Topics

PM Carney expected to name the next governor general on Tuesday

  • The Canadian Press

  • Canadian Press

  • May 4, 2026

Governor General Mary Simon Governor General Mary Simon conducts an inspection of the Ceremonial Guard at Rideau Hall in Ottawa Friday June 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to name a new governor general at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The governor general is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the prime minister and usually holds office for five years.

Mary Simon, Canada's first Indigenous governor general, will reach the five-year mark of her tenure in July.

Following controversy over Simon's struggles with French, Carney said the next viceregal representative would speak both official languages.

Simon speaks English and Inuktitut and has improved her French but she is not fluent, despite taking lessons.

Whit Fraser, the viceregal consort, told the Globe and Mail newspaper last month that he and Simon were apartment hunting.

This report by was first published May 4, 2026.