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Rideau Hall, Thursday, May 22, 2008 We have come here today to honour 60 members of Canada’s police services who are about to join the ranks of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. I am delighted to see so many of you here, but this occasion also brings back memories for me that I would like to ...

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Saturday, May 24, 2008 Today is a wonderful day. A day that puts me in mind of another day: November 13, 1952. On that day, 56 years ago, my predecessor, Governor General Vincent Massey, opened the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, just as we are doing this morning. On tha...

Rideau Hall, Monday, May 26, 2008 Excellency, Mrs. Yushchenko, my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I wish you a very warm welcome to Canada and are delighted to have you here, at Rideau Hall. We hope that during your stay, you will feel a bit at home. Not simply because of the strong ties between our ...

Rideau Hall, Monday, May 26, 2008 Excellency, Mrs. Yushchenko, my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I are so delighted to welcome you here to Rideau Hall where, beginning in the reception room, a Ukrainian vision of Canada awaits. As soon as I was installed as governor general of Canada, I wanted the w...

Rideau Hall, Tuesday, May 27, 2008 You are about to set out for the far corners of the Earth to represent our country abroad, and I am so pleased to be able to share this occasion with you, as you begin this next step in your career. For me, you are truly agents for bringing peoples together and con...

The Citadelle, Tuesday, May 27, 2008 What a pleasure it is to welcome you to the Residence of the Governor General at the Citadelle, as we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City of Québec. You know, it takes time for a house to have a soul. It is as though time itself leaves beh...

The Citadelle, Thursday, May 29, 2008 I think you will agree: one need only look out from high atop the western bank of the Cap-aux-Diamants promontory to understand why Frontenac chose to build a redoubt on this site. The role that this military structure played in the city’s defence strategy is ob...

The Citadelle, Friday, May 30, 2008 The Citadelle is abuzz with excitement, ready to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City of Québec. The grounds are shaking off their winter slumber, the river is thundering along in the light of the day, and it is with great joy that my husban...

Rideau Hall, Wednesday, May 21, 2008 It is a pleasure to welcome you here to Rideau Hall, and to Canada, at this time of year, when the residence gardens are in bloom, reawakening after a long winter. This morning, we welcome the Ambassador of El Salvador, the Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea, the Hi...

The Citadelle, Friday, May 30, 2008 Jean-Daniel and I are delighted to welcome you here to the Citadelle. As we open the annual Conference of Lieutenant-Governors and Commissioners, and before we get down to work, it gives us tremendous pleasure to be able to celebrate with you the artistic talent o...

Rideau Hall, Saturday, October 13, 2007 It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to Rideau Hall, which has been the official residence and workplace of every governor general of Canada since Confederation in 1867. I am delighted to have Lord Weir among us today, a man whose ancestor, Thomas MacKay—...

Rideau Hall, Wednesday, October 17, 2007 I was thrilled to learn that Women’s History Month 2007 is dedicated to women immigrants, especially as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Citizenship Act. The woman who stands before you has experienced the immigration process and she would like to ...

Rideau Hall, Thursday October 18, 2007 We are an interconnected society. Gone are the days in which life in a small town defined a person’s outlook on the world. Advances in information technologies have brought the young b-girl in Iqaluit a mere instant message away from her counterpart in Vancouve...

Rideau Hall, Friday, October 19, 2007 I am delighted to once again be among Scouts of all ages and from all backgrounds. Welcome to Rideau Hall. I was truly honoured to be named Chief Scout by Scouts Canada. And do you know why? Because when I was a girl, I was a Scout just like you. The Scouts taug...

Rideau Hall, Thursday, October 25, 2007 Freedom is never handed to us. It is something we must continually fight for. In the name of freedom you made a total commitment with honour, conviction and loyalty. You left everything behind: your loved ones, your families, your friends, your country. You ga...

Rideau Hall, Friday, October 26, 2007 My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are thrilled to celebrate today’s ceremony with you, as it is an especially historic one. It will be the 100th investiture ceremony of the Order of Canada, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Let us now hear...

Ottawa, Monday, October 29, 2007 How are you? What an honour you are bestowing on me today! I never thought that a school would one day bear my name. I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to me. Let me look at you. You are all so beautiful. It is so good to see you, in the bloom of youth, w...

Rideau Hall, Friday, November 2, 2007 In With Open Eyes, one of my favourite authors, Marguerite Yourcenar, wrote that people who love life also must love history, because human memory preserves the past and makes it a part of our present. I am happy this morning to be among people who love life. It...

Ottawa, Monday, June 20, 2011 I feel very comfortable here at the Canadian Museum of Nature, where my friend Meg has just been appointed director. In fact, my first public engagement as governor general was here. I was just about to go on when the fire alarm went off. As a university professor, I’m ...

Ottawa, Tuesday June 21, 2011 What a pleasure it is for me to celebrate National Aboriginal Day with you. And what an honour to join with you to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the National Aboriginal Monument, and to reflect upon the sacrifices that thousands of Aboriginal men and women made fo...