Why picking a new Governor General should be the Queen’s problem

So, we have a new Governor General. Mary Simon, a onetime journalist, diplomat and well-known social activist devoting her time to northern concerns, is apparently the thirtieth person and fourth woman to become the King or Queen’s representative in Canada.

I say ‘apparently’ thirtieth – I didn’t count them myself – but I presume this is just the list since our becoming a more or less independent nation back in 1867. If you include the Governors General of the Canadas from 17861841 and the Governors General of the Province of Canada 1841-1867 there were a whole lot more. I didn’t even try to count the Viceroys of the French Monarch, the Governors of New France or the Governors General of New France which covered most of the 17th century and about three quarters of the 18th century.

There has been much tooting of the Liberal horn over this appointment by Prime Minister Selfie as, once again, he attempts to prove himself to be sensitive to social, gender and inclusive norms. Apart from being intelligent and eminently qualified, Ms Simon is also a woman and half Inuk -the first indigenous Canadian to hold the post.

One can be sure that the Prime

Minister was at great pains to properly vet Governor General Simon as his preferred candidate following the dust-up over the resignation of space cadet Julie Payette. Once again you can see the PM and his cabinet checking off all the pertinent boxes including gender, career choice, race, previous undiscovered tweets, linguistic abilities and shoe size.

Choosing the Governor General has become as difficult as finding not only the needle in the hay stack but the right needle.

It wasn’t always so. Traditionally the G and G was a white, slightly elderly male with a title. From 1867 until the appointment of the first Canadianborn Governor General, Vincent Massey, in 1952, the post was filled by 3 Barons, 2 Viscounts, 6 Earls, 3 Marquises and 1 Duke. Some might say that even Massey thought of himself as ‘titled.’

Once Canada took over the task of picking our own Governor General and sending a recommendation to be rubber stamped by the Queen, things got a little more difficult. At first we stuck pretty much to the established format by choosing military types or deserving retired politicians. Then it was pointed out that women were quite capable of doing the job and Jeanne Sauvé became the first.

Following that choice we have seen four more women. We have also seen G and Gs with Chinese and Haitian ancestry a Ukrainian Canadian and an eminently successful Governor General who was an academic and kept the lowest of profiles.

In this modern world it seems to be more and more difficult to keep everyone happy. There are already critics that have attacked Simon’s lack of French before she’s even been fitted for her royal regalia. Now that we have our first Inuk G and G will the next have to be Cree or Iroquois? What about the Italian Canadians? At 4.6 per cent of our population are they due for the Vice-regal spot?

I suggest we go back to the source. After all, the Governor General is the Queen’s representative in Canada, not the representative of the Canadian people in all their diversity. It’s her problem, not ours. Deal with it.