Canada’s next ‘bilingual’ governor general to be announced Tuesday

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce Canada’s next governor general on Tuesday morning. Mary Simon, the country’s first Indigenous Governor General, will not be reappointed to the vice-regal role after serving a five-year term.

CBC News, which first broke the news of the upcoming appointment , is reporting that the new appointee is expected to be fully bilingual in English and French and to be a woman.

“They’ll be bilingual,” confirmed Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller.

Simon, who was born in northern Quebec, speaks Inuktitut and English fluently but said she was never given the opportunity to learn French as a child. She was however criticized during her mandate for not being able to speak Canada’s second official language.

At a time when the separatist Parti Québécois is leading in vote intentions to form government this fall and hold a third referendum during its first mandate, the federal government may want to make sure that they shield themselves from further criticism.

Carney said during a radio interview with Radio-Canada in April he was “absolutely” committed to nominating a new governor general who is bilingual in English and French.

On Monday, opposition parties applauded the decision. Conservative Quebec lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus said bilingualism was a “minimum” requirement. Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Fortin said it is a positive step but still thinks the role in itself should be eliminated.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he briefly met Simon and her husband, Whit Fraser, on Monday. The minister lauded Simon as “a person of incredible integrity.”

“I hope whoever comes in has the same level of poise and distinction in serving Canadians,” he said.

Amid the speculation on who will be called to serve as King Charles’ representative in Canada, some bilingual MPs joked that they were not the chosen ones.

“It seems it’s not my turn,” said Conservative MP Jacques Gourde with a laugh.

“I’ll tell you, it’s not me,” said Liberal MP Dominique O’Rourke.

National Post calevesque@postmedia.com

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