Search

The Citadelle, Friday, June 27, 2008 It is an honour to welcome you here to the Citadelle, where some of the decisive pages in our military history have been written. This is the home of the Royal 22e Régiment, Canada’s only entirely Francophone infantry regiment. As we celebrate the 400th anniversa...

June 27, 2008 Diversity is at the very heart of Canadian history. Many different people coexisted all across this vast land for thousands of years, and there was an abundance of communities, ethnic groups, cultures and languages that we cannot even imagine. Tragically, colonization almost made this ...

July 1, 2008 Dear friends, For almost three years, I have served as governor general. This time with you has flown by! When I look back over the road I have travelled, I see it as a journey. A journey that has taken me from one end of this extraordinary country to the other. As I travel from coast t...

Parliament Hill, Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 I am thrilled to be here with you on this day of celebration, as our hearts are filled with joy. Since 2005, I have crisscrossed this country from east to west, north to south. And every time, I am struck by how extraordinary it is. Extraordinary in its scale...

Ottawa, Wednesday, July 2, 2008 I would like to begin by telling you how happy I am to be here with you today. I would also like to commend the military personnel here this morning and their families. We can never overstate your contribution to the success of the Forces and its missions. As commande...

City of Québec, Thursday, July 3, 2008 The time has finally come, on this July 3, 2008, for us to have l’âme à la tendresse—for our souls to be filled with tenderness—as Pauline Julien magnificently sang, and for our hearts to join together in celebration! Because it is not just the 400th anniversar...

Recorded at the Citadelle, Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Dear friends, For almost three years, I have served as governor general. This time with you has flown by! When I look back over the road I have travelled, I see it as a journey. A journey that has taken me from one end of this extraordinary country...

Rideau Hall, Monday, June 30, 2008 I am delighted to welcome you here to Rideau Hall, particularly since this is a time of great celebration for Canada. We are getting ready to celebrate our country’s 141st birthday. This is always a time of enormous pride for Canadians. As well, 2008 commemorates a...

July 5, 2008 OTTAWA — My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are saddened to learn of the death of Corporal Brendan Anthony Downey, a Military Policeman from the Military Police Detachment in Dundurn, Saskatchewan, on assignment in the Persian Gulf region. Corporal Downey always wanted to serve his c...

July 7, 2008 OTTAWA—It is with a very heavy heart that I learned of the tragic death of Private Colin William Wilmot, who perished while on patrol in Kandahar. The driving force behind the international convention against antipersonnel landmines, Canada is pained to see another of its sons struck do...

July 19, 2008 OTTAWA—The terrible news of the death of Corporal James (Jim) Hayward Arnal, an infanteer serving with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group, is another cruel blow to all of us, wherever we may be. Like his comrades, Corporal Arnal always faced the...

August 11, 2008 Since the beginning of my mandate, I have had the great pleasure of meeting with youth across Canada and in the other countries I have visited, young people from every background, every walk of life, every segment of society. And whatever their situation, they all shared a desire to ...

August 9, 2008 OTTAWA—Today, our nation mourns the loss of another proud member of our Canadian Forces. Master Corporal Joshua Brian Roberts, a member of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Manitoba, lost his life in a tragic incident. Throughout the cours...

City of Québec, Sunday, August 10, 2008 We have come together where the majestic St. Lawrence River narrows, which is the original Indian meaning of the word Quebec. Welcome to the City of Québec! In this magnificent city steeped in history, in this year marking the 400th anniversary of its founding...

The Citadelle, Wednesday, July 2, 2008 It is wonderful to see all of you here this evening. My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I are delighted to welcome you to the Citadelle, the governor general’s official residence in the City of Québec. This residence holds a very special place in our hearts; w...

The Citadelle, Saturday, July 5, 2008 While on tour, you have travelled the world’s highways. One of which led you to us and, since then, has brought you back time and again, through song and film, over the years. Did you not say, in 2001, that it was your last tour in Quebec? Well, it may have been...

The Citadelle, Monday, June 2, 2008 It gives me great pleasure to welcome you here to the Citadelle, the official residence of the governor general of Canada. From the moment I took office as governor general, I wanted to create a space in which young Canadians could express themselves and where the...

August 11, 2008 OTTAWA— Canada lost another brave soldier today. The entire country shares this pain and mourns this terrible loss. Master Corporal Erin Doyle of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and attached to the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantr...

Québec, Tuesday, June 3, 2008 Cap sur les ports francophones! Today, we join together in a spirit of encounter and dialogue; in a spirit of celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City of Québec, an important chapter in our collective history here in Canada and proof positive of ...

The Citadelle, Wednesday, June 4, 2008 It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Citadelle. Located high atop Cape Diamant, where the majestic St. Lawrence River narrows, as the Amerindian meaning of the word “Quebec” suggests, this military fortification is the only one of its kind that rema...