Law360 Canada ( June 12, 2026, 12:03 PM EDT) -- Appeal by appellant from a New Brunswick Court of Appeal judgment which set aside a judgment finding that the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick should be bilingual. On the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, the Governor General appointed Murphy as the 32nd Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. Murphy was not bilingual, and she did not become so during her term of office. The appellant challenged Murphy’s appointment arguing that the appointment of a unilingual individual to that office violated the constitutional language guarantees applicable in New Brunswick. It filed an application seeking, among other things, declaratory relief pertaining to the language rights guaranteed by ss. 16(2), 16.1, 18(2) and 20(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter), the nullification of the Prime Minister’s advice to the Governor General recommending Murphy’s appointment, and a declaration that the order in council appointing her was unlawful and of no force and effect. The application judge found that the Lieutenant Governor had to be bilingual and capable of executing all tasks required in both languages but refused to quash the challenged appointment. The Court of Appeal allowed the respondents’ appeal concluding that the appointment of a unilingual Lieutenant Governor in New Brunswick did not violate ss. 16(2), 16.1 or 20(2). The issue was whether the appointment of a unilingual person to the position of Lieutenant Governor in New Brunswick violated the constitutional guarantees of linguistic equality applicable to that province....