Carney names Arbour Canada's next governor general

OTTAWA Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday that former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour, 79, will serve as Canada's next governor general, succeeding Mary Simon, who has held the position since July 2021. Arbour is scheduled to be sworn in during a ceremony in early June.

Carney made the announcement at the National Gallery of Canada, praising Arbour's distinguished legal career and her commitment to public institutions. "Her work matters in and of itself. It also tells us something about what Louise Arbour will bring to Rideau Hall: the conviction that institutions are the load-bearing walls of a civil society," Carney said.

Born in Montreal, Arbour earned her law degree from the University of Montreal in 1970. She was called to the bar in Quebec in 1971 and Ontario in 1977, then taught at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School until 1987. That year, she joined the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, advancing to the Court of Appeal in 1990. In 1995, she led a public inquiry into conditions at the Kingston Prison for Women, which uncovered inhumane treatment and prompted policy changes.

Arbour gained international recognition from 1996 to 1999 as chief prosecutor...