Hon., Honourable, Right Honourable, Rt. Hon.

The honorary title the Honourable is used before the names of members of the Canadian Privy Council, lieutenant-governors and certain other officials.

• The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell was appointed Ontario’s 29th Lieutenant‑Governor in 2014.

Members of Parliament are called Honourable if they are or have been members of the Privy Council. Ordinary members of Parliament are not called Honourable, except as a group, or when referring to each other as "My honourable friend" or "the Honourable member from…" This use is not always capitalized, as can be seen in these two quotes from Hansard:

• "Some Hon. Members: Hear, hear!"
• "The Speaker: Is there unanimous consent that the hon. member table this document? Some hon. members: Agreed. Some hon. members: No."

The title the Right Honourable applies for life to the governor general, prime minister and chief justice of Canada.

• The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, a former governor general, passed away in 2012.

When used to address someone in correspondence, the short forms . and Hon. must be preceded by the.

• The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.

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