{"id":649764,"date":"2026-05-05T17:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/649764\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T17:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:33:12","slug":"louise-arbour-will-be-canadas-new-governor-general-replacing-mary-simon-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/649764\/","title":{"rendered":"Louise Arbour will be Canada\u2019s new governor general, replacing Mary Simon – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour<\/a> will be Canada\u2019s next governor general<\/a>, replacing Mary Simon<\/a> in the role, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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Simon, who made history in 2021 by becoming the first Indigenous person to be named as the representative for Canada\u2019s head of state, will see her five-year term end this July.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada is a wonderful country, shaped by its diversity of people, of perspectives and experiences, but I think shaped, also, mostly by a common respect for strong public institutions and for the rule of law,\u201d Arbour said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will strive to serve with honour, dedication and integrity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Arbour, who was born in Montreal, served as a Supreme Court justice from 1999 to 2004. Prior to serving in Canada\u2019s highest court, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1987 and the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1990.<\/p>\n

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In 1995, she led a public inquiry into the conditions of prisons for women in Ontario.<\/p>\n

I am very pleased to announce that, on my recommendation, His Majesty has approved the appointment of the Honourable Louise Arbour as the 31st Governor General of Canada. Across more than five decades, she gave voice to those whose dignity was denied, held institutions to\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHer work matters in and of itself. It also tells us something about what Louise Arbour will bring to Rideau Hall \u2014 the conviction that institutions are the load-bearing walls of a civil society, and that they remain trustworthy only as long as someone is willing to hold them accountable,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhit and I offer our heartfelt congratulations to the Honourable Louise Arbour. I had the pleasure of speaking with her, and we look forward to all that she will bring to Canada in her new role as the 31stgovernor general.\u2019\u2019 \u2013#GGSimon<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/aletuaMrlP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Governor General of Canada (@GGCanada) May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

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Carney thanked Simon for her \u201cextraordinary service to Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHer Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary Simon, has been a steadfast representative of Canada and our institutions at home and around the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the first Indigenous person to serve in this role, she\u2019s carried forward a lifetime of advocacy for Inuit rights, for Indigenous self-determination, and for the preservation of our Indigenous languages, cultures and identities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Simon welcomed Arbour\u2019s appointment as her successor.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhit and I offer our heartfelt congratulations to the Honourable Louise Arbour. I had the pleasure of speaking with her, and we look forward to all that she will bring to Canada in her new role as the 31st governor general,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n

As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Arbour \u201cgave voice to those whose dignity was denied in places where the powerful preferred silence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did not flinch and she never confused being heard with being safe,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Arbour also served as the United Nations\u2019 chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, prosecuting crimes against humanity and genocide.<\/p>\n

Carney praised Arbour\u2019s record spearheading \u201cthe first international criminal tribunals since Nuremberg.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cShe inherited two institutions that many believed could not succeed. She made them succeed. Under her leadership, the tribunals secured the first conviction for genocide since the adoption of the Genocide Convention in 1948,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

When asked how she could foster national unity amid separatism questions in Alberta and Quebec, Arbour said, \u201cI think there is a space for the governor general to be conducive of Canadian dialogue with respect to the diversity of our people, diversity of views, of opinions, of experiences, but all that, I think in a spirit of respect and moving the country forward in an ambitious, united way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arbour led the public inquiry into sexual misconduct in Canada\u2019s military in 2021 and submitted her report in 2022.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tPrime Minister Mark Carney walks with Louise Arbour to announce the new governor general during an event in Ottawa, Tuesday, May 5 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

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After receiving her law degree from Universit\u00e9 de Montreal in 1970, she started out as a law clerk in the Supreme Court of Canada. She then taught at York University\u2019s Osgoode Hall Law School from 1974 to 1987.<\/p>\n

In a 2014 interview with the Globe and Mail, she said the \u201cbiggest hurdle\u201d in her career was moving from Quebec to Ontario, since her entire formal education had been in French.<\/p>\n

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After she resigned from the Supreme Court in 2004, Arbour became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.<\/p>\n

In 2017, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres appointed her to be the UN Special Representative for International Migration.<\/p>\n

Arbour, 79, is one of Canada\u2019s most decorated jurists. In 2007, former governor general Micha\u00eblle Jean named her as a companion to the Order of Canada \u201cfor her contributions to the Canadian justice system and for her dedication to the advancement of human rights throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Simon praises \u2018extraordinary solidarity\u2019 of Canadians in New Year\u2019s message\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Thank you to Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon for her exemplary tenure as Governor General and for her lifetime of advocacy for Inuit rights, Indigenous self-determination, and the preservation of Indigenous language, culture, and identity.<\/p>\n

As she prepares to exit\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/hgENgoDeAd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Governor General Mary Simon faced questions during her term over her lack of ability to speak French, with Canada\u2019s past governors general typically expected to be bilingual in the country\u2019s two official languages. She is bilingual in English and Inuktituk.<\/p>\n

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Carney\u2019s appointment of Arbour again puts a bilingual speaker of both English and French into the role.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPrime Minister Mark Carney speaks next to Louise Arbour to announce the new governor general during an event in Ottawa, Tuesday, May 5 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tWhat does the governor general do?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Canada is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with King Charles III as Canada\u2019s head of state. The governor general is the Crown\u2019s representative in Canada.<\/p>\n

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The Constitution Act of 1867 vests the executive power of the monarch to be exercised by the governor general, who acts on the advice of the prime minister.<\/p>\n

The governor general is responsible for swearing into office the prime minister, cabinet ministers and the chief justice of Canada. They also summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament on the advice of the prime minister.<\/p>\n

Generally, the governor general also delivers the speech from the throne on behalf of the monarch, however, last year it was delivered by King Charles III in person.<\/p>\n

The governor general also grants royal assent to acts of Parliament, thereby turning them into law.<\/p>\n

They also appoint members of the Privy Council, lieutenant governors and certain judges, on the advice of the prime minister.<\/p>\n

The governor general is also the commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces.<\/p>\n

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