Ottawa says Louise Arbour to be installed as governor general on June 8

Louise Arbour speaks after being named the next governor general during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — Louise Arbour will be sworn in as Canada’s next governor general on June 8, the Canadian Heritage Department confirmed.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Tuesday the retired Supreme Court justice will replace Mary Simon, who became Canada’s first Indigenous viceregal in 2021.

Arbour, an accomplished former jurist, is fluently bilingual, and has also previously served as UN human rights commissioner and chief prosecutor at The Hague.

Arbour, 79, was chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and made history when she became the first to indict a sitting head of state, president Slobodan Milosevic, for crimes against humanity.

The Montreal native also secured the first conviction for genocide since the establishment of the 1948 Genocide Convention, for the case against a former Rwandan mayor.

She also was first to prosecute sexual assaults as crimes against humanity.

King Charles approved Arbour’s appointment, which is the first since he took the throne in 2022.

The governor general is the King’s representative in Canada, a constitutional role that includes serving as commander-in-chief while representing Canada at home and abroad.

Her official duties include swearing cabinet ministers into office, proroguing and dissolving Parliament, making appointments on the prime minister’s advice, and granting Royal Assent to turn bills into law.

The swearing-in ceremony typically includes an address from the new governor general highlighting the themes she will prioritize during her mandate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press