How is the Governor General appointed?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: The Sovereign is represented in Canada by the Governor General, who is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, usually for five years. The mechanism the test wants is therefore by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Two pieces of the appointment process matter together. The Sovereign — the head of state — formally makes the appointment, but the choice is made "on the advice of the Prime Minister." So the Sovereign acts on the recommendation of the head of government. The arrangement keeps the formal authority with the Sovereign while the practical decision is shaped by the country's elected leadership.

The term length is fixed in the same sentence: "usually for five years." So the Governor General is appointed by the Sovereign on the Prime Minister's advice, normally for a five-year term — long enough to provide constitutional continuity, short enough that fresh appointments are routine.

The same advise-the-Sovereign pattern applies provincially. Discover Canada writes: "In each of the ten provinces, the Sovereign is represented by the Lieutenant Governor, who is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, also normally for five years." So the Prime Minister's advice flows through the entire constitutional appointment chain — both for the federal Governor General and for each provincial Lieutenant Governor.

The question is testing whether new citizens know who actually decides who becomes Governor General. Discover Canada commits to one mechanism: the Sovereign appoints, on the advice of the Prime Minister. Both halves of the answer come from the guide's own sentence.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different body. Discover Canada never says the House of Commons, the Senate, or the Supreme Court appoints the Governor General. Parliamentarians do not vote on the appointment, the Senate does not confirm it, and the courts have no role in the process.