A residential school Survivor is Queen's newest representative.

At a Tuesday press conference at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Mary Simon, an Inuit woman, will be Canada's 30th Governer General after receiving Queen Elizabeth II's approval.

"I am honoured and humbled to be Canada's first Indigenous Governor General," Simon says. "I can confidently say that this appointment is a historic and inspirational moment for Canada."

Simon began her remarks Inuktitut, another first.

She was raised in Kuujjuaq, a village on the shore of Koksoak River on Ungava Bay in Quebec and former Hudson's Bay post. Simon attended Fort Chimo day school, where she was denied the ability to learn French despite in the predominantly French-speaking Quebec, something she says she is working on. Her father was a white fur trader from Manitoba. Simon says she led a very traditional lifestyle and says her family taught her to be proud of who she is and the importance of community. Simon says her father had a profound love of the north. 

"These experiences allowed me to be a bridge between the different lived realities that together make up the tapestry of Canada."

Simon has an extensive resume. She was a journalist, the first Inuk to be named as Canadian Ambassador, and oversaw a variety of important Indigenous negotiations. Simon has worked as a human rights activist, including health care and Indigenous rights. She is the recipient of Governor General's Northern Medal, the Gold Order of Greenland, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Gold Medal of the Canadian Geographical Society, and the Symons Medal. Simon is an Officer of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec.

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