Mary Simon

Mary Simon, 2022.

Mary Jeannie May Simon CC CMM COM OQ CD (born August 21, 1947) is a Canadian civil servant, diplomat, and former broadcaster who has served as the 30th governor general of Canada since July 26, 2021. Simon is Inuk, making her the first Indigenous person to hold the office.

Simon was born in Fort Severight (now Kangiqsualujjuaq), Quebec. She briefly worked as a producer and announcer for the CBC Northern Service in the 1970s before entering public service, serving on the board of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association and playing a key role in the Charlottetown Accord negotiations. Simon was Canada's first ambassador for circumpolar affairs from 1994 to 2004, as well as a lead negotiator for the creation of the Arctic Council. She also served as the Canadian ambassador to Denmark from 1999 to 2002.

On July 6, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Queen Elizabeth II had approved the appointment of Simon as the next governor general of Canada. This followed the resignation of Julie Payette.

In June 2022, Simon came under fire after a National Post story was published regarding exorbitant in-flight catering costs for her eight-day trip to the Middle East. Simon said the criticism was 'unfair' as she had no part in the logistics of her trips to discuss world peace but her office would try to 'minimize the cost of future voyages'. Simon closed all commenting on her social media posts in February 2023 due to a growing number of abusive comments.

As of July 2023 Simon's expenses on official overseas travel continue to be newsworthy in Canada. A four day trip to Germany in 2021 reportedly cost C$700,000.

Conservative Canadian daily newspaper the National Post has reported that Simon and her predecessor Julie Payette claimed significantly clothing expenses that were apparently for personal use.

See Also

• Julie Payette

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