38 Facts About Mary Simon

Mary Simon briefly worked as a producer and announcer for the CBC Northern Service in the 1970s before entering public service, serving on the board of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association and playing a key role in the Charlottetown Accord negotiations.

Mary Simon was Canada's first ambassador for circumpolar affairs from 1994 to 2004, as well as a lead negotiator for the creation of the Arctic Council.

Mary Simon served as the Canadian ambassador to Denmark from 1999 to 2002.

Mary Simon's father had relocated to the north in his youth and became manager of the local Hudson's Bay Company store during the early 1950s.

Mary Simon says he was the first white employee to marry an Inuk, which the HBC banned at the time.

Mary Simon was raised in a traditional Inuit lifestyle, including hunting, fishing, sewing Inuit clothing, and travelling by dog sled.

Mary Simon attended federal day school in Fort Chimo, then Fort Carson High School in Colorado, and completed her high school via correspondence in Fort Chimo.

Mary Simon began her career as a public servant by being elected secretary of the board of directors of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association.

Mary Simon was one of the senior Inuit negotiators during the patriation of the Canadian Constitution, the First Ministers' conferences that took place from 1982 to 1992, as well as the 1992 Charlottetown Accord discussions.

Mary Simon served as a member of the Nunavut Implementation Commission and as co-director and secretary to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Mary Simon took on a variety of roles for the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.

In 1986, as president of the ICC, Mary Simon led a delegation of Canadian, Alaskan, and Greenland Inuit to Moscow and then to Chukotka to meet with Russian officials as well as the Inuit of the far east of Russia.

In 1994, Mary Simon was appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien to be Canadian Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs, a newly created position she held until early 2004.

From June 2004 to June 2007, Mary Simon was a board member at the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

From 2004 to 2005, Mary Simon was special advisor to the Labrador Inuit Association on the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, and she was elected president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami on July 7,2006.

In 2010, Mary Simon was reported to be under consideration for Governor General of Canada.

Mary Simon was reported as a leading contender for the post early on, given her Indigenous heritage and then-political consciousness on Indigenous reconciliation.

Mary Simon was vested with special appointments as Chancellor of the Order of Canada, the Order of Military Merit, the Order of Merit of the Police Forces and the Order of St John.

Mary Simon's appointment was somewhat unusual, in that she speaks English and Inuktitut but is not particularly proficient in French.

Mary Simon considers the concept of as an important theme for her mandate as governor general.

Mary Simon said that the word was taught to her by her mother and grandmother, and is an important concept for Inuit.

Mary Simon made her first trip abroad as Governor General on October 17,2021, when she and her husband arrived in Berlin, Germany on a state visit.

Mary Simon attended the Frankfurt Book Fair and a roundtable discussion on Arctic exploration at the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum.

Mary Simon later said in an interview that she and the Queen discussed various issues like the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada convoy protests, and how they both recovered from COVID-19.

Mary Simon said she told the Queen that Canada's history books should be rewritten to reflect the facts about the relationship between the Canadian Crown and Indigenous peoples of Canada.

Mary Simon urged all Canadians to work together, to "truly honour the life, legacy and reign of Her Majesty The Queen", and said that, to her, that is worth celebrating.

Mary Simon said she was grateful to the Pope for his words, and hailed it a "historic and emotional day for Indigenous peoples across Canada".

Mary Simon said that the apology is "one step on the road to reconciliation", and the Pope has "committed to visiting Canada to continue the reconciliation journey with Indigenous peoples on their own lands".

Pope Francis visited Canada from July 24 to 29,2022, with Mary Simon taking part in several events and activities during the papal visit.

Mary Simon said, "Her Majesty's warm welcome when we spent time with her earlier this year was a profound moment in our lives and a memory we will cherish forever".

In June 2022, Mary Simon came under fire after a National Post story was published regarding exorbitant in-flight catering costs for her eight-day trip to the Middle East.

Mary Simon said the criticism was 'unfair' as she had no part in the logistics of her trips to discuss world peace but her office would try to 'minimize the cost of future voyages'.

Mary Simon closed all commenting on her social media posts in February 2023 due to a growing number of abusive comments.

Mary Simon married her first husband, Robert Otis, on March 27,1967, in Kuujjuaq.

Mary Simon later married George Simon, and in 1994 she married her current husband, journalist and author Whit Fraser, a former head of the Canadian Polar Commission.

Mary Simon speaks English and Inuktitut, and she has committed to learn French during her tenure as governor general.

Mary Simon is a fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America and of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Mary Simon is the author of many works regarding the environment, education, language, and Inuit culture:.