governor general

Sitting with her four-year-old daughter on her lap, Crystal Martin-Lepenskie had tears in her eyes as she watched Mary Simon become Canada's 30th Governor General.

When Mary Simon walks into the Senate on Monday, July 26, 2021, to be installed as the country's next governor general, she will find the upper chamber sparsely populated.

Mary Simon, an Inuk leader and former diplomat, described her appointment as Canada's next governor general — the first Indigenous person to serve in the role — as a “step forward on the long path to reconciliation.” 

With a growing sentiment that Julie Payette's abrupt departure from Rideau Hall provides an opportunity for Canada to have its first Indigenous governor general, Perry Bellegarde laughs when asked if he's been taking French lessons.

The review of Rideau Hall that led governor general Julie Payette to resign found dozens of people who called the working conditions there hostile, negative, toxic or poisoned.

Appointing a westerner who understands the feelings of Albertans toward Ottawa would help dispel growing western alienation, writes Max Fawcett.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc concedes Julie Payette's resignation as governor general shows a need to strengthen the process for vetting vice-regal appointments.

Payette joins a very short list of governors general who have left the post early, but is the first to do so mired in controversy. Her decision to leave will have both political and practical consequences for the minority Liberal government.

The security service charged with protecting Parliament Hill says it has stepped up its presence in the area following several recent reports of harassment against politicians and others.

With Gov. Gen. Julie Payette finding herself the focus of intensifying public scrutiny following reports about expensive personal renovations at Rideau Hall and alleged mistreatment of current and former staff, renewed interest has been sparked into the role of the Governor General in Canada — and what happens if the person holding this office requires discipline or dismissal.

Allegations that Gov. Gen. Julie Payette mistreated staff members prompted calls for investigations of varying stripes on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, with one expert suggesting the matter should be dealt with quietly to preserve the integrity of the office.

The man charged with ramming a truck through a gate at Rideau Hall last week was armed with two shotguns, a rifle and a revolver, and threatened Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, police say.

As a new year dawned, the government's throne-speech commitments, unfurled just weeks earlier, were grabbing headlines and galvanizing the attention of federal policy-makers.

A chance to debate Justin Trudeau and other party leaders onstage during national televised events will undoubtedly bestow upon Maxime Bernier a new level of mainstream Canadian political exposure.