The Latest: Louise Arbour installed as Canada’s 31st Governor General

OTTAWA – Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour has been installed as Canada’s 31st Governor General, replacing Mary Simon.

Today’s ceremony included a 21-gun salute, a poetry reading and musical performances by two Canadian artists.

Here’s the latest on a historic day in Ottawa. All times are Eastern:

12:20 p.m.

Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour arrives at Rideau Hall, which will be her new home. She is greeted by a military ceremonial guard and band, who played the Viceregal Salute — which she will become very used to, as it is played officially in her presence at most public events.

Arbour put her sunglasses back on and inspected the guard before greeting some of the staff and others gathered to witness her arrival.

Upon spotting one gentleman in the crowd, she broke out into a big smile, took off her sunglasses, and greeted him with both hands extended.

11:55 a.m.

Arbour inspects the guard before walking up a red carpet to lay a bouquet of white flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Her grandsons follow with smaller bouquets.

She then stops and shakes hands with Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney before getting into a car to leave for Rideau Hall. 

11:30 a.m.

Louise Arbour goes to the Speaker’s chambers, where she signs the proclamation marking her ascension.

The Governor General then walks up Wellington Street, which has been closed to traffic, alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney, his spouse Diana Fox Carney and two of her grandsons. The group makes its way to the National War Memorial. Arbour stops and shakes hands with some of the people who have lined up behind a fence that has been set up.

Another 21-gun salute is fired.

11:20 a.m. 

Soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee performs the national anthem as the ceremony concludes and Arbour walks out, smiling.

10:55 a.m. 

Arbour begins her speech, seated in the throne in the Senate, reading from the printed document inside a brown portfolio. 

She thanks now former governor general Mary Simon for her “remarkable service” and the audience gives Simon a standing ovation. Simon, clearly touched, smiles softly and at one point puts her hand over her heart in gratitude.

Arbour tells the audience both extreme polarization and consensus are dangerous and a better Canada can only be built through the “peaceful management” of our differences.

She says our ability to coexist peacefully, despite our differences, is critical to maintaining a lawful, rules-based society.

Arbour also cautions against overreliance on artificial intelligence.

In a nod to astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who is in attendance and wearing his blue flight jacket, Arbour says humanity has always sought to go further and aim higher. The line draws applause from the audience and Hansen smiles in appreciation.

10:55 a.m.

Prime Minister Carney wraps up his speech.

“The Governor General is the guardian of our constitutional order, a symbol of unity, and above all, a steward of our commitment to peace, order, and good government,” Carney says, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.

“Canadians entrust the Governor General to defend our institutions. To uphold our core values of liberty, fairness, solidarity and sustainability. To represent our ambition to build a stronger, fairer country for all.

“These duties call for sound judgment, deep learning and an unwavering commitment to the rule of law. The very principles upon which our new Governor General, Her Excellency Louise Arbour, has built her exceptional career.

“At every stage of her distinguished career, Her Excellency Louise Arbour has defended and promoted justice, dignity and equality. In The Hague, where her work held the most powerful to account. At the United Nations, where she defended the most vulnerable. In Canada, where across academia, our highest courts and public service, she upheld justice for all.”

10:45 a.m. 

Prime Minister Carney delivers a speech as part of the installation ceremony.

He is outlining the history of the current Senate building, which is Ottawa’s former railway station. The Senate is being housed there temporarily while renovations are underway on Centre Block.

Carney says Canadian soldiers left from that building to go fight in the First World War, and it’s where Winston Churchill arrived to rally Allied support in 1941.

It is also where Canada’s first ministers gathered for the negotiations that led to the repatriation of the Constitution and the establishment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

10:35 a.m.

Parliamentary Poet Laureate Chimwemwe Undi reads a poem she wrote for the occasion. A small ripple goes through the crowd when it is announced the poem will also be read by a student from Louise Arbour Elementary School in Ottawa.

Arbour is then presented with the four collars of office, each presented on a purple cushion.

Tyler Shaw then performs Raffi’s song Like Me and You.

10:30 a.m.

Chief Justice Richard Wagner reads out three oaths and Louise Arbour officially becomes the 31st Governor General of Canada. Those in the room stand up and applaud. A 21-gun salute is fired from Parliament Hill as Arbour sits on the Senate throne.

10:20 a.m.

As the ceremony gets underway, an Inuk elder lights a qulliq, a traditional Inuit oil lamp. The audience then listens to a performance of the song La Reine by Les Cowboys Fringants. Arbour can be seen mouthing the lyrics silently.

Arbour sits beside the podium as the secretary to the governor general reads her commission.

10:15 a.m.

The procession moves into the Senate chamber, where the dignitaries take their seats. The Canadian Armed Forces Central Band plays as guests arrive and the ceremony gets underway.

Also in the chamber are former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Joe Clark, who are sitting together. They are joined by former governors general Adrienne Clarkson and David Johnston, astronaut Jeremy Hansen and a number of MPs. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and NDP Leader Avi Lewis are also in the room.

10:05 a.m.

Outgoing Gov. Gen. Mary Simon commissions the new Great Seal of Canada, which was approved by King Charles during his visit last year. The governor general’s website says the Great Seal “embodies the authority of the Crown.”

9:45 a.m.

Louise Arbour, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Simon and the other dignitaries are welcomed by the local Algonquin First Nations. They watch a drum circle by Eagle River Singers and two dancers from Pikwakanagan First Nation before walking inside the Senate of Canada building.

Inside, they are greeted by Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne, House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia, Assembly Of First Nations Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, Métis National Council president Victoria Pruden and Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

9:39 a.m.

Louise Arbour — wearing sunglasses, a royal blue jacket and black pants, with her Order of Canada medal around her neck — arrives at the Senate of Canada building in a motorcade. She poses for a photo with Carney, Simon, Chief Justice Richard Wagner and others on the red carpet.

9:35 a.m.

Simon and her spouse, Whit Fraser, arrive at the Senate building in a black vehicle.

They are preceded by Chief Justice Wagner and his spouse, Catherine Mandeville.

Simon is wearing a bright green jacket and a colourful scarf, with matching blue streaks in her hair.

9:30 a.m.

Prime Minister Carney and his spouse Diana Fox Carney arrive at the Senate of Canada building to attend the installation ceremony.

They are greeted by the Usher of the Black Rod, the senior ceremonial and protocol officer for the Senate, and Indigenous leaders.

Four mounted RCMP officers stand guard at the arrivals area, which has a red carpet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2026.