Whit Fraser, former journalist and the husband of Governor-General Mary Simon, in Rideau Hall's Tent Room in March, 2026.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Whit Fraser, a former journalist and the husband of Governor-General Mary Simon, says the couple are planning their exit from Rideau Hall.
Mr. Fraser, who spoke with The Globe and Mail ahead of the release of his memoir, was reluctant to provide details about their wife’s plans, but the 84-year-old, whose official title is vice-regal consort, signalled that Ms. Simon is ready to move on.
“I’ll put it this way: that discussion has to happen only between Mary and the Prime Minister and they have talked,” he said. “But I’ll tell you that we’re looking for an apartment.”
Governor General Mary Simon and husband Whit Fraser visit Nunavut’s territorial legislature in Iqaluit.Dustin Patar/The Canadian Press
Ms. Simon, an Inuk and advocate for Inuit rights, was born in Quebec and is Canada’s first Indigenous Governor-General. Her appointment was announced in July, 2021. The representatives of the monarch generally serve five-year terms though there is flexibility for them to stay longer.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office referred questions on the Governor-General’s future to the Privy Council Office. Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson for the office, said information regarding the Governor-General’s tenure will be provided in due course.
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Marilyne Guèvremont, a spokesperson for the office of the secretary to the Governor-General, sent a statement that did not address questions about Mr. Fraser’s comments, nor did she comment on the potential timing of Ms. Simon’s departure.
Ms. Simon’s appointment followed the tenure of former astronaut Julie Payette, who was appointed in 2017 and resigned early after an investigation into allegations of a toxic environment at Rideau Hall. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Richard Wagner, served in the role until Ms. Simon was in place.
While the standard term for a governor-general is five years, extensions aren’t unusual.
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David Johnston served in the role for seven years, after former prime minister Stephen Harper asked him to extend his time to preside over celebrations in 2017 marking 150 years since Confederation.
Then-prime minister Paul Martin asked Adrienne Clarkson in 2004 to extend her term by a year amid concerns about the stability of Mr. Martin’s minority government.
Ms. Simon, an Inuk and advocate for Inuit rights, is Canada’s first Indigenous Governor-General.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Ms. Simon, a former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference who also served as Canada’s ambassador to Denmark, was appointed by former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
She was on duty for the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the subsequent coronation of King Charles. She also presided over a visit by Pope Francis in which he apologized to Indigenous peoples for the Roman Catholic church’s role in operating residential schools. She and Mr. Fraser have travelled the nation and the world.
Early last month, she met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.
Ms. Simon meets with Pope Francis in Quebec City on July 27, 2022, during his papal visit to Canada.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Mr. Fraser reflects on his time alongside his wife in his memoir, From Ragged Ass Road to Rideau Hall. He said it has meant a gruelling schedule, but it’s an experience he treasures.
“You wake up too tired on some days and say, ‘For God’s sake, I wonder why they didn’t give us 15 minutes to go for a pee on the schedule. Where’s the washroom for Christ’s sake?’” he said, chuckling.
“It has been terrific. It has been unbelievable. I could never have imagined that it could have happened and couldn’t have imagined how fulfilling it has been at times.”
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Born in Nova Scotia, Mr. Fraser got his start working for the CBC in Frobisher Bay, and was eventually sent to the broadcaster’s Ottawa bureau. He has, in the past few years, been a reporter without the opportunity to tell his stories.
The book tracks Mr. Fraser’s life as a journalist as well as the experience of the last five years at Rideau Hall.
Mr. Fraser spoke with The Globe and Mail ahead of the release of his memoir, From Ragged Ass Road to Rideau Hall, in which he reflects on his time alongside his wife.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Fraser said there was no manual to being in the regal frame but not being the star.
“Nobody ever came to me at the beginning and said, ‘Whit. This is what you can do and this is what you can’t do,’” he said. “But I’ve been around long enough to know I’m not the governor-general. Mary is.”
He said he is the husband with “no part in the management of the business that happens here.” He added that he’s also not supposed to embarrass the place. “I work very hard at keeping my tongue in check.”
Still, he was blunt when asked about issues of the Governor-General’s ability to speak French. Ms. Simon’s appointment was criticized because she could not speak the language. She took lessons but is still not fluent.
But she is fluent in a second language, Inuktikut, one of Canada’s principal Inuit languages.
“I would only say this to people who want to continue to criticize the governor-general’s inability or struggles with French: How was their own lessons in Inuktikut, or Cree or Algonquin or Blackfoot or Squamish? How are those lessons going along?” said Mr. Fraser.
“It was the hypocrisy that riled me and still does.”
He added: “Please don’t let me diminish the importance of French, but I always want to focus on the importance of having another language. I think that has been very positive.”
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The couple have six children from previous marriages. Five of them live in the Ottawa area with children and grandchildren. “We’ve got a good little gang,” he said.
After long careers in journalism, diplomacy and advocacy, the couple were looking to retire when Ms. Simon was appointed. Now they are looking at a more sustained retirement.
Of his 78-year-old wife, he said, “She will have the issues to work on that are important to her.”
“I had some setback with my vision so now I have to learn to read and write with technology. I’m working on that.”
He said he submitted his memoir to an official at Rideau Hall to check. No changes were suggested.
Mr. Fraser signalled that Ms. Simon is ready to move on from her role and the couple is looking at a more sustained retirement.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Fraser, who is now working on a novel, said he began writing his book in January, 2021, ahead of his wife’s appointment a few months later.
“In this old head and heart, I’m a reporter and I still believed I had stories to tell that were not told as fully as I wanted to for the constraints of radio and television. So I wanted to tell those stories again,” he said.
By the time Mr. Trudeau called, Mr. Fraser had eight or 10 chapters done.
“And then life took a change, a beautiful change and so I shaped the book accordingly,” he said.
One of the tricky things in writing was focusing the story, he said.
“This was a challenge. Still is even in this interview. It’s absolutely a challenge to tell my story and not Mary’s story. Mary is part of my story, of course, but Mary has her story,” he said.