Governor General begins weeklong tour of P.E.I., N.S.

The Governor General is making her first official visits to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia this week.

Mary Simon’s car pulled up to Government House in Charlottetown Monday afternoon where she was greeted by Prince Edward Island’s royal representative, Lt.-Gov. Antoinette Perry, and Premier Dennis King.

It’s not the first time Simon has been on the island since taking her post. She made an unofficial visit in October 2022 in the wake of post-tropical storm Fiona.

She was greeted further Monday by an honour guard, then a contingent from P.E.I.’s Indigenous community, including a traditional performance by young dancers.

“It was a great honour, and it felt really good,” said Taite Wooldridge.

“Probably because it’s a more special person than we would usually be performing with.”

Simon also received a traditional Mi’kmaq blessing from Julie Pellissier-Lush, Knowledge Keeper for L'nuey, who said she was immediately struck by Simon’s laugh.

“There was a kindship in the indigeneity of the laugh, so I loved it,” said Pellissier-Lush. “That was a little bit louder, a little bit stronger. It wasn’t a quiet polite laugh, it was just a loud beautiful laugh, and I knew that we were already kin.”

She said Canada’s first-ever Indigenous Governor General is a beacon for just how far an Indigenous person can climb.

“It’s inspiring. I know she is definitely a role model for many of our young people who know now that they can be whatever they want to be,” said Pellissier-Lush. “They can achieve whatever they want to achieve.”

Simon will tour the island with stops at Abegweit First Nation and the University of PEI’s School of Climate Change and Adaptation, along with a question-and-answer session with students at a Charlottetown high school.

The Governor General is on P.E.I. until Wednesday, when she will head to Nova Scotia. She will be in the Maritimes until Friday.

For more P.E.I. news visit our dedicated provincial page.