PM Carney expected to name new governor general today

Governor General Mary Simon speaks with a student before they plant messages in a heart garden on the grounds of Rideau Hall on National Indigenous Peoples day, Friday, June 21, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to name a new governor general today at a press conference in Ottawa.

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.

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

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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.