Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced the appointment of Edith Dumont as the new Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. She will be the the first Francophone to hold this office.
“Ms. Dumont is an educator and an accomplished community advocate,” Trudeau said in a statement. “She has dedicated her career to supporting Francophone communities in Ontario, Canada, and around the world. I know she will continue to serve her fellow Ontarians with distinction as Ontario’s new Lieutenant Governor.”
Dumont is a special education teacher, school principal and an executive, the according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). She was the first woman to lead the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario. Most recently, she served as Vice-President of Partnerships, Communities, and International Relations at the Université de l’Ontario français, in Toronto.
She has devoted the last three decades of her career to supporting Francophone communities in her province, across Canada, and beyond. Her life-long commitment to education, leadership, and community service, along with her dedication to ensuring quality education in French, have had a long-lasting impact on Ontario’s Francophone communities and the vitality of the French language in the province.
Trudeau thanked the outgoing Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, for her dedication and service to the people of Ontario.
“Ms. Dowdeswell’s many years of public service and commitment to community engagement have made a lasting impact for Ontarians,” the PMO statement read.
Lieutenant Governors are the personal representatives of His Majesty The King of Canada in their respective provinces. They fulfill the roles and functions of the Crown, including granting Royal Assent to provincial laws. They are appointed by the Governor General of Canada on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and serve terms of at least five years.
