Canada’s next governor general has got it all
NEXT GOVERNOR GENERAL PERSONIFIES IMAGE LIBERALS WANT TO PROJECT
For a government that operates as if it were making the movie version of itself, the appointment of Julie Payette as Canada’s next Governor General is perfect: she is straight out of central casting.
“She is trained to fly fighter jets, has two engineering degrees, has sung with the Montreal Symphony and became one of the most respected astronaut leaders in what was then still a very macho top-gun world of NASA,” said one former Canada Space Agency colleague.
I wrote about who might be David Johnston’s successor two weeks ago, suggesting it would not be an Indigenous woman, as had been widely speculated, because the government found someone “too spectacular to say no to.”
At the time, I advanced the idea that it might be the former commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield. Turns out I backed the wrong astronaut.
Payette is, by any standard, spectacular. As Canada’s 29th Governor General she will provide inspiration for a country looking for vision and imagination in its public figures.
A mother, an engineer and the chief astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency who logged more than 25 days in space, she is eminently qualified to personify the image this government would like to project at home and abroad — smart, dignified and diverse. As Trudeau knows as well as any movie director, casting is storytelling.
The 53-year-old Montrealer also benefits from being a multilingual Quebecer.
Trudeau constantly repeats the refrain that no relationship is more important to him than the one with Indigenous peoples. He has consistently failed to live up to that statement.
The reality is, the most important relationship for all prime ministers is that between English and French Canada. It was Quebec’s turn, simple as that. The Liberals hold 40 of 78 ridings in the province and have designs on the rest.
Roberta Jamieson, who would have been a leading Indigenous candidate, said the appointment of a new governor general was an opportunity to make a “powerful statement” — one that would keep the reconciliation process moving forward. But while Jamieson and other Indigenous candidates may speak their own languages, if they do not speak flawless French it effectively ends their prospects.
Despite its good intentions, this government has now passed over Indigenous candidates for vacant Supreme Court and vice-regal positions. As with so many other things, it talks a good game but is easily distracted by glittering prizes.
Still, Payette has many qualities to commend her, quite apart from the fact she didn’t previously work for CBC/Radio-Canada, as so many of her Liberal-appointed predecessors have.
In her press conference with Trudeau outside the Senate chamber Thursday, she admitted it will be hard following in the footsteps of “giants,” particularly her immediate predecessor, David Johnston.
He has personified, in Trudeau’s words, “hard work, grace and humility” — consistently summing up the mood of the country when called upon at events like the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission inquiry.
He has done so while remaining above the political fray, serving as governor general during the tenure of two very different prime ministers without being dragged into public discussions about government policy.
He will leave as one of Canada’s longest serving governors general, one who was asked to extend his service ahead of the 2015 election in case there was a minority government that required an experienced viceroy.
Payette cannot match the constitutional experience of her predecessor. But, as Stephen Harper said of Johnston, she also represents the “best of Canada.”
She will bring the energy and enthusiasm that has made her infuriatingly accomplished at everything she does — from her professional technical skills as an engineer in advanced robotics to her linguistic and musical abilities.
People who know her say she possesses a rare combination of charisma, warmth and modesty, more at home in cowboy boots and a dusty old Jeep than the heels and limos she will have to get used to.
“She would speak to auditoriums full of schoolkids about flying in space and pursuing careers in science and engineering. The reaction to her was stunning. Imagine 300 kids and dead silence for 30 minutes, eyes glued on her. Anecdotally, a lot of those kids, particularly young girls, were inspired to go into science,” her former CSA colleague said.
Payette said she hoped she will be given some time to get a feel for the position, but hinted her focus will be in the area of science and technology.
For a government mired in controversy over the Khadr settlement and the increasingly aimless Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women inquiry, the news that Canada’s own rocket woman will become its next commander-in-chief was a welcome distraction.
It was almost as if it were timed to bury the bad news, in true Wag the Dog fashion.
Maybe it was serendipity. But, in the words of the great Yogi Berra, “That’s too coincidental to be a coincidence.”
A COMBINATION OF CHARISMA, WARMTH AND MODESTY.