Who is Julie Payette?
Julie Payette is the governor general of Canada, and was appointed to the role in 2017. Whoa! Back up: ‘what the heck is a governor general of Canada?’
Well in Canada, the head of state is actually the Queen of Canada, currently her Majesty Elizabeth II.
Now, technically the Canadian Monarch and the British Monarch don’t have to be the same person (Queen of Canada is legally distinct from Queen of England), but up until now that’s been the case. The Head of State, Queen Elizabeth, is represented in Canada by a governor general at the federal level, and lieutenant governors at the provincial level.The governor general is appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the Canadian prime minister, and carries out most of the Queen’s constitutional and ceremonial duties. Fun fact: the governor general is actually the Commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces (In America, the president has that title).
Okay, so back to our 29th and current governor general. Julie Payette is one of those individuals whose resume seems endless.
The 54 year old was born in Montreal, and holds a Bachelor’s of Engineering from McGill & a Master’s of Applied Science from U of T. She served as Chief Astronaut of the Canadian Space Agency & operated the famous Canadarm on one of her missions to outer space. She’s been the CEO of the Montreal Science Centre, Vice-President of Canada Lands Company, has served on a whole host of boards of directors, and was recently appointed to the International Olympic Committee’s Women in Sports Commission.
Mme Payette speaks six languages — English, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian & her native French. She plays the piano, she has sung with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra & likes to play to racquet sports and do scuba diving. Oh, did I mention she also has a commercial pilot’s licence?
Phew…what a life! Now there’s an interesting tradition that has developed over the years of alternating between francophone & anglophone governors general. The last GG was David Johnston (an anglophone), before that it was Michaëlle Jean (now head of La Francophonie), before that Adrienne Clarkson….you get the picture.
Julie Payette’s term in office will likely last 5 years, so a new governor general will be selected in 2022. Her main official residence is Rideau Hall in Ottawa, but she also has an official residence called La Citadelle in Quebec City
The governor general’s current salary is just under $300,000.
Mme Payette’s official title is Her Excellency The Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada. Finally, Julie Payette is only the 4th woman to serve in this role.
Now you know who Julie Payette is.
Any thoughts or questions about Julie Payette? Leave me a comment! Be sure to share this article with your friends and family.
Sources:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/julie-payette/
