Title of Office or Rank

Consult The Canadian Style, sections 1.06 and 1.07, for abbreviations of titles used with personal names and for abbreviations of military ranks.

Consult The Canadian Style, Section 4.08, for details on capitalizing titles of office or rank.

On first reference in a text, give the person's full name and title. On subsequent references, a short form may be used.

The Prime Minister, the Governor General and the Chief Justice of Canada are all referred to as "the Right Honourable."

The title "the Honourable" is sometimes used in federal government documents for high-ranking officials such as senators, members of the Canadian Privy Council, lieutenant-governors, judges of the Supreme, Federal and Tax courts, the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons.

In all provincial governments except Quebec and in all territorial governments, ministers are also referred to as "the Honourable." Links to the provincial and territorial government websites can be found on the Canada website.

Because "the Honourable" and "the Right Honourable" are not used by a person to refer to him- or herself, they are not used in signature blocks.

More on styles of address can be found on the Canadian Heritage website.

For a listing of the current Canadian ministry, visit the Privy Council Office website or the Parliament of Canada website.

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