On 26 July 2021 Ningiukudluk (Mary Simon) was sworn in as Canada’s first Indigenous governor-general.
As the official representative of the queen many people saw this moment as a true step towards reconciliation or at the very least an attempt by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to curry favour with Indigenous peoples in Canada going into the next federal election. In a certain sense both views are correct. And yet it is this type of contradiction that makes me hesitant to simply celebrate this announcement as a win for Indigenous peoples. If anything I am worried about our new governor-general, because I fear she might be in a no win situation.
I can still remember as a child sitting on my parents’ couch looking at the World Book Encyclopedia and having my favourite uncle explain to me that the governor-general and monarch do not really do anything when it comes to governing the country. As far as I can tell nothing has really changed to prove my uncle’s assessment wrong. The last governor-general to challenge the prime minister is any real way was Julian Byng, who refused Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s request to dissolve parliament and call an election in 1926, only to see Conservative Prime Minister Arthur Meighen lose the confidence of the house in just three days and call an election anyway. During the election King railed on Byng for being a British stooge and arguing it was wrong for the governor-general to interfere in Canadian politics in any way shape or form. To provide additional context, Byng was the 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, as in Vimy Ridge, where he had been the commanding officer when Canadians troops took the ridge in 1917. Despite running an election campaign against a war hero, King won and that fall he would support the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference of the British Empire, which among other things stated that governor-generals were no longer the representatives of the British government, but rather the dominion they served and under the advice of the prime minister of said dominion. In other words, under the advice of Justin Trudeau or whoever succeeds him as prime minister if he loses the next federal election.
It is this lack of power that presents a potential problem for Ningiukudluk. Namely, as the first Indigenous governor-general there is already an expectation that she is going to change things for the better.
No doubt she will try and it is fitting that her name means bossy little old lady in English. Yet, she is now part of one of the oldest institutions in Canada, which until 1952, and the appointment of Vincent Massey, was exclusively the domain of British aristocrats. And while it is true that things have changed since 1952, she has a lot of baggage to deal with if she wants to Indigenize the institution. First, regardless of what she does there are always going to be people who dislike change. Combine this resistance with the fact her predecessor resigned over accusations of being a bully, and the task is a delicate one.
There is also the matter of the governor-general being the representative of the Queen. While Ningiukudluk may be serving Canada and under the advice of Canada’s head of government, she is also keeping the throne warm for Canada’s head of state. It is a myth that Indigenous peoples in Canada all love the monarchy.
This statement is even true in areas of the country in which Indigenous peoples have signed Treaties with the Crown and expected them to be honoured. I hate to say it, because I know she has been a strong advocate for Indigenous rights in Canada, but there are going to be some Indigenous peoples who see the new governor-general as a sell out just for agreeing to take the role. Even more are going to have some serious questions about why she took the role, and unless she becomes a public martyr like Puglaas (Jody Wilson-Raybould) any time she is perceived as doing something people do not agree with these negative views of her will either be reinforced or confirmed.
Neither outcome is fair. But the world is not fair. Nor is it free of prejudice. And this aspect is the last serious concern about the announcement of Canada’s first Indigenous governor-general. Indigenous is a handy word to talk about the over 600 distinct First Nations in Canada plus the Inuit and Métis all at once. It fails, however, to reflect the diverse perspectives of these 600 First Nations, the Inuit, and Métis. The Inuit are not the largest Indigenous nation in Canada and in a number of instances have more in common with other Indigenous nations like the Yupik in Alaska and Siberia than more southerly First Nations or the Métis. Yet people are already positioning Ningiukudluk as “the Indigenous governor-general” as if the only notable thing about her career as a politician, diplomat, and broadcaster is her ancestry.
Still, make no mistake, many Indigenous peoples see her as our governor-general.
Nevertheless, this role is a lot of pressure to put on one individual, especially when you consider all of things that fit under the word Indigenous. Furthermore, given the lack of understanding many Canadians have of Indigenous peoples it will be very easy for people to hold the governor-general to a false standard based on their own views of what a proper Indigenous person should look like rather than any sort of reality. She is neither Nanook of the North nor women’s traditional northern dancer. She is Mary Simon from Nunavik.
One of the prime ministers who attended the 1926 Imperial Conference was President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, W.T. Cosgrave. Today considered to be the first taoiseach of Ireland, the rather clunky title was used by the Irish Free State when it became a dominion within the British Empire in 1922 as a way to clearly show that it was different than the United Kingdom. Home rule for Ireland was not a smooth process and dispute over the monarchy and governor-general resulted in the Irish Civil War. And while I do not think the swearing in of Simon as governor-general will result in war, I also do not think her term in office is an unquestioned act of reconciliation, or that it will be without its problems both real and perceived. That being said I am confident that she can handle it and win or lose she will bring a lived Indigenous female perspective to the role. I am just not sure if I would want to be in her situation given all the pressure placed on her to succeed.
Daniel Sims is the chair of First Nations Studies at UNBC.
