Prime Minister Mark Carney walks with Louise Arbour on Tuesday as he prepares to announce that the former Supreme Court justice will serve as Canada's next Governor-General.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Louise Arbour, a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Canada who also made her mark on international institutions such as the United Nations, will be Canada’s next Governor-General, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Tuesday.
He praised her as a storied defender of human rights who gave voice to the powerless and “those whose dignity was denied, in places where the powerful preferred silence.”
Ms. Arbour, 79, taught at Osgoode Hall Law School and first became a judge in Ontario in the late 1980s. She was a Supreme Court justice from 1999 until 2004.
After retiring from the high court, Ms. Arbour served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
She was the chief prosecutor in two UN international criminal tribunals, which investigated war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. This led to the indictment of Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, the first such legal action against a sitting head of state by an international tribunal.
The announcement of Ms. Arbour’s appointment was welcomed even by critics of the monarchy she will represent when she takes up her new role in the coming months.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said that he was no fan of the monarchy, but he is a fan of Ms. Arbour’s.
“Even if there are some issues about which I would not agree with Madame Arbour, I have the utmost respect for that woman,” Mr. Blanchet told journalists on Parliament Hill.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who had called for the appointment of the first governor-general with Western roots since Ray Hnatyshyn left Rideau Hall in 1995, also welcomed the Montreal-born Ms. Arbour, saying she has “a respected record.”
Ms. Arbour, who is fluent in both of the country’s official languages, English and French, is expected to be installed as Canada’s 31st Governor-General in early June, succeeding Mary Simon.
Ms. Simon, a Quebec-born Inuk and advocate for Inuit rights, speaks English and Inuktitut, one of Canada’s principal Inuit languages. But her lack of French, despite taking French lessons, had raised the concerns of the new Commissioner of Official Languages.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has named retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as Canada's next governor general.
The Canadian Press
Kelly Burke, who became the commissioner this year, said she was delighted by Ms. Arbour’s appointment
“As an experienced bilingual leader, she has represented Canada with distinction in both official languages on the international stage, and I am confident she will continue to do so in this most important role for the country,” Ms. Burke said in a statement.
And she offered a salute to Ms. Simon, who became the first Indigenous person to hold the title when she was appointed by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2021. “I would also like to acknowledge the meaningful contributions to Canada of Mary Simon during her mandate,” Ms. Burke said.
During an introductory news conference with Mr. Carney, Ms. Arbour acknowledged she may have work to do engaging with critics of her past work as a judge and advocate for human rights.
She was asked about criticism from federal Conservatives, who have taken issue with her as a judicial activist. Howard Anglin, a former deputy chief of staff to then-prime-minister Stephen Harper, said on X on Tuesday that Ms. Arbour is “the most Ottawa-bubble choice from the most Ottawa-bubble ministry in Canadian history. And all the Ottawa bubblers will line up to applaud.”
Ms. Arbour said Canada offers great free space for the expression of contrary views expressed robustly, and that she will engage with her critics.
“I will reach out to anybody who wishes to engage with me, to debate, to discuss. I will listen and I hope, in due course, that I will manage to persuade those, particularly those who may doubt my integrity,” she said.
The summer Louise Arbour worked the phones for Expo 67
On Parliament Hill, MPs who spoke to the media praised the next Governor-General.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said she had won the pool in her office by predicting that Ms. Arbour would be appointed.
“I think it’s a thoroughly appropriate choice,” she said. “She’s obviously in the category of great Canadian, no matter what.”
Vancouver-Centre MP Hedy Fry, a Liberal, said the appointment is inspired. “I think she’s going to be great,” said Ms. Fry. “And she’s an old gal like me. What can I say?”
NDP Leader Avi Lewis was more muted in his response. “Louise Arbour has had a distinguished career both in Canada and on the international stage. I congratulate her on her appointment as Governor-General,” he said in a statement.
Although Tuesday’s spotlight was on Ms. Arbour, Cody Groat, a professor in history and Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Ontario, said Ms. Simon’s work presents a challenge to the incoming Governor-General.
Ms. Simon focused her efforts on Indigenous reconciliation, mental health and the environment. During her tenure, she welcomed Pope Francis during his visit to Canada in 2022 – a trip that included an apology to residential school survivors. She also hosted the King during his visit last year.
“Mary Simon has established a new precedent for how Indigenous nations engage with the Crown and, through the Crown, with the monarchy,” Dr. Groat said in an interview.
He said these efforts were best reflected through Ms. Simon recently supporting a delegation of Treaty 6 chiefs who met with King Charles at Buckingham Palace.
“I would say Indigenous nations now have a different understanding of the access they might be able to have with the monarch and the representative of the monarch. Louise Arbour as Governor-General will have to decide if that access continues.”
With a report from The Canadian Press