Today in Canada's Political History: August 21, 1947, Birth of Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General, Mary Simon

  • National Newswatch

Arthur Milnes, creator of Art's History on National Newswatch, is an accomplished public historian, award-winning journalist, and in-house historian at the Frontenac Club Hotel who brings Canada's political history to life through engaging stories, historical insights, and personal anecdotes drawn from his encounters with many of the country's leading figures.

The nation's history-making Governor General, Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person to represent the Crown in Canada, was born on this date in 1947 and is turning 70 today. She finished her Mandate at Rideau Hall earlier this year and was succeeded by Louis Arbour. Happy birthday Mary Simon and thank you for your service to Canada and all her peoples as you made history. 

 


Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.