This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour will become Canada’s 31st Governor General when Mary Simon, the current viceregal representative, steps down next month.
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Simon has the distinction of being the country’s first Indigenous governor general, following a lifetime spent advocating for Inuit and northern issues. And there, cheering her on from the sidelines, was her husband, Whit Fraser, the viceregal consort of Canada.
“In matters of state, a Governor General’s spouse is a spectator but with a very good seat,” he said.
Now, he is sharing some of that perspective in the new memoir, From Ragged Ass Road to Rideau Hall: Stories of Canada.
The title is a nod to the bookends of Fraser’s life: from Ragged Ass Road in Yellowknife, where he started his journalism career, to Rideau Hall in Ottawa, the official residence of the Governor General.
“I lived in Yellowknife for many years. And as a reporter working out of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, I would have used Ragged Ass Road many, many times to try and capture some of the colour and character of Yellowknife. And so that’s kind of where I started, literally and figuratively,” he said.
Fraser figures his life can be summed up as a combination of “good luck, good timing, some far-flung assignments, taking opportunities as they opened up, and above all, marrying well.”
Fraser and Simon were colleagues at the CBC before they married in 1994. And since 2021, they have served as Canada’s viceregal couple.Despite covering tragedies as a reporter, many of which are in the book, Fraser says visiting the families of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting was like something he had never experienced.
On Feb. 10, Jesse Van Rootselaar killed her mother and half-brother in their home, before going to the town’s high school where she killed five students, a teaching assistant, then herself.
“In this book, I cover a lot of tragedy. I cover the Ocean Ranger [Disaster], 84 people died. I cover an air crash in Gander, Newfoundland, that took 256 people, an Air Canada crash. I covered a lot of tragedy as a reporter. But I wasn’t covering this. This was up close. And I could see and feel the pain personally far more than I ever would have had as a reporter.”
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“The most difficult part is the helplessness. The people have their pain, and there’s nothing you can say or do that’s going to change any of that except just to be there.”Fraser says there is a lot more to being Governor General than just shaking hands and giving out medals. They can also be a source of comfort during a national tragedy.
“A governor general in situations like that can make a huge difference. When victims can cry on the shoulder of the governor general and tell their story, it’s an incredible thing to see,” he said.
Fraser says, out of office, Simon plans to continue to work on the issues identified in Tumbler Ridge, “including mental health and the lack of services and preparation for mental health facilities all across the country, especially in the north, but in smaller towns all across the country.”
Fraser writes candidly, especially about his time as the viceregal consort. Much has been made about Simon’s lack of proficiency in French, even though she speaks both English and Inuktitut. Fraser has something to say about that, too.
“I would venture that over two-thirds of the complaints that came and went to the language commissioner and the harsh comments that came from people about her lack of French came from separatists in Quebec that don’t want to be part of Canada in the first place.”
But it wasn’t all negative.
“Some of the strongest support that she got came from Quebec, where she was born.”
Simon became Governor General at a difficult time for the viceregal office, succeeding Julie Payette, whose term ended early amid accusations she presided over a toxic workplace culture at Rideau Hall.
Simon, it could be argued, was a safe and stable choice by comparison.
“That’s a fair characterization, but it’s not one that I’m going to elaborate on,” said Fraser.
“So, let’s let sleeping dogs lie.”
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Given his experiences, I asked if he had any advice for Louise Arbour, Simon’s successor.
“Well, the next Governor General has incredible credentials and wisdom, and I wouldn’t offer advice,” he said.
“I would just expect that she will continue to follow her own head and heart and intellect and do a great job for Canada.”
Ultimately, he hopes the reader takes away a greater appreciation for the viceregal role and for Canada itself.
“We got a good thing going here, so [I hope they take away] a little bit of patriotism and waving the flag,” he said.
From Ragged Ass Road to Rideau Hall: Stories of Canada is published by Douglas and McIntyre.
–With files from The Canadian Press