The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that New Brunswick’s lieutenant-governor must be able to perform the duties of the office in both English and French, concluding that appointing a monolingual representative of the Crown violates the province’s constitutional language guarantees.

In a 6–3 decision released Friday June 12, the Court found that section 16(2) of the Charter requires the lieutenant-governor to understand and communicate in both official languages when carrying out their functions. The majority held that the office is “a unipersonal and highly symbolic institution” whose occupant cannot be separated from the institution itself, and that appointing a monolingual person undermines the equality of status guaranteed to English and French in New Brunswick’s public institutions. The Court’s Case in Brief is available here.

The case stemmed from the 2019 appointment of Brenda Murphy, who did not speak French at the time. The Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick challenged the appointment, arguing that it breached the Charter’s language protections. While the Court agreed that the Charter imposes a requirement of personal bilingualism, it declined to invalidate Murphy’s appointment, issuing instead a declaration clarifying the constitutional obligations for future appointments.

Chief Justice Richard Wagner, writing for the majority, emphasized New Brunswick’s unique constitutional framework as Canada’s only officially bilingual province. The ruling states that equality of status has both functional and symbolic dimensions, and that the lieutenant-governor’s role requires embodying that equality in person.

Three justices dissented. Justice Malcolm Rowe wrote that the Charter establishes institutional bilingualism, not personal language requirements for office holders. He warned that the majority’s reasoning could extend similar obligations to other public officials, including premiers, cabinet ministers, or federal representatives, a result he said would amount to constitutional amendment through interpretation.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt welcomed the decision, saying it aligns with her government’s position that both the office and its holder should be bilingual. Murphy, who worked to improve her French during her tenure, was succeeded in 2025 by Louise Imbeault, who is bilingual.