Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour will be Canada’s next governor general, replacing Mary Simon in the role, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday.
Simon, who made history in 2021 by becoming the first Indigenous person to be named as the representative for Canada’s head of state, will see her five-year term end this July.
“Canada 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,” Arbour said.
“I will strive to serve with honour, dedication and integrity,” she said.
Arbour, who was born in Montreal, served as a Supreme Court justice from 1999 to 2004. Prior to serving in Canada’s highest court, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1987 and the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1990.
“Her work matters in and of itself. It also tells us something about what Louise Arbour will bring to Rideau Hall — 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,” Carney said.
Carney thanked Simon for her “extraordinary service to Canada.”
“Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary Simon, has been a steadfast representative of Canada and our institutions at home and around the world,” he said.
“As the first Indigenous person to serve in this role, she’s carried forward a lifetime of advocacy for Inuit rights, for Indigenous self-determination, and for the preservation of our Indigenous languages, cultures and identities,” he added.
Simon welcomed Arbour’s appointment as her successor.