New Governor-General of Canada Announced
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has picked legal scholar David Johnston to be Canada’s next governor general, CTV reported on Wednesday.
The bilingual president of the University of Waterloo is set to become the Queen’s next representative in Canada in September, CTV said during its nightly newscast.
Mr. Johnston is known for his non-partisan status and extensive legal background.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, a law degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and another from Cambridge in England.
Also a companion of the Order of Canada, Mr. Johnston has held administrative positions at Montreal’s McGill University and the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. He has also taught at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University.
Mr. Johnston’s legal training could come to the fore of Canadian politics if he, like current Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean, has to leave the usual ceremonial aspects of the job and wade into constitutional matters in an era when minority governments are increasingly common.
His presidency of the University of Waterloo has coincided with its emergence as one of the world’s premier centres of excellence in high technology.
Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., he was twice selected to the all-American hockey team while at Harvard. He is also a marathon runner.
Canadians might remember also Mr. Johnston for his role as moderator during the storied “You had a choice” exchange in the televised leadership debate between Brian Mulroney and John Turner in 1984.
Mr. Johnston has also appeared on television as moderator of a PBS show called The Editors, which explored Canada-U.S. relations.
More recently, Mr. Harper turned to Mr. Johnston to write the terms of reference for the inquiry headed by retired justice Jeffrey Oliphant into the business relationship between Mulroney and German businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.
The academic lives with his wife, Dr. Sharon Johnston, on a farm in the small town of Heidelberg, Ont. They have five adult daughters and seven grandchildren.
According to a statement on the governor-general’s website, “the governor general represents Canada during state visits abroad and receives Royal visitors, heads of state and foreign ambassadors at Rideau Hall and at the Citadelle of Quebec.”
Mr. Johnston is set to take over for Ms. Jean, whose term officially ends on Sept. 27. Jean will then begin a four-year post as special envoy to Haiti for the United Nations.
A relative unknown when she first stepped into the role on Sept. 27, 2005, Ms. Jean became a favourite among the masses both within and outside Canada.
This country’s first black governor-general, Ms. Jean was the third woman to hold the post and among the youngest to reside at Rideau Hall with her Quebec filmmaker husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and school-aged daughter Marie-Eden.
Canwest News Service
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I'm going to miss Jean. A lot. I remember him being one of the potential candidates on the news, but I heard a lot of people don't want him as GG.