Neither the Governor General nor his provincial delegates, the Lieutnentant-Governors, are merely ceremonial. They represent the Crown, QE 2 for now, and are the legal head of Cdn government. Anyone who passed high-school civics class knows this. It is embedded in out overall governance structure. Even I, as a US immigrant to Canada, know this. 
Much of their work may be perceived as ceremonial, but both ceremony and hard governance decisions extend an display the Crown's ultimate political authority. 
We in BC can thank the L-G of the day for relieving us of our home-grown buffoon premier, "Rt Hon Mr. Tulip" Van der Zalm, years ago with a thoughtful discussion about power and its limits under the Crown. The Zalm walked away.
If you don;t lime the historical set-up, agittae and vote against it. I, for one, appreciate the efforts to tap the many talents of Canadians who have served as GGs and LGs over the decades. It may be that elections are always the best means of governance, see US.