Following the resignation of Julie Payette, attention has turned to how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should go about choosing Canada’s next viceregal. Payette, who has had a turbulent tenure since her appointment in 2017, resigned on Jan. 21 after an independent review found that she bullied and verbally abused staff at Rideau Hall. David E. Smith, a political studies professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, said the office of the governor general serves an important role in Canadian parliamentary democracy. “It’s quite remarkable all that they do. I think that people don’t appreciate what they’re doing, but they’re quite active,” Smith said in an interview. “It’s probably more demanding than most of us realize. There’s a lot of public activities that one does, and you’re in the public eye quite a bit. … It’s not just some formality without any purpose.” Governors general summon, prorogue, and dissolve Parliament. They set …