Quicksketch: A look at Canada’s next governor general, Louise Arbour

OTTAWA — Louise Arbour has been named as Canada’s next governor general to replace Mary Simon, who was appointed to the role in 2021 on the advice of former prime minister Justin Trudeau. She is expected to formally assume the role in a ceremony in early June.

Here’s a look at the country’s newest head of state.

Age: 79

Hometown: Montreal

Previous career: Arbour was called to the bar in Quebec in 1971 and in Ontario in 1977, launching a career that saw her rise to the highest ranks of the national and international legal systems.

Arbour first taught at York University’s Osgoode Hall law school. She was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 1987 and to the province’s Court of Appeal in 1990.

She led a commission of inquiry into events at the Kingston Prison for Women in 1995. Between 1996 and 1999, Arbour was chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda in The Hague.

Upon her return to Canada following the tribunals, she was appointed by former prime minister Jean Chrétien to the Supreme Court of Canada, where she served until 2004. Arbour was then the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights for four years, ending in 2008.

More recently, she served at the request of former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government to lead an independent review into sexual harassment and misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces. Her report was released in 2022, called for sweeping reforms to the military’s culture and institutions.

As viceregal, Arbour will assume the role of commander-in-chief of Canada’s military.

Quote: “I will accede to a function in which I will be the representative of the Crown in a constitutional arrangement that I think has served Canada extremely well throughout our history, but even more in recent decades. I think, a system that will continue to provide continuity in our institutions and our form of governance.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press