Finding the next personification of Canada As Michaëlle Jean prepares to step down, how important is international representation for a governor general? By Anca Gurzu Published May 12, 2010

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Rideau Hall Photo

Governor General Michaëlle Jean is met by an honour guard during her visit to Slovenia in October.

At the end of her April visit to Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Michaëlle Jean penned a passionate blog entry.

On the surface, the governor general was explaining her rationale for the trip. But looking deeper, it could be said that Ms. Jean was talking about Canada's relationship with the continent.

"Why go to Africa?" she wrote "To do what? What good will it do? People ask these same questions again and again, spreading a kind of indifference called Afro-pessimism.

"And although there are many well-known challenges and widespread difficulties, there is a proud and strong Africa that is resisting fatalism and rebuilding itself one step at a time.

"Putting diplomatie de proximité into action, from one country to the next, we increased the number of meetings with civil society and help broad discussions with leaders.... It is imperative that we closely monitor the achievements of the people and communities we support around the world."

Ms. Jean, a former CBC journalist who was appointed governor general in 2005 by then-prime minister Paul Martin, has become well known for her engaging spirit and firm—but diplomatic—statements, particularly on international issues. She has also travelled extensively around the world, representing Canada in Africa, Latin America and Europe. Those visits have not only netted her and the country significant attention from the international press, but also adoring fans in Ghana, Haiti and France, among others.

But Ms. Jean's tenure as governor general is set to expire in September (some say a new governor general will be appointed in July when the Queen visits Ottawa) and the public debate over her replacement is only beginning.

Historians, political advisers and critics are still at odds over Ms. Jean's decision to twice grant Prime Minister Stephen Harper the right to prorogue Parliament, making it safe to say that her job as Canada's governor general has been far from easy—at least domestically.

Still, while experts use only positive adjectives to describe Ms. Jean's efficiency in promoting Canada on the international stage, they also stress her performance was not a departure from tradition, but is—in fact—what a governor general should do. Nevertheless, they say, domestic constitutional matters still outweigh a governor general's international pursuits.

Icing on the cake

As the first top-level Canadian official to visit Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, Ms. Jean delivered an apology in April on behalf of the Canadian government for failing to help prevent the massacre—a gesture that made headlines in this country.

As Ms. Jean notes herself on her blog, she has crossed Africa "from north to south, west to east," crossing off countries such as Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco from her to-do list. She has also visited Canadian troops in Afghanistan, and has been warmly welcomed in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe, such as Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. One of her most touching visits was to her homeland, earthquake-ravaged Haiti, in March.

"I am expecting to see the worst when I get there," she wrote. "However, I feel I must go to meet those who are working so hard to rebuild Haiti."

Peter Russell, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto and an expert on constitutional matters, says Ms. Jean was exceptional in her role of promoting Canada abroad, describing her as having "a sparkling personality," "an ability to speak for the diversity and complexity of Canada," and a "human warmth."

The same was true for Ms. Jean's predecessor Adrienne Clarkson, Mr. Russell says, but not for other former governors general with a political past.

"The word for them would be 'dull,'" he says. "Madame Jean and Madame Clarkson were never dull."

Grace Skogstad, Mr. Russell's colleague at the University of Toronto, says Ms. Jean did well in fulfilling her symbolic role. But the governor general was put to a true test when she had to deal with the "tough political tasks" of prorogation, which Ms. Skogstad is not sure Ms. Jean handled that well.

Overall, the governor general did what is expected of a diplomat abroad: put Canada's best face forward, Ms. Skogstad says.

"She didn't embarrass the country. She didn't do it any harm, she probably did it some good," Ms. Skogstad says. "That's probably what you would expect from a governor general."

Her thoughts are clearly echoed by Barabara Messamore, an expert on the role of governors general at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, BC.

"I don't really see a great deal in her tenure that is a departure from the traditions of the role, and that is not in any way to denigrate what she has done," she says. "Michaëlle Jean is a very appealing figure, she makes good press, she's great in a front-page photograph, she's attractive, she's articulate, and people love the idea of her representing Canada abroad.

"But I guess because somebody like Michaëlle Jean attracts so much media attention, people don't really understand the extent to which the things she has done are very much in the vice-regal tradition."

At the beginning of the 20^th century, governors general travelled primarily within Canada, but things started to change with Roland Michener, who held the post from 1967-74, says Ms. Messamore, who has extensively researched the lives of former governors general.

Mr. Michener, as Canada's first ambassador to Nepal and a former high commissioner to India, followed the Queen's advice and started travelling abroad as her representative in Canada, Ms. Messamore said.

However, governors general have, in recent times, also created some stirs with their internationally-minded activities.

During a UNESCO meeting in Paris last year, Ms. Jean referred to herself as Canada's head of state in a speech, causing quite the furor among Canadian constitutional experts. According to the Canadian Constitution, the Queen is the head of state, while the governor general acts solely as her representative.

In addition, critics argued that Ms. Clarkson, Ms. Jean's predecessor, wasted taxpayers' money on a $5.3-million trip to Russia, Finland and Iceland in 2003, which was supposed to cost $1 million and which prompted the government to review the governor general's budget.

This criticism is endemic to the office, Ms. Messamore explains. However, she and others say a governor general's domestic tasks outweigh the international ones. Their most important role is to ensure the continuity of the government by making sure it has the support of the House of Commons.

"I think it is nice to promote Canada's image abroad in a positive way," says Ms. Messamore, "but you would have to say that international travel is the icing on the cake, not her essential function."

True Canadian representation

Icing on the cake or not, there is a difference between the trips that politicians like the prime minister make abroad and those undertaken by governors general, says Independent Senator Anne Cools, an expert on the monarchy.

"The prime minister does not represent all the people," Ms. Cools says. "The governor general is the embodiment and the personification of the people of the country. Governors general are supposed to be higher than politics and conduct themselves with majesty."

Prime ministers, cabinet ministers or opposition leaders always carry a political and ideological agenda abroad with them, says Mr. Russell.

"If the politicians are on the left, the world should see that, if they are on the right, the world should also see that," he said. "But this doesn't attract as broad respect for the country as a person who is clearly not partisan and not ideologically-loaded, but simply a personification in how they present themselves of what Canada is all about, not just what its current government is all about."

This is why a governor general's personality is very important, Mr. Russell adds.

"When abroad, we need a person who resonates with some sense of authority and dignity, but is also fun and humorous," he says.

A governor general's personality will also mark their legacy, Ms. Messamore adds.

"It's up to each incumbent to put their own stamp on their role," she says, "and when you trace it back, you see how each of them has shaped the office, according to strict parameters of course, according to their own interests."

Mr. Russell says he is "definitely opposed" to appointing former politicians to the role of governor general because "they tend to be at the end of their career, tired and bored, and their heart is not quite in it the same way as that of person new to public life."

"We have been seeing younger and younger appointees to this position, because "someone requires that stamina to keep up with the demands of this office," Ms. Messamore says, describing great governors general as "rare birds."

The most important qualities of a governor general are the intangible ones, she says: good judgment, great under pressure, diplomatic, tactful.

Nevertheless, the next governor general should possess a clear understanding of matters of the state, a very thorough understanding of the workings of cabinet and the parliament, and the law of the prorogative, Ms. Cools says.

This is especially important if Canada will continue to see more minority governments, Ms. Skogstad says.

"We had journalists, people who have been articulate, but I really think that if we are going to continue to be in this minority government, we really do need people who are specialists in the constitutional underpinnings," she says, giving the current Speaker of the House Peter Milliken as an example.

agurzu@embassymag.ca