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August 14, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean On July 31, 2009, I spent two very moving hours at the ihuman Youth Society Arts Studio, in downtown Edmonton. I was blown away by the way in which the caring staff, through ihuman’s arts-based programming, offered compassion, love, support, and under...

February 26, 2008 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Since being appointed as governor general, I have wanted to make the institution I represent a place of dialogue and ideas, where the citizens of this country can make their voices heard. In essence, I wanted it to be a place that is accessible to e...

November 15, 2007 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Celebrating art as a means of action! The urban arts forums that we have organized across the country and on State visits have all been real and intense events. And it was the same in Ottawa, where over 150 people—mostly young, committed artists—gat...

September 3, 2008 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean The summer gave us a chance to recharge our batteries. After a non-stop spring filled with festivities surrounding the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City of Québec, including the official visit to France, numerous encounters, forums, disc...

October 19, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to meet with many Aboriginal youths, including a group that accompanied a delegation of veterans to Normandy to pay tribute to the spirit of the warriors who fell in Europe during the Second World War. I...

September 26, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean We must recognize the efforts and commitment of so many young people across Canada. For example, I am reminded of the members of the Grassroots Youth Collaborative in Toronto. In February 2006, I witnessed the enthusiasm with which they support tro...

June 18, 2008 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean They're off! On June 5, in Toronto, our team of 50 was launched: 25 young Canadians were paired with 25 members of the Order of Canada. You could feel the energy in the room: so much enthusiasm, generosity and excitement! I loved to see how well everyon...

October 26, 2007 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean On Friday, October 26, Rideau hall hosted the 100th investiture ceremony of the Order of Canada, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. I encourage everyone to read the citations, which highlight the lives and accomplishments of the wom...

October 6, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean I often hear — rather ironically — that I spend a lot of my time handing out medals. But behind each of these medals and the many Governor General’s awards that I have presented is a wish: to recognize and thus encourage the excellence, engagement, ta...

September 28, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Yesterday was a very special day for me. Exactly one year ago, on September 27, 2005, I became Canada’s 27th governor general. Since then, I have travelled from coast to coast to coast, visiting 8 provinces, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. I...

July 20, 2010 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, on the Death of Sapper Brian Collier OTTAWA—My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I have just learned of the death of Sapper Brian Collier, who was serving with the 1st Bat...

July 21, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean The province of Guangdong (Canton)—where the majority of our fellow Canadians of Chinese origin emigrated from—is twinned with British Columbia. Like Shanghai, Guangzhou—the Cantonese capital—is going through rapid development and is seeing exponential ...

August 27, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean On Sunday, October 22, in Montreal, I took part in an international conference on violence against women. Hundreds of representatives, women and men alike, from over 40 countries came together to discuss their commitment, expertise and the actions tha...

October 16, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Over the past year, I came to appreciate what Canadians have in common and everything that precisely defines our citizenship. Wherever I went, I recognized the same good will, the same commitment to weighing the interests of some against the needs of...

November 6, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean The monument we unveiled yesterday represents four centuries of history. No small undertaking! The choice was narrowed down to fourteen individuals who helped to shape our country. Women and men whose heroism set them apart, from the seventeenth cent...

November 19, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Canada’s governors general have traditionally played an important role in maintaining relations with other countries by undertaking State visits abroad. Each year, the governor general hosts a significant number of State visits. As is the custom in ...

November 21, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Here I am on the soil of Africa. This emotionally charged journey begins in the heart of Algeria who is awakening after several difficult years – this decade of blood in which so many Algerians suffered. I am here to salute their courage and determi...

November 28, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Mali will resonate for a long time in our spirits and hearts. As soon as we arrived and were welcomed, the tone was set. Hundreds of women on the tarmac were hailing me to the cry of “solidarity among the women of the whole wide world.” And it was u...

December 1, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean My journey across Africa follows the circuit of hope that I chose to counteract the bleak outlook we often pin on this continent, an outlook that focuses exclusively on tragedies. Yes, there are enormous challenges, and many realities are troubling; ...

December 8, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Barely 12 years ago, it would have been impossible for me, even as Governor General of Canada, to walk freely, to sit on a bench in public, or to enter certain buildings in South Africa. At that time, if you were black, “coloured,” or of Indian desce...