jerrym
All provinces still have lieutenants governor.
And in fact Lord Elgin - goverrnor general in the 1840s. was instrumental in ending the power of the family compact. legislating equal treatment for francophone residents of Lower Canada, and making this country the first democratic colony in the world. It was also a government which, for a time, recognized the rights of some women to vote.
He stood with the elected representatives in the face of mob violence, the burning of parliament, and the stoning of his own carriage while he was riding in it by people who supported the power of the compact.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bruce,_8th_Earl_of_Elgin
He could have easily refused and kept things the way they were; electoral and social reform would not have happened without his active support. At that time - unlike today - governors general had that power.
I have pointed out a few times why electing a figurehead is pointless; I don't need to do it again.