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11 unusual facts about Governor General of Canada


Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart

Charles Murray Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart GCB (Walton-on-the-Naze 21 December 1783 – 16 July 1859 St Leonards-on-Sea), styled Lord Greenock between 1814 and 1843, was a British Army general who became Governor General of the Province of Canada and Lieutenant Governor of Canada West (26 November 1845 – 30 January 1847).

Chérisy

It was in the retaking of Chérisy that Major Georges Philias Vanier, the future GOC of the Governor General of Canada (1959–1967) was wounded, as a result of which his leg was amputated.

Christopher Carleton

Christopher's parents died at sea when he was only four years old and his uncles Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the future Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief, North America, along with Sir Thomas Carleton, the 1st Governor of New Brunswick, saw to his education and upbringing.

Ian Keteku

In addition, he had the opportunity to perform his poetry for the Governor General of Canada, on two occasions.

Irene Spry

The Governor General of Canada appointed her Officer of the Order of Canada in 1992 not only for her long and inspiring career as writer, teacher and scholar but also for her prominence in the Canadian and international women's movements.

Jacob Schulz

Jacob (Jake) Shulz (October 12, 1901 - August 14, 1983) was a Canadian farmer and politician as well as the father-in-law of Governor General Ed Schreyer.

James Chichester-Clark

Following the war his military career took him from the dull duties of the post-war occupation of Germany, to Canada as aide-de-camp to Harold Alexander while Governor General of Canada.

Lilias Massey

Lilias Massey served as Chatelaine of Rideau Hall during her father-in-law Vincent Massey's term as Governor General of Canada.

Sick Heart River

Buchan wrote this while Governor General of Canada and Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh and it was published posthumously following his death as a result of a fall and stroke.

Vanceboro, Maine

This line was opened by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Governor General of Canada Lord Lisgar during a ceremony at the border in October 1871.

William Bagot, 4th Baron Bagot

He was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Staffordshire Yeomanry and a Captain in the 3rd Staffordshire Rifle Volunteers and served as an Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General of Canada from 1876 to 1883.


1896–97 Ottawa Hockey Club season

In the first game in the new rink, it was inaugurated with the Governor General, the Earl of Aberdeen and his wife, the Countess of Aberdeen in attendance.

1930 British Empire Games

The games were opened by the Governor General of Canada, Lord Willingdon on the 16 August.

2010 Earthquake in Jacmel

Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean's parents were born in Jacmel, which she visited frequently as a child.

Alfred Holland Smith

On July 13, 1916, Smith, Henry Lumley Drayton and William Mitchell Acworth were appointed to the Royal Commission formed by the Governor General of Canada to examine Canada's railway system.

Canadian federal election, 1925

Anticipating a vote of censure by the Commons, King asked the Governor General, Baron Byng of Vimy, to call an election.

Canadian heraldry

Two years later, on 4 June 1988, then-Governor General Jeanne Sauvé authorised the creation of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, made possible by letters patent signed by Queen Elizabeth II, on the advice of her Canadian Privy Council, and presented by her son, Prince Edward.

Canadian Monarchist News

It published articles on the activities of the Crown, the Royal Family as well as the representatives of the Crown (Governor Generals and Lieutenant Governors).

Clarence B. Farrar

Farrar's contributions to the field of psychiatry were recognized through honorary doctorates from McGill University and the University of Toronto, the Medal of Service of the Order of Canada from the Governor General of Canada, and the Distinguished Service Award of the Thomas W. Salmon Committee on Psychiatry and Mental Hygiene of the New York Academy of Medicine.

Couper baronets

He was a Colonel in the Army and fought in the Peninsular War, served as Military Secretary to the Governor Generals of Canada, Sir James Kempt and Lord Durham, and was Comptroller of the Household and Equerry to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent.

Diana Fowler LeBlanc

Diana Fowler LeBlanc, CC (born 1940 in Toronto) is the widow of former Governor General of Canada, Roméo LeBlanc, during whose term she was a Viceregal consort.

Earl of March Secondary School

The school took its name from Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond and Earl of March, who served as Governor General of British North America in the early 19th century.

Ethel Cochrane

An advocate for education and literacy, she was appointed to the Senate by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, in November 1986.

Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy

Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy (January 11, 1870 – June 20, 1949), also known as Lady Byng, was the wife of Lord Byng, the twelfth Governor General of Canada.

Grand Narrows Bridge

At midnight on October 18, 1890 the five-car special train of Governor General Lord Stanley left Halifax, and arrived at Mulgrave in the early morning.

Hal Jackman

Jackman was appointed Lieutenant Governor by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, in 1991, and became a Member of the Order of Canada the same year.

History of Regina, Saskatchewan

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, wife of the Duke of Argyll, who was then the Governor General of Canada, named the new community Regina (Latin for queen), after her mother, the Queen.

HMCS Carleton

On 17 December 1943 HMCS Carleton moved to its current facilities at Canadian Forces Reserve Barrack Dow's Lake, when the new "stone frigate" was inaugurated in the presence of Major General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, Governor General of Canada.

Inglewood, Edmonton

In 1946, Governor General of Canada Lord Alexander opened The Charles Camsell tuberculosis hospital in Edmonton.

John James Grant

Grant was appointed the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia on February 16, 2012 by Governor General of Canada David Johnston.

Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute

A new coat of arms was formally conferred on K.C.V.I. by Ramon A. Hnatyshyn, then Governor General of Canada, in 1992.

Kiwanis Music Festival

Its origin probably traces as far back as an inaugural 1908 festival in Edmonton, where Governor General Earl Grey advocated the establishment of music festivals throughout Canada's provinces.

L'Arche

It was founded in 1964 when Jean Vanier, the son of Canadian Governor General Georges Vanier and Pauline Vanier, welcomed two men with disabilities into his home in the town of Trosly-Breuil, France.

Le Québécois

The second controversy was raised in 2005 by Le Québécois about then future Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean and her and husband Jean-Daniel Lafond's ties to the sovereignty movement and the Front de libération du Québec.

London Motors

When Governor General Julian Byng visited London, several London Six owners loaned their cars for official ceremonies.

MacMillan Provincial Park

The name "Cathedral Grove" is reputed to have originated from the Governor General of Canada, Viscount Willingdon in 1928, and appeared in correspondence to the provincial government in the 1920s.

Manitoba Club

This building was officially opened by His Excellency Sir Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada, on October 10, 1905.

Minto, New Brunswick

Minto was originally named Northfield but it is known to have taken its present name in 1904 upon the retirement of Canada's eighth Governor General, The Earl of Minto.

Ottawa City Hockey League

The OHA had been founded based on an idea of Arthur Stanley, son of the Governor General of Canada, the Lord Stanley of Preston.

Queen's Plate

Queen Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, is patron of the event and various other members of the Canadian Royal Family have been in attendance through the years, beginning with the Duke of Argyll and his wife, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, in 1881, when the Duke was serving as Governor General of Canada and the couple was touring Ontario.

Raymond Brutinel

Major-General Georges Vanier, Canadian ambassador to France and future Governor General of Canada, recorded the "considerable help" Brutinel provided in evacuating embassy staff from Paris in June 1940 in advance of the German occupation of France in World War II.

Red River Rebellion

In Ottawa, the Governor General Lord Lisgar had, at Macdonald's behest, proclaimed an amnesty on December 6 for all in Red River who would lay down their arms.

Roy Romanow

On April 4, 2001, Romanow was appointed to head the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge

The first railway bridge over the St. Croix River at this location was opened in October 1871 by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Governor General of Canada Lord Lisgar on the completion of the European and North American Railway (E&NA) between Bangor, Maine and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Saskatchewan Legislative Building

Piles began to be drilled for the foundations during the autumn of 1908 and in 1909 the Governor General of Canada, the Earl Grey, laid the cornerstone.

Sir Sandford Fleming Park

It was formally dedicated in an impressive ceremony in August 1912 by Canada's Governor General the Duke of Connaught who was also Queen Victoria's son Prince Arthur.

St. John in the Wilderness

Its churchyard is the final resting place of Lord Elgin, who served as Governor General of the Province of Canada, who oversaw the Creation of Responsible Government in Canada, and later, while in China, ordered the complete destruction of the Old Summer Palace.

The Michener Institute

In 1990 the name was changed to The Michener Institute in honour of Roland Michener, the 20th Canadian Governor General.

Thomas Walter Scott

In October 1909, Canadian governor general the Earl Grey was on hand to lay the cornerstone of the Saskatchewan Legislature, which Premier Scott had recently decided should be made out of Tyndall stone.

Vanier, Ontario

Later, in 1963 it became a city, and in 1969 was renamed after the recently deceased Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier.