The chief justice is also deputy governor general, ex-officio chairman of the Canadian Judicial Council, and heads the committee that selects recipients of the Order of Canada.

The chief justice is appointed by the Governor in Council under the Supreme Court Act on the advice of the prime minister.

Since 1933, this tradition has only been broken once, when Brian Dickson of Manitoba was named to succeed Bora Laskin of Ontario in 1984.

The chief justice is sworn as a member of the Privy Council prior to taking the judicial oath of office.

In practice however, the chief justice abstains from voting on a candidate's removal from the order, presumably because this process has so far only applied to individuals convicted in a lower court of a criminal offence, and could create a conflict of interest for the chief justice if that individual appealed their conviction to the Supreme Court.

[8][9] The chief justice and the other justices of the court serve as deputies of the governor general for the purpose of giving Royal Assent to bills passed by Parliament, signing official documents or receiving credentials of newly appointed high commissioners and ambassadors.

The current chief justice is Richard Wagner, who took office on December 18, 2017, succeeding Beverley McLachlin.