05/24/2026
Beautifully said. Thank you Minister Chartrand.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BAvWk9htA/
Mary Simon’s time as Governor General has now come to an end, closing a historic chapter not only for Rideau Hall but for Indigenous Peoples and for Canada itself. Appointed on July 26, 2021, and serving until 2026, she became the first Indigenous person an Inuk woman from Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik to hold this office, and her presence transformed the role in ways that will echo for generations. Throughout her tenure, she stood as a national symbol of reconciliation at a time when the country was confronting the painful truths of residential schools, and she carried Inuit language, culture, and identity into the heart of Canadian public life. She raised the profile of Inuit and Inuktitut across the country and around the world, bringing sealskin, Inuit art, and northern stories into Rideau Hall, and reminding Canadians that the North is not a frontier but a homeland. Her leadership was met with deep pride from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people, who saw in her appointment a moment of profound representation, a moment reflected in the standing ovations she received at gatherings across the country. Long before she became Governor General, she had already shaped this country through her work on Arctic policy, Indigenous rights, and Inuit self‑determination from negotiating the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, to helping entrench Aboriginal and treaty rights in the Constitution, to serving as Canada’s first Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs and helping create the Arctic Council. Her legacy is one of diplomacy, strength, and quiet resolve. We are deeply grateful for her, for the wisdom she shared, and for the example she set. Mary Simon changed what leadership in this country can look like, and she deserves our respect, our gratitude, and our recognition.
Respectfully,
Minister Rebecca Chartrand
