| Auditor General of Canada |
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Incumbent
Michael Ferguson since 2011 |
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| Appointer | |
| Term length | 10 years during pleasure of the Governor General; mandatory retirement at age 65 |
| Formation | 1878 |
| Salary | $334,500/year (Equal to that of a Puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada)[1][2] |
The role of the Auditor General of Canada is to aid accountability by conducting independent audits of federal government operations. The Auditor General reports to the House of Commons, not to the government. These audits provide members of Parliament with objective information to help them examine the government's activities and hold it to account.
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Auditors General are appointed by the Governor General in Council (cabinet) for 10 year terms during good behaviour. However, removal of an Auditor General requires the approval of both the House of Commons and Senate. Auditors General can only serve one term and cannot be reappointed to the position.
On November 4, 2011, the Prime Minister appointed Michael Ferguson, former Auditor General of the province of New Brunswick, as Auditor General of Canada, effective November 28, 2011.
The previous Auditor General, Sheila Fraser, was appointed on May 31, 2001. She can likely lay claim to being the most popular Auditor General of Canada of all time, being voted 66th place in The Greatest Canadian.
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. five years in a row (2008-2012), and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine.[3]
The role of Auditor General was introduced in 1878.
In 1971 the Auditor General's Office hosted VII INCOSAI, the seventh triennial convention of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions.[4]
| Auditor General | Appointed | Departed |
| John Langton | 1867 | 1878 |
| John Lorn McDougall | 1878 | 1905 |
| John Fraser | 1905 | 1919 |
| Edward Davenport Sutherland | 1919 | 1923 |
| Georges Gonthier | 1924 | 1939 |
| Robert Watson Sellar | 1940 | 1959 |
| Andrew Maxwell Henderson | 1960 | 1973 |
| James J. Macdonell | 1973 | 1980 |
| Michael H. Rayner (acting) | 1980 | 1981 |
| Kenneth M. Dye | 1981 | 1991 |
| Denis Desautels | 1991 | 2001 |
| Sheila Fraser | 2001 | 2011 |
| John Wiersema (interim) | 2011 | 2011 |
| Michael Ferguson | 2011 | present |
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