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January 26, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will offer Canadians the opportunity to appreciate the deep sense of commitment and perseverance shared by our athletes, and to celebrate excellence. Soon we will be awestruck by our athletes’ prowess. The...

May 5, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean As I get ready to travel to Haiti on March 8 and 9, I recognize that this visit is more than just a return to my devastated native country. I will remain on the island to also visit the Dominican Republic on March 10, as it made considerable efforts durin...

March 7, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean We will be leaving before dawn and arriving in Port-au-Prince in the early morning hours. I dread all the things I need to absorb, to bear and to encounter. But I chose to arrive on March 8, International Women’s Day, because we must remember that hope ...

May 17, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Canadians across the country have answered generously and donated almost $200 million to emergency assistance in Haiti. We have shown our solidarity with a population that has been terribly affected by the January 12, 2010, earthquake that killed over 25...

April 13, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean In 2006, when I undertook State visits to five African countries—Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco—as my first trip to the continent, I called it and treated it like a journey of hope. I wanted to assess the strengths and see the vigour of...

April 26, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean It was a changing Africa that greeted us as we travelled through Senegal to Cape Verde, through the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Why go to Africa? To do what? What good will it do? People ask these same questions again and again, spread...

June 22, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Since the earthquake that claimed nearly 300 000 lives, left hundreds of thousands wounded and traumatized, and transformed much of Haiti into a field of rubble and debris, Canadians have continued to respond in a thousand and one ways. Each of our hear...

June 2, 2010 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean I’m beginning my official visit to China in a spirit of friendship and vitality exemplified by the spectacular world exposition EXPO SHANGHAI 2010. Supporting me here are my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, who has great enthusiasm for cultural diplomacy, and...

August 11, 2010 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of the United Nations’ International Year of Youth OTTAWA—Five years ago, when I assumed the post of governor general, I made youth one of my mandate priorities. Throughout my...

August 13, 2010 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, Following the Natural Disasters in Pakistan and China OTTAWA— The natural disasters that have hit Pakistan and China recently are continuing to take their toll. The distressing images making ...

December 5, 2006 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean This year marks 100 years of Canadian presence in Ghana. Africa’s white fathers arrived in Navrongo in 1906. But it was not until 1957, when Ghana achieved independence, that co-operation between Canada and this West African country really picked up ...

June 30, 2009 by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean This year, we are celebrating Canada’s 142nd birthday. I would like to take this festive opportunity to highlight the extraordinary contribution that young Canadians are making to the vitality of our country. In every city and every community, from Monc...

November 20, 2009 by His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond For this 43rd edition of Art Matters, we will be exploring the identity of our literature and, by extension, Canadian identity. What is it that distinguishes our English literature from that written in the United States or Britain? What is it th...

Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of Citizenship Week October 19, 2009 OTTAWA — People all around the world see Canada as a country where anything is possible, a country where justice and harmony reign and everyone can realiz...

October 28, 2009 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, on the death of Lieutenant Justin Boyes OTTAWA— It was with profound sadness that my husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I learned of the death of one of our soldiers, Li...

October 31, 2009 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, on the death of Sapper Steven Marshall OTTAWA—Just as we were beginning to come to terms with the death of one of our soldiers, we find ourselves once again mourning a...

November 30, 2009 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of World AIDS Day OTTAWA—The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day has to do with human rights, in particular, the right to health and the right to live. We have all witnessed...

December 4, 2009 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General, on National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women Geneviève BergeronHélène ColganNathalie CroteauBarbara DaigneaultAnne-Marie EdwardMaud HaviernickBarbara Klucznik WidajewiczMaryse L...

June 24, 2009 OTTAWA–Today is a day of mourning, as much for Canadians throughout the country as for the team at Rideau Hall in Ottawa and at the Citadelle of Québec. The news came to us from Grande Digue, New Brunswick, that my predecessor, the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, governor general of Ca...

June 26, 2009 Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of Canadian Multiculturalism Day Awareness. Inclusion. Equality. Sharing. With just these few, simple words, the full measure of the Canadian reality immediately comes to mind w...