Editing Adrienne Clarkson (section)

==Governor General of Canada==
Clarkson was the first visible minority and [[refugee]] to be appointed [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]], and the second woman (after [[Jeanne Sauvé]]), the first [[Chinese Canadian]], and the first without a military or political background. She was also the second person to have been appointed to the [[Order of Canada]] prior to nomination as governor general-designate, after [[Jules Léger]]. Clarkson brought with her a new approach to the governor generalcy, and dedicated much of her self-imposed mandate to drawing national attention to [[Northern Canada]].

===As governor general-designate===
It was on September 8, 1999, announced from the [[Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)|Office of the Prime Minister of Canada]] that [[Monarchy of Canada|Queen]] [[Elizabeth II]] had approved [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Jean Chrétien]]'s choice of Clarkson to succeed [[Roméo LeBlanc]] as the Queen's representative.<ref>{{cite press release| title=Appointment of New Governor General| publisher=Office of the Prime Minister| date=September 8, 1999| url=http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/prime_minister-ef/jean_chretien/2003-12-08/stagingpm_3a8080/default.asp@language=e&page=newsroom&sub=newsreleases&doc=news_re199909081053_e.htm| access-date=February 27, 2009}}</ref><ref name=CMNInstall>{{cite journal|title=Clarkson Installed as Governor General| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| location=Toronto| volume=Autumn 1999| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/installed.htm| access-date=March 2, 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708023432/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/installed.htm| archive-date=July 8, 2009 }}</ref> 
The commission appointing Clarkson was issued on September 28 under the [[royal sign-manual]] and [[Great Seal of Canada]].<ref>{{Citation| title=Proclamation |date=October 7, 1999|url=http://publications.gc.ca/gazette/archives/p1/1999/1999-10-07-x/pdf/g1-133x3.pdf| periodical=Canada Gazette| volume=133| issue=3| location=Ottawa| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> At the time of the announcement of her appointment, it was revealed that, with Clarkson being accompanied to [[Rideau Hall]] by her longtime partner, [[John Ralston Saul]], the official appointment would be bringing an unofficial pair to the viceregal post,<ref name=Janigan /><ref name=Star /> in that the governor general would not be the only person actively exploring Canadian theory and culture.

===In office===
[[File:Unknown Soldier.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]], in the creation of which Clarkson assisted, and which she dedicated in May 2000]]

====Bond with the military====
On October 8, 1999, Clarkson was sworn in as the 26th Governor General of Canada, and was soon actively participating in her role, becoming immediately instrumental in the final stages of the repatriation of [[Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier#Unknown soldier|Canada's unknown soldier]] from [[France]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Unknown Soldier laid to rest at shrine to veterans| publisher=CBC| date=November 10, 2000| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/unknown-soldier-laid-to-rest-at-shrine-to-veterans-1.245167| access-date=March 17, 2021}}</ref> Her eulogy read at [[Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier|the tomb]]'s dedication ceremony on May 28, 2000, was described by the [[Royal Canadian Legion]] as "powerful",<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=September 1, 2000| url=http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2000/09/the-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/| access-date=March 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090129135437/http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2000/09/the-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/| archive-date= January 29, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> and led journalist [[John Fraser (journalist)|John Fraser]] to state: "You have to go back pretty far to find anyone who stirred national emotions the way Clarkson did with her magnificent speech..."<ref name=Fraser>{{Cite news|last=Fraser| first=John| author-link=John Fraser (journalist)| title=Excellency| newspaper=National Post| date=February 1, 2003| url=http://www.ccmms.ca/clarkson.asp| access-date=March 1, 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706171832/http://www.ccmms.ca/clarkson.asp| archive-date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref> In the same vein, after a decade of inaction on the part of the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]], Clarkson moved to have [[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry]] honoured with the Commander-in-Chief's Unit Commendation, on behalf of the Queen,<ref name=Fraser /> beginning a long relationship between Clarkson and the regiment.

Following the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks United States on September 11, 2001]], Clarkson praised [[Operation Yellow Ribbon]], saying "communities across the country selflessly opened their homes and hearts to stranded air travellers", and, on September 14, 2001, presided over a memorial service on [[Parliament Hill]] for the victims of the attacks, which was attended by over 100,000 people—the largest single [[vigil]] ever seen in Canada's capital.<ref>{{cite episode| title=Interview With Pervez Musharraf; Interview With Paul Martin; Interview With Kweisi Mfume| url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/05/le.01.html| series=CNN Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer| series-link=Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer| airdate=December 5, 2004| season=11}}</ref> On her cabinet's advice, Clarkson subsequently dispatched [[Canadian Forces Land Force Command|Canadian soldiers]] to assist in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|invasion of Afghanistan]], and, in her role of representing the Queen as [[Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces|commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces]], visited in 2002 the Canadian troops serving in the Afghan [[Theater (warfare)|theatre]]. This trip, plus similar ones she undertook during her tenure—such as those to [[Kosovo]] to meet with Canadian troops, to the [[Persian Gulf]] to spend [[Christmas]] with members of the Armed Forces on a [[Canadians|Canadian]] destroyer, and again to Afghanistan to spend New Year's with Canadian soldiers—won her acclaim for being the first governor general since at least 1945 to take seriously the duties associated with the commander-in-chief title,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Graham |first=Bill |date=December 9, 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=March 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which was credited for helping to boost pride in the Canadian Forces.

====More robust viceregal office====
Clarkson took a proactive role in increasing the stature of the Canadian viceregal office, travelling widely, hosting lavish state events, and hosting conferences and forums. However, criticism soon ensued over the way her office was spending Crown funds, as, during her tenure, expenditures at Rideau Hall increased 200%; the budget for 2003 was estimated at [[Canadian dollar|CAD]]$41 million. Part of this increase was due to accounting reasons; some costs that had previously been worked into the budgets of ministries were transferred to the governor general's office. But, the event that the media mostly focused on was Clarkson's 2003, 19-day circumpolar "northern identity" tour, which included [[state visit]]s to [[Russia]], [[Finland]], and [[Iceland]], and the attendance of 50 other Canadians prominent in the fields of arts, culture, and science. In an atmosphere tainted by several spending scandals in the government, the trip's estimated CAD$1 million cost was attacked as a waste of money.<ref name=CTVGG>{{cite news| title=Gov. Gen. Clarkson defends her spending| publisher=CTV| date=September 24, 2003| url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1064020579291_112/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031222040327/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1064020579291_112/| url-status=dead| archive-date=December 22, 2003| access-date=February 28, 2009}}</ref> All together, this resulted in some politicians calling for the role of the governor general to be reduced or even for the position to be eliminated, and a poll taken late in 2003 found a majority of respondents thought Clarkson was "too grand" for the office. In an unprecedented move for a vicereine, Clarkson, and not her ministers, personally addressed the controversy, explaining that she had been asked to undertake the state visits by her prime minister.<ref name=CTVGG /> Still, though the Office of the Governor General defended the tour as successful, particularly with regard to the warm reception Clarkson received in Russia and during her meeting with [[President of Russia|Russian president]] [[Vladimir Putin]], and it was the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada)|Department of Foreign Affairs]] that commissioned and paid for the trip with funds approved by [[Parliament of Canada|parliament]]. When the end cost for the trips came in at CAD$5 million, a scheduled continuation of the tour that would have included visits to [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]], [[Norway]], and [[Greenland]] was scrapped by the federal government in early 2004.<ref>{{Cite news|last=MacKay |first=Peter |author-link=Peter MacKay |date=December 9, 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=March 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[John Allen Fraser|John Fraser]] later stated Prime Minister [[Paul Martin]] left Clarkson to defend herself because he "clearly didn't like her very much" and "even if it was Madam Clarkson's (and John Ralston Saul's) own imaginative idea, it had been officially supported by the government, and no appointed high official should ever be abandoned like that. Not only should she have been defended publicly, we were made to look foolish in the eyes of the countries who had to be informed that the trip to such great allies as Sweden, Norway and Denmark (plus its province of Greenland) was called off".<ref name=FraserNP>{{citation| url=http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/29/john-fraser-a-national-regent-with-a-vision/| last=Fraser| first=John| title=A national regent with a vision| date=April 29, 2012| newspaper=National Post| access-date=April 29, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120429232202/http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/29/john-fraser-a-national-regent-with-a-vision/| archive-date=April 29, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Vladimir Putin in Canada 18-19 December 2000-1.jpg|thumb|left|Clarkson and [[John Ralston Saul]] (at right) greet the [[President of Russia]] [[Vladimir Putin]] and his wife, [[Lyudmila Putina]], at [[Rideau Hall]], December 18, 2000]]

From that time on, Clarkson and her office faced intense scrutiny. By November 2004, it was announced that Clarkson's budget would be cut by ten percent, despite the fact that parliament itself had approved her budget each year. Then, in March 2005, she again faced questions about spending after it was reported that she had been advised by Martin to make official visits to [[Spain]], the [[Netherlands]], and Russia in order to attend the [[state funeral]] of the victims of the [[2004 Madrid train bombings|Madrid terrorist bombings]], the 60th anniversary of the [[Liberation Day (The Netherlands)|liberation of the Netherlands]], and participate in [[Victory in Europe Day]] celebrations in [[Moscow]], respectively.<ref>{{cite press release| title=Prime Minister cancels trip to Netherlands and Moscow| publisher=Office of the Prime Minister| date=April 25, 2005| url=http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/prime_minister-ef/paul_martin/06-02-03/www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news.asp@id=469| access-date=February 28, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Governor General's itinerary in the Netherlands |publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada |date=April 29, 2005 |url=http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4432 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081207164808/http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4432 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 7, 2008 |access-date=February 28, 2009 }}</ref> Clarkson waited until less than two weeks after the end of her time serving as governor general before she publicly criticised Jean Chrétien and the Cabinet under his chairmanship for not defending the viceregal office, and reaffirmed that she had been asked by the Department of Foreign Affairs to take each of her state trips in the first place.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former GG Clarkson criticizes federal government |publisher=CTV |date=October 10, 2005 |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051009/clarkson_interview_051009/20051010?hub=Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314020443/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051009/clarkson_interview_051009/20051010?hub=Canada |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 14, 2007 |access-date=February 28, 2009 }}</ref>

At the same time, Clarkson's unorthodox mode of exercising the Office of the Governor General led to negative critiques of how she carried out a number of ceremonial duties. In June 2004, the Governor General and her office were targeted by [[Monarchism in Canada|Canadian monarchists]], who noted that, prior to the ceremony to recognize Canada's involvement at [[Juno Beach]] in the [[D-Day (military term)|D-Day landings]] of 1944, Government House claimed that Clarkson would be attending as Canada's [[head of state]] and, at the event, the Queen, who also attended the ceremony, was relegated to third place in precedence behind Clarkson and Saul.<ref name=CMNDday>{{Cite news |last=Fidelis |title=Canadian Confusion on Juno Beach |periodical=Canadian Monarchist News |date=Summer 2004 |issue=22 |page=2 |url=http://www.monarchist.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2004/8/135.pdf |access-date=August 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114134201/http://www.monarchist.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2004/8/135.pdf |archive-date=November 14, 2013}}</ref> [[Jack Granatstein]] alleged that this arrangement had displeased the Queen and "there was fury."<ref>{{Cite news| last=Galloway| first=Gloria| title=Jean to squeeze in trip to China between royal tour hello and goodbye| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=June 7, 2010| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/jean-to-squeeze-in-trip-to-china-between-royal-tour-hello-and-goodbye/article1595538/| access-date=June 7, 2010}}</ref> Government House later retracted its head of state statement, saying that it was the error of a junior official, but why the protocol was altered was never explained.<ref>{{Harvnb| Fidelis| 2004| p=3}}</ref> At [[Remembrance Day#Canada|Remembrance Day]] ceremonies, the Governor General also caused a stir when she eschewed the tradition of placing the first wreath at the [[cenotaph]] in favour of doing so simultaneously with her husband; a practice that was discontinued by Clarkson's viceregal successor. Then, during a visit to [[Vancouver]] in September of the same year, Clarkson was booed and hissed at by a small but vocal group of protesters. She was on a goodwill tour of a poor area of the city; however, the protesters argued that her visit was nothing more than a publicity stunt to try to gain some of her lost popular support to get her time in office extended.

In January 2005, disappointment was further expressed over Clarkson's failure to attend a memorial service for [[Alberta]]'s late [[Lieutenant Governor of Alberta|lieutenant governor]], [[Lois Hole]].<ref name=CMNed /><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=February 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Rideau Hall issued a statement saying the Governor General was, at the time, abroad representing Canada at the inauguration of the [[President of Ukraine]], [[Viktor Yushchenko|Victor Yushchenko]]. However, the inauguration was postponed, and it was felt that Clarkson could have returned to Canada for the service. When it was later reported by the ''[[Toronto Sun]]'' and ''The Globe and Mail'' that Clarkson would wait in Paris, France, for the rescheduled presidential investiture, more outrage was expressed in the press, which was only compounded when Rideau Hall informed the public that the Governor General would also attend a "long-standing engagement" with the Queen at [[Sandringham House]], contradicting reports that [[Buckingham Palace]] had said the dinner was actually booked at the last minute. In response, some monarchists began lobbying Clarkson to resign, had she willingly used the Queen for publicity and damage control purposes.

====Extended tenure====
Regardless of the controversies, Clarkson was asked, and agreed, to remain in the Queen's service for an additional year beyond the traditional, but not official, five-year period. Though the decision was met with mixed feelings from across the country,<ref>{{Cite news| last=Fagan| first=Drew| title=Clarkson gets an extra year| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=September 30, 2004| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040930.wxclarkson29/BNStory/National/| access-date=March 1, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202161404/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040930.wxclarkson29/BNStory/National/| archive-date=February 2, 2009| url-status=dead}}</ref> Prime Minister Martin had advised the Queen to retain Clarkson as her vicereine in order to provide stability while the country faced potential constitutional difficulties arising from a [[minority government]]; there had been speculation at the end of 2004 over whether or not Clarkson would have to become directly involved in politics should the Cabinet led by Paul Martin lose the [[Confidence (politics)|confidence]] of the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]], leaving the Governor General to decide whether or not to ask the leader of [[Official Opposition (Canada)|Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition]], then [[Stephen Harper]], to form a government, or to call a general election. Ultimately, circumstances played out so that Clarkson's personal involvement was rendered unnecessary.<ref name=CTVClark />

Soon after, however, on July 8, 2005, Clarkson was admitted to hospital in [[Toronto]] in order to have a [[artificial pacemaker|pacemaker]] implanted. She recovered quickly,<ref name=CTVClark /> and returned to her viceregal duties in the same month. To coincide with that year's 50th anniversary of the appointment of the first Canadian-born governor general, Clarkson moved Order of Canada investitures from their typical location in Rideau Hall to various places around the country.<ref name=Fraser /> Also, on July 23, 2005, Clarkson was inducted as an honorary member of the [[Kainai|Kainai Chieftainship]], during a traditional ceremony held at Red Crow Park, near Standoff, [[Alberta]], after which she was adopted into the Blood Tribe with the name ''Grandmother of Many Nations''; this made Clarkson the first governor general since [[Edward Schreyer]] in 1984 to be made an honorary chief, and only the third woman to be inducted since the creation of the chieftainship. Then, on September 15, 2005, Clarkson announced the creation of the [[Governor General's Northern Medal]], to be awarded annually to a citizen whose actions and achievements had contributed to the evolution and constant reaffirmation of the Canadian North as part of the national identity.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Governor General announces the creation of the Governor General's Northern Medal |publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada |date=September 15, 2005 |url=http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4556 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081207164826/http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4556 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 7, 2008 |access-date=March 1, 2009 }}</ref>

During her last days in office, Clarkson's popularity with the Armed Forces was expressed in a large farewell ceremony mounted by the military; the first ever such send-off for a governor general. Similarly, on the morning of September 26, 2005, Clarkson attended a celebration on Parliament Hill in which [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] thanked her for her work and presented her with the [[Flag of the Governor General of Canada|viceregal flag]] that flew atop the [[Peace Tower]] when Clarkson was present in parliament.<ref name=CWNS>{{cite news| last=Greenway| first=Norma| title=Jean puts imprint on swearing-in |publisher=CanWest News Service| date=September 27, 2005| url=http://www2.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6ec41c75-a3c3-43be-a182-6b8cccd4e8ed| access-date=March 1, 2009| url-status=dead| 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=June 3, 2012}}</ref> Then, following tradition, Clarkson and Saul planted on Rideau Hall's grounds, two ceremonial trees ([[Quercus bicolor|swamp white oaks]]) to mark the end of the former's time in office,<ref>{{cite press release |title=Governor General Clarkson and John Ralston Saul to participate in tree planting ceremony to commemorate the end of their mandate |publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada |date=September 23, 2005 |url=http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4567 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081207164832/http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4567 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 7, 2008 |access-date=March 1, 2009 }}</ref> and the next day, Clarkson's time as vicereine ended when her successor, [[Michaëlle Jean]], was sworn in as Governor General of Canada. However, Clarkson caused yet another controversy when she decided, with Jean's consent, to attend Jean's investiture, marking the first time in more than a century that a governor general had attended the swearing-in of his or her successor.<ref name=CWNS />

===Legacy===
Clarkson was seen as having brought new life to the post of governor general, receiving praise through her first years in office for being a more modern governor general who brought increased public attention to the position;<ref name=Fraser /><ref name=CMNed>{{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=February 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=CTVClark>{{cite news| title=Clarkson out of hospital after pacemaker surgery| publisher=CTV| date=July 11, 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=| url-status=dead| archive-date=November 20, 2007| access-date=March 1, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Nersessian| first=Mary| title=Adrienne Clarkson's legacy as Governor General| publisher=CTV| date=September 27, 2005| url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1126648772299_7| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050914141545/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1126648772299_7| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 14, 2005| access-date=January 25, 2010}}</ref><ref name=Wilcox>{{Citation |last=Wilcox |first=Jack |title=The commander-in-chief's first duty is remembrance |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=November 5, 2010 |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/commander+chief+first+duty+remembrance/3780661/story.html |access-date=November 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109143052/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/commander%2Bchief%2Bfirst%2Bduty%2Bremembrance/3780661/story.html |archive-date=November 9, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Michaëlle Jean recognised Clarkson as having "infused the office with a new energy", for "promot[ing] artists and their achievements from across Canada", and for her "close work with aboriginal communities". Clarkson was further praised for her devotion to the armed forces and remembrance,<ref name=Wilcox /> and was credited for breathing new life into the Canadian monarchy as a whole; [[Ken Wiwa|Mailo' Ken Wiwa]] stated in ''The Globe and Mail'': "that Adrienne Clarkson, once a refugee, represents the Queen here in Canada is, for me, the singular most important reason for believing that the monarchy is relevant to Canada's emerging identity. Her role may only be ceremonial and symbolic, but as the enduring quality of the Royal Family attests, you can never underestimate the power of myth. Even{{mdash}} or rather, especially{{mdash}} in this iconoclastic age."<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Wiwa| first=Mailo' Ken| journal=The Globe and Mail| year=2002| title=The House of Wiwa salutes the House of Windsor|  publication-date=October 12, 2002| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-house-of-wiwa-salutes-the-house-of-windsor/article757124/| access-date=March 17, 2021}}</ref> Clarkson and her husband also travelled across Canada and met more Canadians than any other governor general in Canadian history and, unlike many other state figures, Clarkson also wrote most of her own speeches, which were noted for being simultaneously intellectual and approachable.<ref name=Fraser /> Clarkson's tenure was also notable for her patronage of all the arts{{mdash}} making such efforts as ensuring the governor general's study at Rideau Hall had copies of every book that had won the [[Governor General's Award]]s for literature{{mdash}} and for sports, as demonstrated in her creation on September 14, 2005, of the [[Clarkson Cup]] for women's [[ice hockey|hockey]] in Canada. John Fraser in 2012 stated of Clarkson: "[N]o one, in the whole history of Rideau Hall, ever evoked the country quite as effectively".<ref name=FraserNP />

Other summaries of Clarkson's time as governor general, however, found that the increased travel abroad attracted negative attention to the viceregal post over costs and caused conflict between domestic duties and foreign obligations. Also, it was observed that Clarkson had succumbed too easily to the desires of her advisors{{mdash}} both in the prime minister's and [[Privy Council Office (Canada)|Privy Council office]]s, as well as amongst the staff of Government House{{mdash}} to turn the viceregal post into something it was not: Canada's head of state. Clarkson had expressed admiration for the Queen, was said to understand "the lustre the Crown affords," and to have "shudder[ed] a little in sympathy with members of the Royal Family at the degree of intrusion into their lives they must bear."<ref name=Fraser /> But the systematic downplaying of the monarch led to confusion over who was head of state and there was a sense that,<ref name=CMNed /> by taking this view, Clarkson and her office were overturning the long-standing theory that all the viceroys and their respective jurisdictions are equal under a sovereign who reigns consistently over the whole country.<ref>{{cite book| last=Jackson| first=Michael| title=The Canadian Monarchy in Saskatchewan| publisher=Provincial Secretary of Saskatchewan| year=1990| location=Regina| page=12| id=ASIN B0006EY308}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=McKinnon| first=Frank| title=The Crown in Canada| publisher=Glenbow-Alberta Institute| year=1976| location=Calgary| isbn=978-0-7712-1016-7| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/crownincanada0000mack}}</ref> When Clarkson attended a provincial occasion, her protocol officers insisted that she take precedence over the pertinent lieutenant governor and denied knowledge of the established order in which the lieutenant governor, as a direct representative of the Queen in a province, takes precedence at a provincial function over all other attendees, save for the monarch. These situations would result in "precedence battles", in which the provincial authorities would frequently acquiesce to pressure and ultimatums from Rideau Hall.<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=March 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226172807/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2005/Spring_2005_CMN.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Clarkson also took the place of the monarch in presenting to the next vicereine the Chancellor's insignia of the [[Order of Canada]], thereby breaking the order's "first and oldest tradition"; a move Canada's expert on honours, Christopher McCreery, called "a rather bizarre turn of events".<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 2006 |last=Jackson |first=Michael D. |title=Honours of the Crown |periodical=Canadian Monarchist News |issue=26; Summer 2007 |page=12 |url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/Summer_2007_CMN.pdf |access-date=July 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708040312/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/Summer_2007_CMN.pdf |archive-date=July 8, 2009}}</ref> The [[Monarchist League of Canada]] even reported that a member of parliament had telephoned to ask if they had ever before heard of the eruption of booing at the mention of the governor general's name, as had apparently happened in the MP's riding when Clarkson was spoken about.<ref name=CMNed />