Mary Simon will soon take residence in Rideau Hall as Canada's first Indigenous Governor General. // Image: Wikicommons, Concierge.2C, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unsupported license. No changes made.
UM congratulates Mary Simon on her appointment as first Indigenous Governor General
The University of Manitoba congratulates Mary Simon on her historic appointment as Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General.
“I have been muttering that the Governor General should be Indigenous, should have been Indigenous years ago already – so I am delighted that an Indigenous person has been chosen – and that she is a woman. Mary Simon is an excellent choice,” says Professor Emma LaRocque, the longest serving faculty member in the UM’s department of Native Studies.
“Ms. Simon has served as an advocate for Inuit rights and culture, and the rights of all Indigenous peoples, and her appointment is a significant and inspirational moment for Canada,” says Michael Benarroch, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Manitoba. “This appointment comes at a time in our shared history when we are increasingly aware of the importance of Truth and Reconciliation, and of creating a more equitable and inclusive society.”
Simon has visited UM in the past, coming in 2014 to lead a Public Policy Forum lecture series wherein she explained why the future of Canada’s North, and our overall economic prosperity lies in education. UM would welcome the opportunity to host her again in her new role.