Louise Arbour steps into governor general role with warnings about AI and ‘failing’ young people

Governor General designate Louise Arbour shake hands with Prime Minister Mark Carney as she arrives at the Senate building to attend the Governor General installation ceremony in Ottawa on Monday, June 8, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Postmedia

Article content

OTTAWA — Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour became Canada’s 31st Governor General on Monday, bearing warnings about artificial intelligence (AI) and failing Canadian youth.

Article content

Speaking in the Senate, she also spoke about the importance of embracing different points of view. She thanked Prime Minister Mark Carney and King Charles III for entrusting her with the opportunity to “serve another great Canadian institution,” along with her predecessor Mary Simon for her “remarkable service” as governor general.

Article content

Article content

Article content

In her first address to the dignitaries in the room, Arbour called on Canadians to not let the fear of differences from others stop themselves from building a better Canada.

Article content

Article content

“Extreme polarization is dangerous, but so is extreme consensus,” she said in a bilingual speech in English and French. “It is through our differences and our fundamental right to express them that we will nourish critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.”

Article content

“It is through our differences that we will build a common future.”

Article content

She said it is important to continue to protect institutions where different views can be expressed, whether they are schools, the media, courtrooms or art disciplines.

Article content

In his own speech, Carney called respect for institutions “vital” and said that is why “we are each called to share each other’s perspectives and work for our common good.”

Article content

“The Governor General is the guardian of our constitutional order, a symbol of unity, and above all, a steward of our commitment to peace, order, and good government,” he said.

Article content

Arbour, 79, said she “lived through the comfort and the discomfort of homogeneity” first being raised and taught by women in Montreal, then working in a male-dominated field as a lawyer and a judge, and finally working for human rights on the international stage.

Article content

Article content

Arbour said her work exposed her to a “great diversity of perspectives” and she built relationships with people who, at first glance, seemingly had nothing in common with.

Article content

She also shared a story about how she was confronted with her own “biases” to illustrate how easy it is to have preconceived ideas about people one may have just met.

Article content

Arbour said she was standing outside the United Nations headquarters in New York in the 1990s when she came across a group of Chinese tourists. She asked a young woman in that group about her impressions of New York, to which she replied the city is “so old.”

Article content

“I was surprised, and then I realized that I had been projecting a story onto her, imagining her as coming from a civilization of centuries-old splendour, and gazing at a vibrant city in a younger country,” said Arbour.

Article content

Arbour said she realized that young woman was more likely born in a “futuristic” city like Shanghai which would make a city like New York pale in comparison.

Article content

In her viceregal role, she said she is preparing to be surprised and confronted by her own stereotypes and unconscious biases just like at that moment.