as head of government of the province. The President of Canada in many ways also serves as the head of state of each province, as each province's deputy president (the ceremonial head of state of a province) is appointed by the President of Canada on advice of the respective province's premier and/or legislative assembly. The five territories, unlike the provinces, do not share sovereignty with the provinces and federation, and as such are each supervised by a commissioner who is the direct representative of the federal government appointed (and dismissed) unilaterally by the President of Canada, irrespective of the wishes of the territory. The main difference between a deputy president and a commissioner is that while a deputy president for all intents and purposes acts as the ceremonial head of state of a province, and can only be appointed or removed with the majority agreement of the respective province's legislative assembly, commissioners can be appointed and dismissed unilaterally by the President of Canada, like the unilateral powers the Parliament of Canada has over territories, in contrast with provinces.