Adrienne Clarkson Elevates the Status of Women Through Her Governor Generalship

To learn more about Canadian or Quebec politics, both McGill University and Concordia University in Montreal offer wonderful political science degrees, that you may want to look into.

Montreal's Concordia University has a wonderful women's studies program at the Simone do Beauvoir Institute

The duties of a governor general is to represent the ruling British Monarch in Canada. The governor general carries out administrative duties and also celebratory or festive activities. We will now look at the three female governor generals of Canada, two of which were from Montreal.

The appointment of Adrienne Clarkson to the position of governor general would have great significance for women and women's issues. First of all, she was the second female Governor General of Canada; directly following Montreal's Jeanne Sauve. The two female consecutive appointments considerably elevated the status of women in and of itself.

She also was the first Chinese Canadian of either sex to be appointed to this position, and she did not have a military background like her male predecessors. She was also the second person, and first female to be inducted in the Order of Canada prior to her appointment as governor general. Jules Léger was the first person.

On September 8, 1999, the announcement was made that the Queen had approved the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson to the position of Governor General of Canada. Her lifelong partner, John Ralston Saul , a Canadian essayist, Montreal McGill graduate, and President of International Pen would accompany her to her new home at Rideau Hall. This common law union would also become a first for any governor general of Canada.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrienne_Clarkson

Adrienne Clarkson's: The Governor General's Office Under Review