{"id":77967,"date":"2021-07-06T22:09:43","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T02:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?p=77967"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:36:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:36:23","slug":"mary-simon-named-governor-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/2021\/mary-simon-named-governor-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Honorary Degree Recipient Mary Simon Named Governor General"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton Honorary Degree Recipient Mary Simon Named Governor General\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Carleton University is celebrating the appointment of Mary Simon as the next Governor General of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon received an honorary degree from Carleton in 2011 in recognition of her dedication and commitment to Inuit rights, social justice, and education and leadership in circumpolar affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI am honoured, humbled and ready to be Canada\u2019s first Indigenous Governor General,\u201d Simon said on July 6, 2021.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI can confidently say that my appointment is a historic and inspirational moment for Canada and an important step forward on the long path towards reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canada's
Canada’s 30th Governor General Mary Simon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A longtime Inuit rights advocate, Simon grew up in Kangiqsualujjuaq in the Nunavik region of Quebec. She credited her Inuk mother and grandmother with instilling in her \u201ca boundless energy for learning, self-improvement and helping my community.\u201d Her father was from southern Canada and \u201chad a profound respect and love for the North, its people and natural beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cCombined, these experiences allowed me to be a bridge between the different lived realities that together make up the tapestry of Canada,\u201d said Simon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon praised the selection of Simon: \u201cShe is a truly inspiring leader and the values she embodies as well as the example she sets will have an immediate positive impact at a time when we all need it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThe appointment of Mary Simon to the role of Governor General signifies a momentous shift in nation-to-nation relationships,\u201d added Prof. Kahente Horn-Miller, assistant vice-president of Indigenous Initiatives at Carleton.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI am grateful an Inuk Matriarch is leading this change which will facilitate different and difficult conversations. Governor General Simon, we honour you in your new role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Kahente Horn-Miller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Simon most recently served as a\u202ffellow\u202fwith the\u202fArctic Institute of North America. She began her career as a producer and announcer for\u202fCBC North and later became secretary of the board for the\u202fNorthern Quebec Inuit Association. She was a senior Inuit negotiator during the\u202fMeech Lake Accord\u202fand\u202fCharlottetown Accord\u202fnegotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon also served as Canada’s first Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs and was a lead negotiator for the creation of the\u202fArctic Council. She also concurrently served as Chancellor of\u202fTrent University\u202fand, later, as\u202fambassador\u202fto\u202fDenmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 2016, Simon participated in a day-long conference at Carleton marking the 20th anniversary of the Arctic Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She praised the council as \u201ca model of regional sustainable development governance,\u201d noting that while ideas such as the need to incorporate traditional knowledge into scientific research are widely accepted today, that wasn\u2019t the case 25 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArctic residents \u2014 including Indigenous peoples \u2014 are now much better equipped to participate forcefully in important discussions about the environment, development and culture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Frances Abele<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe appointment of Mary Simon to the position of Canada\u2019s Governor General is an exceptional and welcome appointment, especially at this time of reckoning and public mourning,\u201d said Prof. Frances Abele, who has worked with Indigenous people across Canada for most of her career.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cMary Simon has been a strong leader and strong voice for Indigenous people and for the North, with special attention to youth. The country will benefit greatly from her appointment to this role.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Katherine Minich, Abele\u2019s colleague in Carleton\u2019s School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) echoed those sentiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMary Simon has been pivotal in building Canada; her experience and leadership in northern stewardship fulfill a needed voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
\nCarleton Newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carleton University is celebrating the appointment of Mary Simon as the next Governor General of Canada. Simon received an honorary degree from Carleton in 2011 in recognition of her dedication and commitment to Inuit rights, social justice, and education and leadership in circumpolar affairs. \u201cI am honoured, humbled and ready to be Canada\u2019s first Indigenous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":77974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-releases"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77967"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77990,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77967\/revisions\/77990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}