Former Supreme Court Justice Appointed Canada’s Governor General

WHO:

ABC News - Retired Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour has been installed as Canada’s new governor general.

AP News - Louise Arbour, 79, replaces Mary Simon, who became Canada’s first Indigenous governor general in 2021.

ABC News - Prime Minister Mark Carney picked a Francophone for the job.

WHAT:

ABC News - Arbour was installed as Canada’s next governor general after a swearing-in ceremony.

AP News - The governor general has important constitutional duties, but the job is mostly ceremonial and symbolic.

ABC News - The Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces played “God Save the King” and the Governor General’s Flag was raised on Parliament Hill to mark the moment.

ABC News - Arbour is a world-renowned legal scholar, judge, and leader in human rights and justice.

AP News - In 1996, the United Nations selected her as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

AP News - Arbour led efforts that resulted in the first conviction for genocide since the 1948 Genocide Convention and the first indictment for war crimes of a sitting head of state.

AP News - She served as a U.N. Special Representative for International Migration from 2017 to 2018.

ABC News - In her first speech as the King’s representative in Canada, Arbour emphasized the importance of peaceful coexistence despite differences.

WHERE:

ABC News - The swearing-in ceremony took place on Parliament Hill in Toronto, Canada.

AP News - Arbour met with King Charles at Buckingham Palace.

WHY:

ABC News - Arbour discussed the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and cautioned against overreliance on the technology, highlighting the temptation to overlook the reliability of sources.

HOW:

ABC News - Arbour's installation was marked by a ceremonial event involving the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces and the raising of the Governor General’s Flag.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 04:22 UTC)

Louise Arbour has been installed as Canada’s new governor general, taking over from Mary Simon, who was the first Indigenous person to hold the position. The swearing-in ceremony took place on Parliament Hill in Toronto, where the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces played “God Save the King” and the Governor General’s Flag was raised to commemorate the occasion. In her inaugural speech, Arbour emphasized the importance of peaceful coexistence amid differences and expressed caution about the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, urging a careful approach to technology and source reliability.