Editing Governor General of Canada (section)

===Withering and renaissance===
[[Sarah, Duchess of York]], said in 2009 that sometime during her marriage to [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York]], her husband was offered the position of governor general of Canada, and she speculated in hindsight that their agreement to refuse the commission may have been a contributing factor in their eventual break-up.<ref>{{Cite news| last=Miranda| first=Charles| title=Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson on love in royal palace| newspaper=The Daily Telegraph| date=2 March 2009| url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25122633-5001030,00.html| access-date=6 June 2009| archive-date=11 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311033750/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25122633-5001030,00.html}}</ref> Instead, Sauvé's tenure as governor general was book-ended by a series of appointments—[[Edward Schreyer]], [[Ray Hnatyshyn]], and [[Roméo LeBlanc]]—that have been generally regarded as mere [[patronage]] postings for former politicians and friends of the incumbent prime minister at the time,{{refn|LeBlanc's strong ties to the Liberal Party led other party leaders to protest his appointment by boycotting his installation ceremony.<ref name=CMNLeB />|group=n|name=LeBlanc}}<ref name=Boyce /><ref name=Pepall /> and despite the duties they carried out, their combined time in the viceregal office is generally viewed as unremarkable at best, and damaging to the office at worst.<ref name=Boyce /><ref name=Pepall /><ref name=Toffoli/><ref name=CMNLeB>{{cite journal|last=Fidelis| title=The LeBlanc Years: A Frank Assessment| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Autumn 1999| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=1999| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/leblanc.htm| access-date=2 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708032551/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/leblanc.htm | archive-date=8 July 2009 }}</ref><ref name=Martin>{{Cite news|last=Martin |first=Don |title=Jean is now least boring G-G ever |newspaper=National Post |date=28 May 2009 |url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=f1e51d92-758b-4d2a-a554-6572d09186b1 |access-date=25 February 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141023064959/http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=f1e51d92-758b-4d2a-a554-6572d09186b1 |archive-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> As David Smith described it: "Notwithstanding the personal qualities of the appointees, which have often been extraordinary, the Canadian governor general has become a hermetic head of state—ignored by press, politicians and public."<ref>{{Cite news| last=Jackson | first=D. Michael| year=1999| publication-date=2007| title=The Crown in Today's Federal State| periodical=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Autumn-Winter 2007| issue=27| page=12| place=Toronto-Buffalo-London| publication-place=Toronto| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/AutumnWinter_2007_CMN.pdf| access-date=26 July 2009| archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090708031338/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/AutumnWinter_2007_CMN.pdf | archive-date=8 July 2009}}</ref> It was theorized by Peter Boyce that this was due, in part, to widespread misunderstanding about the governor general's role coupled with a lack of public presence compared to the media coverage dedicated to the increasingly presidentialized prime minister.<ref name=Boyce />
[[File:Vladimir Putin in Canada 18-19 December 2000-7.jpg|thumb|left|Governor General [[Adrienne Clarkson]] (right) toasts [[President of Russia|Russian president]] [[Vladimir Putin]] in the ballroom of Rideau Hall, 18 December 2000]]

It was with the Queen's appointment of [[Adrienne Clarkson]], on the advice of then Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]], that a shift in the office took place. Clarkson was the first Canadian viceroy to have not previously held any political or military position—coming as she did from a background of television journalism with the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]—was the first since 1952 to have been born outside of Canada, the first from a [[visible minority]] (she is of Chinese ancestry), and, by her being accompanied to Rideau Hall by her husband, author and philosopher [[John Ralston Saul]], the official appointment brought an unofficial pair to the viceregal placement,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Janigan| first=Mary| author2=Nicol, John| title=Clarkson Appointed Governor General| journal=Maclean's| publisher=Kenneth Whyte| location=Toronto| date=20 September 1999| url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clarkson-appointed-governor-general | issn=0024-9262| access-date=2 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608173512/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012014 | archive-date=8 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Walker| first=William| title=PM names Clarkson| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=9 September 1999| url=http://www.fact.on.ca/newpaper/ts990909.htm| access-date=2 March 2009}}</ref> in that the governor general would not be the only person actively exploring Canadian theory and culture. Clarkson managed to bring the viceregal office back into the collective consciousness of Canadians, winning praise for touring the country more than any of her predecessors, her inspiring speeches, and her dedication to the military in her role as the commander-in-chief's representative.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Fraser| first=John| author-link=John Fraser (journalist)| title=Excellency| newspaper=National Post| date=1 February 2003| url=http://www.ccmms.ca/clarkson.asp| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706171832/http://www.ccmms.ca/clarkson.asp | archive-date=6 July 2011 }}</ref><ref name=CMNSP05>{{cite journal|last=Editorial| title=Our Governor General| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=6| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=2005| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=28 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Clarkson out of hospital after pacemaker surgery| publisher=CTV| date=11 July 2005| url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050711/clarkson_recovering_050710?s_name=tiff2006&no_ads=| archive-url=https://archive.today/20071120223345/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050711/clarkson_recovering_050710?s_name=tiff2006&no_ads=| archive-date=20 November 2007| access-date=1 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=Black| first=Dan| title=The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier| journal=Legion Magazine| volume=September 2000| publisher=Canvet Publications Ltd.| location=Kanata| date=1 September 2000| url=http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2000/09/the-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-date=29 January 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129135437/http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2000/09/the-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Graham| first=Bill| author-link=Bill Graham (Canadian politician)| date=9 December 2004| title=Debate Extracts: Commons Cuts the GG's Budget| periodical=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=9| location=Toronto| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Greenway| first=Norma| title=Jean puts imprint on swearing-in| publisher=CanWest News Service| date=27 September 2005| url=http://www2.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6ec41c75-a3c3-43be-a182-6b8cccd4e8ed| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603150041/http://www2.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6ec41c75-a3c3-43be-a182-6b8cccd4e8ed| archive-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> This did not come without a cost, however, as the attention also drew widespread criticism of the governor general's increased spending on state affairs, for which the office was symbolically rebuked by parliament when it voted in favour of cutting by 10% the viceregal budget it had earlier supported,<ref>{{cite book| last=McWhinney| first=Edward| author-link=Ted McWhinney| title=The Governor General and the Prime Ministers| publisher=Ronsdale Press| year=2005| location=Vancouver| page=46| isbn=1-55380-031-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=MacKay| first=Peter| author-link=Peter MacKay| date=9 December 2004| title=Debate Extracts: Commons Cuts the GG's Budget| periodical=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=9| location=Toronto| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref> as well as for fostering the notion, through various demonstrations, that the governor general was ultimately the Canadian head of state above the Queen herself,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Fidelis| title=A Very Alarming Situation: the New Threat to the Canadian Monarchy – What Next?| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=2| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=2005| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=28 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Editorial| title=Hope for the Monarchy in Canada: The Provincial Crown| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Spring 2005| issue=23| page=12| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| year=2005| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf| access-date=1 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf | archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name=FraserNP>{{citation| url=http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/28/john-fraser-when-quebecers-loved-the-crown-and-why-they-stopped/| archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120429232227/http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/28/john-fraser-when-quebecers-loved-the-crown-and-why-they-stopped/| archive-date=29 April 2012| last=Fraser| first=John| title=John Fraser: When Quebecers loved the Crown (and why they stopped)| date=28 April 2012| newspaper=National Post| access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref> an approach that was said by [[Jack Granatstein]] to have caused "a fury" with the Queen on one occasion in 2004.<ref>{{Citation| last=Galloway| first=Gloria| title=Jean to squeeze in trip to China between royal tour hello and goodbye| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=7 June 2010| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/jean-to-squeeze-in-trip-to-china-between-royal-tour-hello-and-goodbye/article1595538/| access-date=7 June 2010| location=Toronto}}</ref> This attitude was not unique to Clarkson, though; it had been observed that, for some decades, staff at Rideau Hall and various government departments in Ottawa had been pushing to present the governor general as head of state,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boswell |first=Randy |title=Governor General calling herself 'head of state' riles monarchists |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=7 October 2009 |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/Governor+General+calling+herself+head+state+riles+monarchists/2077884/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010185406/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Governor%2BGeneral%2Bcalling%2Bherself%2Bhead%2Bstate%2Briles%2Bmonarchists/2077884/story.html |archive-date=10 October 2009 |access-date=7 October 2009}}</ref> part of a wider Liberal policy on the monarchy that had been in effect at least since the proposed constitutional changes in the 1970s,<ref name=Pepall /> if not the [[History of monarchy in Canada#Turbulent decades|1964 Truncheon Saturday riot]] in Quebec City.<ref name=FraserNP /> Indeed, international observers opined that the viceroys had been, over the years, making deliberate attempts to distance themselves from the sovereign, for fear of being too closely associated with any "Britishness" the monarch embodied.<ref name=Boyce />
[[File:Barack Obama & Michaëlle Jean 2-19-09.jpg|thumb|right|As the representative of Canada's head of state, the governor general, [[Michaëlle Jean]], welcomes [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Barack Obama]] to Canada, 19 February 2009]]

Prime Minister [[Paul Martin]] followed Chrétien's example and, for Clarkson's successor, put forward to the Queen the name of [[Michaëlle Jean]], who was, like Clarkson, a woman, a refugee, a member of a visible minority, a CBC career journalist, and married to an intellectual husband who worked in the arts.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ibbitson| first=John| author-link=John Ibbitson| title=The remarkable new Governor-General| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=28 September 2005| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050928.wxibbitson28/BNStory/International/| access-date=7 June 2009| location=Toronto| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116020333/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050928.wxibbitson28/BNStory/International/ | archive-date=16 January 2009 }}</ref> Her appointment initially sparked accusations that she was a supporter of Quebec sovereignty, and it was observed that she had on a few occasions trodden into political matters,<ref>{{cite press release| title=Governor General proposes two new options to recognize Constable Garrett| publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada| date=27 November 2007| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=8| access-date=12 December 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Hébert| first=Chantal| author-link=Chantal Hébert| title=Will Jean thwart election call?| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=27 September 2006| url=https://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159307412136&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929165425/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159307412136&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795| archive-date=29 September 2007| access-date=28 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Valpy| first=Michael| author-link=Michael Valpy| title='Your biggest problem is Rideau Hall', top bureaucrat warned Harper| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=24 April 2007| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070424.JEAN24/TPStory/National| access-date=1 May 2007| location=Toronto}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> as well as continuing to foster the notion that the governor general had replaced the Queen as head of state, thereby "unbalancing&nbsp;... the federalist symmetry".<ref>{{Cite news| last=Gardner| first=Dan| title=Governor General to Dan Gardner: you're right| newspaper=Ottawa Citizen| date=13 February 2009| url=http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/katzenjammer/archive/2009/02/14/governor-general-to-dan-gardner-you-re-right.aspx| access-date=26 July 2009| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707180847/http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/katzenjammer/archive/2009/02/14/governor-general-to-dan-gardner-you-re-right.aspx| archive-date=7 July 2012}}</ref> But Jean ultimately won plaudits,<ref name=Martin/> particularly for her solidarity with the Canadian Forces and the [[indigenous peoples in Canada]], as well as her role in the [[2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute|parliamentary dispute that took place between December 2008 and January 2009]].<ref>{{Cite news| last=Taylor| first=Nathan| title=Stanton defends Harper| newspaper=Packet & Times| date=6 December 2008| url=http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1333605| access-date=8 December 2008| archive-date=30 December 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230031441/http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1333605| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Dreschel| first=Andrew| title=Jean was right to stave off Bloc coalition| newspaper=Hamilton Spectator| date=5 December 2008| url=http://thespec.com/Opinions/article/477213| access-date=8 December 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207024324/http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/477213| archive-date=7 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Wente| first=Margaret| author-link=Margaret Wente| title=That was the weird week that was| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=5 December 2008| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081205.wcowent06/BNStory/politics/home| access-date=8 December 2008| location=Toronto| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207054042/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081205.wcowent06/BNStory/politics/home | archive-date=7 December 2008 }}</ref>

With the appointment of academic [[David Johnston (governor general)|David Johnston]], former principal of [[McGill University]] and subsequently president of the [[University of Waterloo]], there was a signalled emphasis for the governor general to vigorously promote learning and innovation. Johnston stated in his inaugural address: "[We want to be] a society that innovates, embraces its talent and uses the knowledge of each of its citizens to improve the human condition for all."<ref>{{Cite news|title=GG David Johnston sworn in| publisher=CBC| date=1 October 2010| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gov-gen-david-johnston-sworn-in-1.919944| access-date=3 November 2010|url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004001823/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/01/governor-general-david-johnston-ceremony.html | archive-date=4 October 2010 }}</ref> There was also a recognition of Johnston's expertise in [[constitutional law]], following the controversial [[Prorogation in Canada|prorogations of Parliament]] in 2008 and 2009, which initiated some debate about the governor general's role as the representative of Canada's head of state.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Johnston named Canada's next governor general| publisher=CBC| date=8 July 2010| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/johnston-named-canada-s-next-governor-general-1.933359| access-date=3 November 2010|url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711061632/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/08/governor-general-johnston.html | archive-date=11 July 2010 }}</ref>

In late 2021, the Governor General's office confirmed that its internal office network was breached as part of a "sophisticated cyber incident".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Canada |first1=Governor General of |title=Statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General |url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/statement-from-the-office-of-the-secretary-to-the-governor-general-842086407.html |access-date=24 March 2023 |work=www.newswire.ca |language=en}}</ref><ref name="CityNewsSecBreach">{{cite news |title=Cyber security breach at Rideau Hall confirmed by governor general |url=https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/12/02/cyber-security-breach-rideau-hall/ |access-date=24 March 2023 |work=City News Vancouver}}</ref><ref name="TorStarSecBreach">{{cite news |title=Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's office says its internal network was hacked |url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2021/12/02/gov-gen-mary-simons-office-says-its-internal-network-was-hacked.html |work=thestar.com |date=2 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="CBCSecBreach">{{cite news |title=Cyberbreach at Rideau Hall was 'sophisticated' intrusion, internal documents reveal |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/privacy-breach-rideau-hall-sophisticated-1.6422070 |access-date=24 March 2023}}</ref> Officials were unable to determine the extent of the information that was accessed.<ref name = "CBCSecBreach"/> Former security officials speculated that another country may be responsible.<ref name="CityNewsSecBreach"/><ref name="TorStarSecBreach"/> The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, a branch of the [[Communications Security Establishment]], is investigating the incident.<ref name = "CBCSecBreach"/>