Michaëlle Jean Explained
Michaëlle Jean (in French mi.ka.ɛl ʒɑ̃/; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person to hold this office.
Jean was the third secretary-general of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie from 2015 until 2019. She was the first woman to hold the position and held the position until the end of 2018.
Jean was a refugee[1] from Haiti—coming to Canada in 1968—and was raised in the town of Thetford Mines, Quebec. After receiving a number of university degrees, Jean worked as a journalist and broadcaster for Radio-Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), as well as also undertaking charity work, mostly in the field of assisting victims of domestic violence. In 2005, she was appointed governor general by Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Paul Martin, to replace Adrienne Clarkson as vicereine. She occupied the post until being succeeded by David Johnston in 2010. Early in her tenure, comments of hers recorded in some of the film works by her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, were construed as supporting Quebec sovereignty and her holding of dual citizenship caused doubt about her loyalties. But Jean denied separatist leanings, renounced her citizenship of France (acquired through her marriage), and eventually became a respected vicereine noted for her attention to the Canadian Forces, Aboriginal Canadians, and the arts, especially youth involvement in them. In 2010, Jean was appointed to a four-year term as the Special Envoy for Haiti for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.[2]
Michaëlle Jean was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on September 26, 2012.[3]
Early life and education
Jean's family hails from Haiti; she was born in Port-au-Prince, baptized at the Holy Trinity Cathedral,[4] [5] and spent winters in that city and summers and weekends in Jacmel, her mother's hometown.[6] Though her father worked as principal and teacher for a Protestant independent school in Port-au-Prince, Jean was educated at home, as her parents did not want her swearing allegiance to the then Haitian president, François Duvalier, as all Haitian schoolchildren were required to do.[7]
With her family, Jean fled Haiti to escape Duvalier's regime, under which Jean's father was arrested and tortured in 1965. Jean's father left for Canada in 1967 while she arrived with her mother and sister the following year; the family settled together at Thetford Mines, Quebec.[8] Jean's father, however, became increasingly distant and violent, and her parents' marriage eventually fell apart; she, with her mother and sister, then moved to a basement apartment in the Little Burgundy neighbourhood of Montreal.[9]
Jean received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian and Hispanic languages and literature from the University of Montreal, and, from 1984 to 1986, taught Italian Studies there, while completing her Master of Arts degree in comparative literature. She then went on with language and literature studies at the University of Florence, the University of Perugia, and the Catholic University of Milan. Besides French and English, Jean is fluent in Spanish, Italian, and Haitian Creole, and can read Portuguese.[10]
Concurrent with her studies between 1979 and 1987, Jean coordinated a study on spousal abuse and worked at a women's shelter, which paved the way for her establishment of a network of shelters for women and children across Canada. She also involved herself in organizations dedicated to assisting immigrants to Canada obtain the entry they desired, and later worked for Employment and Immigration Canada and at the Conseil des Communautés culturelles du Québec, where Jean began writing about the experiences of immigrant women. She married French-born, Canadian filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond, and the couple adopted as their daughter Marie-Éden, an orphaned child from Jacmel.[11] Through her marriage to Lafond, Jean has two stepdaughters.
Journalism, broadcasting, and film careers
Jean became a reporter, filmmaker, and broadcaster for Radio-Canada in 1988, hosting news and affairs programs such as Actuel, Montréal ce soir, Virages, and Le Point; she was the first person of Caribbean descent to be seen on French television news in Canada. She then moved in 1995 to Réseau de l'information (RDI), Radio-Canada's all-news channel, in order to anchor a number of programmes, Le Monde ce soir, l'Édition québécoise, Horizons francophones, Les Grands reportages, Le Journal RDI, and RDI à l'écoute, for example. Four years later, she was asked by CBC's English language all-news channel, CBC Newsworld, to host The Passionate Eye and Rough Cuts, which both broadcast the best in Canadian and foreign documentary films. By 2004, Jean was hosting her own show, Michaëlle, while continuing to anchor RDI's Grands reportages, as well as acting occasionally as anchor of Le Téléjournal.
Over the same period, Jean made several films with her husband, including the award-winning Haïti dans tous nos rêves ("Haiti in All Our Dreams"), in which she meets her uncle, the poet and essayist René Depestre, who fled from the Duvalier dictatorship into exile in France and wrote about his dreams for Haiti, and tells him Haiti awaits his return. She similarly produced and hosted news and documentary programming for television on both the English and French services of the CBC.
Governor General of Canada
Jean was Canada's first governor general of Caribbean origin; the third woman (after Jeanne Sauvé and Adrienne Clarkson); the fourth youngest (after the Marquess of Lorne, who was 33 years old in 1878; the Marquess of Lansdowne, who was 38 years old in 1883; and Edward Schreyer, who was 43 years old in 1979); the fourth former journalist (after Sauvé, Roméo LeBlanc and Clarkson); and the second after Clarkson to not only have neither a political nor military background, but also to be a visible minority, to break the tradition of Canadian-born governors general, and to be in an interracial marriage. Jean was also the first representative of Queen Elizabeth II to have been born during the latter's reign, and her appointment saw the first child living in Rideau Hall, the official residence since Schreyer and his young family lived there in the early 1980s.
As governor general-designate
On August 4, 2005, it was announced from the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada that Queen Elizabeth II had approved Prime Minister Paul Martin's choice of Jean to succeed Adrienne Clarkson as the Queen's representative. At the time, Martin said of Jean that she "is a woman of talent and achievement. Her personal story is nothing short of extraordinary. And extraordinary is precisely what we seek in a governor generalship—who after all must represent all of Canada to all Canadians and to the rest of the world as well."[12] Almost immediately, there was speculation that Martin had been influenced by the political climate in Ottawa at the time, leading the Prime Minister to deny that rejuvenated popularity for his party in Quebec was a motivating factor in his decision.
From Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, the upcoming appointment was met with mostly favourable comments, Jean's predecessor applauded the choice, saying that Jean was "an exciting and imaginative choice for Governor General."[13] In her first remarks after this announcement, Jean herself encouraged Canadians to involve themselves in their communities, and stated that she wished to reach out to all Canadians, regardless of their background, and made it a goal to focus especially on Canadian youth and the disadvantaged.
However, by August 11, 2005, reports emerged of a forthcoming piece by René Boulanger for the Quebec sovereigntist publication Le Québécois that would reveal Jean and her husband's support for Quebec independence, citing Lafond's associations with former members of the terrorist organization, the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ),[14] specifically Jacques Rose. Though Boulanger admitted that he was motivated to incite a rejection of Jean by Anglophone Canadians, Gilles Rhéaume, former president of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, called on the Governor General-Designate to reveal how she voted in Quebec's 1995 referendum on independence,[15] [16] and Members of Parliament, as well as some provincial premiers, demanded that Jean and her husband clarify where their sympathies lay.[17] Then, four days after the Prime Minister publicly explained that Jean and her spouse had both undergone thorough background checks by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service,[18] there came to light, on August 17, the existence of a documentary in which Jean had been filmed with several hard-line Quebec separatists, all toasting "to independence" after Jean stated: "Independence can't be given, it must be taken."
That same day, Jean responded with a public statement, saying "I wish to tell you unequivocally that both my husband and I are proud to be Canadian and that we have the greatest respect for the institutions of our country. We are fully committed to Canada. I would not have accepted this position otherwise... [We] have never belonged to a political party or the separatist movement," and went on to say that in the documented footage she had been speaking about Haiti and not Quebec. Martin added on his earlier comments: "There is no doubt in my mind that her devotion to Canada is longstanding and resolute,"[19] though some critics continued to argue that Jean's response had been too vague. By late August, polls showed that there had been a 20% drop in support for the recommendation of Jean as the next governor general, in response to which the Haitian community voiced their support for Jean, even holding special church services in her honour.[20] Jean reaffirmed in late 2010 that the rumours of her separatist sympathies were untrue and revealed that she had been upset by those journalists who she saw as capitalizing on sensationalism, rather than seeking accuracy through investigation, but she had been advised repeatedly not to respond.[21]
The Queen held audience with Jean and her family on September 6, 2005, at Balmoral Castle. Though this type of meeting with a governor general-designate was standard, Jean's was unique in that the presence of her young daughter marked the first time in Elizabeth's reign that her designated viceroy-to-be had brought a child to an audience, which caused some protocol issues. The weekend was informal; for one dinner, coincidentally on the eve of Jean's birthday, the Queen drove Jean and her family to a cottage on the Balmoral estate, where they were joined by Prince Philip and Prince Edward, who, along with the Queen, performed the cooking and washing up. Of it, Jean said "[i]t was probably the best birthday of my life." The commission appointing Jean was issued on September 10 under the royal sign-manual and Great Seal of Canada.
Upon her return to Canada, Jean yet again became a target when the subject of her dual citizenship was raised, in particular the French variety she had obtained through her marriage to the French-born Lafond. A section of the French civil code forbade French citizens from holding government or military positions in other countries, yet Jean, as governor general, would hold a governmental position as the representative of Canada's head of state, and, as such, would have a military role carrying out the duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, as constitutionally vested in the monarch.[22] The French embassy in Ottawa stated that there was "no question" that the law would not be enforced in Jean's case, but, on September 25, two days before her swearing-in, Jean made it public that she had renounced her French citizenship "[in] light of the responsibilities related to the function of Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces" and "France acceded to my request by decree on September 23, 2005."[23] [24]
In office
At her investiture ceremony in the Senate chamber on September 27, 2005, Jean declared in a speech described as "moving" that "the time of the Two Solitudes that for too long described the character of this country is past," and called for the protection of the environment, the shielding of culture against globalization, and an end to the marginalization of young people. According to one media account, "the pomp and circumstance of Canada's most significant state function were blended with humour, passion and even tears."[25] while The Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson reflected the general captivation with the new governor general in the following way:
Echoing her inaugural speech, the motto on the personal coat of arms created for Jean upon taking office as governor general was BRISER LES SOLITUDES, which translates into "breaking down solitudes". One of her first acts as vicereine was then to launch an online chat with Canadians, as part of the larger project of creating within the Governor General's domain name a website dubbed "Citizen Voices: Breaking Down Solitudes", where users could engage each other in discussion forums and prominent individuals could post blog entries. The focus extended beyond simply the relationship between the traditional Two Solitudes of Francophones and Anglophones in Canada to include relations between peoples of all racial, linguistic, cultural, and gender groups.
Over the first two years of her mandate, Jean embarked on the traditional viceregal tours of Canada's provinces and territories. In British Columbia, Jean presented the Grey Cup at the 93rd Canadian Football League championship game; in Iqaluit, Nunavut, she opened the Toonik Tyme Festival, where she donated eighty books in Inuktitut, French, and English to the Centennial Library in commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday;[26] and, on May 4, 2006, she became the first governor general to address the Alberta legislature. During these tours, Jean also focused strongly on the plight of female victims of violence, meeting with representatives of women's organizations, such as when, in 2007, she participated in a historic private discussion with aboriginal women chiefs and elders at Saskatchewan's Government House.[27] In contrast to her low approval ratings prior to her appointment, crowds were large and welcoming wherever Jean went.[28] Only as her convoy arrived at the National War Memorial for her first Remembrance Day ceremony, on November 11, 2005, were Jean and Lafond greeted with disapproval from an audience, when veterans turned their backs on the Governor General and her consort to show contempt for two people the veterans felt had worked to break up the country they had fought to defend.[29]
Military duties and welcomes overseas
The viceregal family undertook their first international trip in February 2006, journeying to Italy to attend the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics, meet Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in Torino, and Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Three months later, Jean attended the investiture of René Préval as President of Haiti, Jean's first visit to her homeland in her capacity as the Queen's representative, and where she was greeted with enthusiasm in Jacmel.[30] At the end of the year, between November 18 and December 11, 2006, Jean then embarked on a trip consisting of state visits to five African countries—Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa, and Morocco—wherein the Governor General encouraged women's rights.[31] She also, in a precedent-breaking move, personally explained on her Citizen Voices website the role of the governor general in undertaking such trips and the reason behind these particular tours throughout Africa,[32] after which she continued to post her observations and feelings on her experiences on the continent. In Mali, where she arrived on November 23, 2006, Jean was greeted by tens of thousands of people lining the highway as her motorcade passed and, in the town of Benieli, she was presented with a goat, replete with a Canadian flag on its collar.[33] Male vendors also gave Canadian journalists gifts to be passed on to Jean, provided that she also be given their telephone numbers.[34] Further, during the South African leg of the tour, then President Thabo Mbeki praised the Queen-in-Council's decision to appoint Jean as governor general, citing it as an example to European countries of how African immigrants could be treated.[35]
Jean embraced her role as acting commander-in-chief, one of her first international duties being a trip, from October 29–30, 2005, to France for the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, just after which she returned to Canada for the arrival at Trenton, Ontario, of the bodies of six Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Jean made on March 8, 2007, her first visit to Canadian troops taking part in the offensive in Afghanistan; she had earlier expressed her desire to go, but Harper advised against such a trip on the grounds of security concerns, the relevance of which were demonstrated when two attacks were made against Canadian soldiers on the same day the Governor General landed in Kabul.[36] Jean had the arrival timed specifically for International Women's Day, stating: "the women of Afghanistan may face the most unbearable conditions, but they never stop fighting for survival. Of course, we, the rest of the women around the world, took too long to hear the cries of our Afghan sisters, but I am here to tell them that they are no longer alone. And neither are the people of Afghanistan." Part of the Governor General's itinerary included meeting with Afghan women, Canadian soldiers, Royal Canadian Mounted Police teams, humanitarian workers, and diplomats.[37]
"Loose cannon" accusation
There was, by early 2007, some perception that Jean's schedule was seemingly thinner than that of her predecessors; an initial explanation of fatigue was further detailed by the Secretary to the Governor General as thyroid problems, and that the vicereine's doctor had advised rest after Jean's previously hectic diary.[38] At the same time, some in the Ottawa Press Gallery opined that Jean had on a few occasions in the previous year overstepped the boundaries of an office that was expected to remain non-partisan; journalist Chantal Hébert said that the Governor General had "been wading uncommonly deep in political territory over the past few months", citing Jean's criticism of Quebec sovereigntists and her expressed support for the mission of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.[39] Further, Michael Valpy penned a piece in The Globe and Mail critiquing Jean for inviting who Valpy described as "potentially politically charged individuals" to post on her Citizen Voices website.[40] Jean had also made, at the roast-like annual National Press Gallery dinner, satirical remarks about Parti Québécois leadership candidate André Boisclair's admitted cocaine use and,[41] in a September 18, 2006 interview regarding a proposed subsidy for Canadians to travel domestically, she commented that Quebecers "are sometimes very disconnected from the rest of Canada" and that their isolation affected Canada's unity. Jean later clarified her opinion by adding that Canadians from all provinces were disconnected from other parts of the country,[42] [43] and a September 26 editorial in the Montreal Gazette supported Jean's statements on the divisions between Canada's peoples, saying that supporting national unity was a part of a governor general's mandate;[44] but, the ire of Quebec separatist politicians was not assuaged. Further, the content of a speech by Jean to mark the 25th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was regarded as thinly veiled criticism of her Cabinet's decision to end the Court Challenges Program and,[45] into 2007, it was reported that Jean's staff at Rideau Hall had been systematically removing royal portraits from the walls of the residence. All of this prompted Valpy to reveal that, early in his time as prime minister, Stephen Harper was told by Alex Himelfarb, then the Clerk of the Privy Council: "Prime Minister, your biggest problem is in Rideau Hall," meaning Jean and her potential to be a "loose cannon".
Jean carried out the regular ceremonial duties of state, such as dedicating the new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum on June 1, 2007 (following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the governor general who opened the first expansion of the museum in 1914),[46] and undertaking a state visit to Brazil, from July 6–15, 2007.[47]
Parliamentary prorogation
In late 2008, the Governor General had to return to Canada in the midst of a state visit in Europe to contend with a parliamentary dispute, as a coalition of three opposition parties in parliament threatened to rescind their confidence in the Cabinet under the leadership of Stephen Harper and subsequently form the government. After two and half hours of deliberation, Jean chose to follow the constitutional precedent of accepting her prime minister's advice, which was to prorogue parliament until late January 2009.[48] At the end of Jean's viceregal tenure, Peter H. Russell, one of the constitutional experts from whom Jean sought advice, disclosed that the Governor General granted the prorogation on two conditions: parliament would reconvene soon and, when it did, the Cabinet would produce a passable budget. This, Russell said, set a precedent that would prevent future prime ministers from advising the prorogation of parliament "for any length of time for any reason."[49] Jean thus prevented the approaching non-confidence vote, as well as a resulting situation wherein she would be required to choose between asking the coalition to form a government or dissolving parliament and dropping the writs, after having a federal election only six weeks earlier.[50] Along with the subsequent prorogation of parliament in December 2009 and the earlier calling of an election in October 2008, Jean was for almost two years part of a controversy in the Canadian media that focused on the constitutional relationships between the governor general and the prime minister or the leaders of the parties in opposition.[51]
Seal meat, new uniforms, and crisis in Haiti
During a tour of Nunavut in early 2009, the Governor General again garnered headlines when she participated in a traditional Inuit seal feast at a community festival, gutting a seal that had been recently killed by hunters and consuming a piece of the raw heart. While both her immediate predecessor and Prince Charles had previously partaken in raw seal meat in the Canadian Arctic,[52] Jean's simple act drew attention, both positive and negative, because of its coincidence with the European Parliament's recent ban on the import of Canadian seal products.[53] [54] Dining on seal was a traditional aspect of the annual event and it was proper etiquette for the Governor General, as a guest, to take part.[55] When asked by reporters what her motivations were, Jean replied: "Take from that what you will."[56]
A series of state visits followed in 2009, to Norway,[57] Croatia,[58] Greece, and Mexico,[59] as well as another visit to Canadian troops in Afghanistan from September 8–9. In between these diplomatic missions, Jean presided on June 27 over the ceremonies in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the consecration and presentation of the new Queen's Colour to the Canadian navy; she wore at that time the Commander-in-Chief's naval uniform,[60] marking the revival of a practice that had ceased following the tenure of Ray Hnatyshyn. She, along with Prince Charles, did the same at the 2009 Remembrance Day events in Ottawa, both at that time sporting Canadian army dress uniform.[61] Then, in June 2010, Jean conducted a fleet review in Esquimalt Harbour, to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Canadian Navy.[62]
The vicereine again won plaudits, though not universal,[63] from the media and public for her actions following the earthquake that devastated her native Haiti on January 12, 2010, in which she lost her friend Magalie Marcelin, godmother to Jean's daughter. The Governor General, with her prime minister, Stephen Harper, attended an emergency meeting at the Department of Foreign Affairs and then made a tearful speech, with parts in Haitian Creole, thanking the Cabinet for its swift action and the Canadian media for its coverage, as well as urging strength and courage to Haitians.[64] She later attended a vigil in Montreal and, on January 25, 2010, met at Rideau Hall with Haitian prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive.[65] [66] After officially opening the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, on February 12, and the Winter Paralympics a month later,[67] [68] the Governor General made a visit to Haiti, from March 8–10, 2010, to observe the devastation and Canadian assistance being meted out there and to meet with President Préval.[69] [70]
End of tenure
Jean announced to the press in early 2010 that she would step out of the viceregal role near the end of the traditional, but not official, five-year period.[71] The then official opposition leader, Michael Ignatieff, publicly advocated the extension of Jean's tenure, in doing so breaking the tradition of keeping consultations on the next governor general among the prime minister and opposition party leaders confidential.[72] Polls conducted around that time showed that Jean had earned an approval rating of 60%, and a constitutional expert at the University of Toronto called her performance as governor general "superb", though some of her missteps were noted.[73]
On May 10, 2010, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands presented Jean with a new tulip cultivar named the Michaëlle Jean tulip; with deep maroon petals; it was designed to reflect the Governor General's personal tastes.[74] [75] [76] This carried on the tradition of Dutch royalty giving tulips as gifts to Canada.
Summaries of Jean's time as the Queen's representative emerged by mid-2010; Jean was regarded as having fulfilled the role in an admirable, though not perfect, fashion. It was noted that she used the office, her speaking abilities, and photogenic nature to Canada's advantage, promoting freedom, human rights, and urban youth, and to bring attention to socio-economic problems in the country's north. She was commended for her dedication to the arts, Aboriginal Canadians, the Armed Forces, and her outreach to Haiti following the earthquake there, but critiqued for specific incidents, such as referring to herself as Canada's head of state and making public comments that skirted the political.[77] [78] [79] Her ability to personally connect with those she met was also noted, as well as her frequent displays of emotion; commentators dubbed her the empathizer-in-chief.
Post-viceregal life
In the weeks before Jean's departure from the viceregal office, the Cabinet announced that the Michaëlle Jean Foundation would be established by the federal Crown-in-Council to focus on promoting education, culture, and creativity among youth from rural, northern, and/or poor communities in Canada.[80] It was also reported that the Secretary-General of the United Nations would be appointing Jean to act as special envoy to Haiti for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with an aim to fight poverty and illiteracy and raise international funds.[81] [82] She was on November 8, 2010, appointed for a four-year term.[83] [84] Although the position's office is located in Paris, France, Jean opted to remain in Canada and base herself out of space provided by the University of Ottawa and rented by the Michaëlle Jean Foundation. In early 2011, Jean made a call for the overhaul of Haiti's education system, as "the cornerstone of the impoverished nation's future prosperity."[85] Also that year, it was announced that Jean had been appointed as Chancellor of the University of Ottawa; she began her term on February 1, 2012,[86] [87] and stepped down in 2015.
In 2023, Jean was announced as the distinguished keynote speaker for Canada's Supporting Women in Film Trades (SWIFT) 2023 Conference held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. At a SWIFT press conference at Frank Digital's Studio, the event's Executive Director Adam Smoluk praised Jean's accomplishments and stated, "As a woman who made strides in male-dominated fields including politics, journalism, and filmmaking, Jean was a natural choice to headline the conference."[88]
Secretary-General of La Francophonie
Secretary-General of La Francophonie Abdou Diouf, in April 2011, appointed Jean as the Grand Témoin de la Francophonie for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, with the task of promoting the French language and ensuring compliance by the London Olympic Organising Committee with rule 24 of the Olympic Charter, which gives French the status of an official language of the Olympic Games.[89]
In 2014, the Canadian federal government, along with the provincial governments of Quebec and New Brunswick, as well as the government of Haiti endorsed Jean's candidacy to be Diouf's successor as Secretary-General of La Francophonie. On November 30, 2014, the representatives of governments of the 57-member organization[90] chose Jean for the position by consensus after the four other candidates withdrew.[91]
Her four-year mandate began January 5, 2015,[92] [93] and she has since promoted democratic procedures[94] —particularly in respect to elections in the Central African Republic, Niger, Comoros, and Benin—education, and the rights of women and girls.[95] [96] [97]
Jean sought a mandate for a second four-year term at the 2018 Francophonie Summit in Armenia, however, France and eventually Canada supported the consensus candidate, Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo. Jean has been criticized for expenses such as spending $500,000 to renovate her Paris apartment, a $50,000 bill for four nights at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria hotel, the acquisition of a $20,000 piano and the $1-million price tag for a youth-engagement program carried out aboard the replica of a historic 18th century ship, the Hermione.[98]
Jean was defeated in her bid for a second term when the 2018 Francophonie summit held in Armenia agreed, by consensus, to elect Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo as secretary-general. Jean's term in office ended on January 2, 2019.[99] [100]
Chancellor of St. Paul's University College
Jean was named to succeed Jean Paul Gladu as chancellor of St. Paul's University College in late October 2020. The school, which is affiliated with the University of Waterloo, offers programs in Indigenous Studies, International Development, Canadian Studies and Human Rights while also being home to the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre, the Student Refugee Program, and GreenHouse, a nationally-recognized social enterprise incubator.
Head of the Fédération haïtienne de football
Jean was given the mandate to revive Haitian soccer from 2021 to 2022 after a sex scandal involving the former president. Jean and her three colleagues were to organize the election of the next FHF executive committee. None of them were eligible for the vacancies.[101]
Honours
Michaëlle Jean (2005–2010) |
Appointments
- September 27, 2005October 1, 2010: Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)[102]
- October 1, 2010 – May 8, 2013: Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)
- May 8, 2013 –: Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)
- September 27, 2005October 1, 2010: Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)[103]
- October 1, 2010 – May 8, 2013: Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)
- May 8, 2013 –: Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)
- September 27, 2005October 1, 2010: Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (COM)[104]
- October 1, 2010: Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (COM)
- September 27, 2005October 1, 2010: Dame of Justice, Prior, and Chief Officer in Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (DStJ)[105]
- October 1, 2010: Dame of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (DStJ)
- September 27, 2005October 1, 2010: Chief Scout of Canada
- 2005: Honorary Member of the Royal Military College of Canada Club
- 2007: Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPSC(hon))[106] [107]
- September 26, 2012: Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada (PC)
- Medals
- Awards
- 1989: the Human Rights League of Canada Media Award[108]
- 1989: Fondation Mireille Lanctôt Prix Mireille-Lanctôt
- 1994: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Prix Anik
- 1995: Amnesty International Canada Journalism Award
- 1997: City of Montreal Citizen of Honour
- 2000: Conseil de la Langue Française du Québec Prix Raymond-Charette
- 2000: Canadian Association of Cable Television Providers Galaxie Award
- 2001: Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Prix Gémeaux (Best Interview: All Categories)
- 2004: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation French Television Prize
- 2009: Board of Governors Recognition Achievement Award from the National Quality Institute[109]
- 2009: Recipient of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards[110]
- November 16, 2009: National Quality Institute Recognition of Achievement Award[111]
- 2022: Ottawa Key to the City[112]
- Foreign honours
Honorary military appointments
Honorary degrees
- June 5, 2006: University of Ottawa, Doctor of the University (D.Univ.)[116]
- July 21, 2006: University for Foreigners Perugia, Doctor of International Relations (DIR)
- November 10, 2006: McGill University, Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.)[117]
- March 25, 2007: Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, Doctor of Laws (LLD)[118]
- June 5, 2007: University of Manitoba, Doctor of Laws (LLD)[119]
- June 10, 2008: University of Alberta, Doctor of Laws (LLD)[120]
- May 23, 2009: Université de Moncton, Doctorate of Letters (DLitt)[121]
- June 14, 2009: Université Laval, Doctor of the University (DUniv)[122] [123]
- May 20, 2010: Royal Military College of Canada, Doctor of Military Science (DMSc)[124]
- May 26, 2010: Université de Montréal, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)[125] [126]
- February 25, 2011: University of Guelph, Doctor of Laws (LLD)[127]
- November 17, 2011: University of Calgary, Doctor of Laws (LLD)[128]
- 2012: Law Society of Upper Canada, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)[129]
- November 10, 2012: Carleton University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)[130]
- June 15, 2013: DePaul University[131]
- October 24, 2013: NorQuest College, Honorary Diploma[132] [133]
- May 28, 2014: Laurentian University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)[134]
- Early 2019: Dalhousie University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)[135]
Honorific eponyms
Awards
- Michaëlle Jean and Jean-Daniel Lafond Endowment Fund for Social Communication Studies[136]
- Michaëlle Jean Emergency Hunger Relief Award[137]
Geographic locations
- Michaëlle Jean Park, Winnipeg[138]
Schools
Flora
Arms
Notes: | Just prior to her installation as Governor General, Jean was granted a personal coat of arms that depicted her Haitian roots. |
Year Adopted: | September 1, 2005 |
Crest: | A sea shell Or entoured by a chain its ends broken Sable |
Escutcheon: | Sable a sand dollar ensigned by the Royal Crown Or |
Supporters: | Two Simbis Or queued and crined Sable each sounding a sea shell Or |
Compartment: | Issuant from barry wavy Or and Sable set before a rocky mound proper growing thereon to the dexter a palm tree and to the sinister a pine tree Or |
Motto: | BRISER LES SOLITUDES (Eliminating isolation) |
Orders: | The ribbon and insignia of a Companion of the Order of Canada. DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (They desire a better country) |
Symbolism: | The shield shows a sand dollar, a special talisman for Jean, and the Crown symbolising her viceregal authority. The shell in a broken chain refers to Albert Mangonès' sculpture in Port-au-Prince, Le Marron Inconnu, which depicts an escaped slave blowing a sea shell to call to arms his fellow enslaved people; this symbolises Jean's ancestors' escape from slavery. The two Simbis are Haitian Vodou water spirits with the power to calm rough seas and give wisdom; they stand in before a rocky terrain upon which are rooted a palm tree—a Haitian symbol of peace—and a pine tree—representative of the natural riches of Canada.[140] |
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Jean, Michaëlle . The UN Refugee Agency . June 11, 2010.
- Web site: Michaëlle Jean begins UN job – CBC News . October 13, 2018.
- Web site: Information Resources > Members of the Queen's Privy Council > Current Alphabetical List > J . Privy Council Office . Queen's Printer for Canada . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215221747/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=council-conseil&doc=members-membres%2Fchronolog-eng.htm . February 15, 2016 . October 12, 2012.
- Web site: Role and Responsibilities > The Governor General and Her Spouse > Governor General Michaëlle Jean . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Governor General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . January 20, 2010.
- News: Governor General Michaëlle Jean in quake-ravaged Haiti: 'You are not alone' . Panetta . Alexander . March 8, 2010 . March 11, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100311011538/http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100308/national/gg_haiti . March 11, 2010 . Yahoo News.
- News: Canadian troops will focus aid on town with deep ties to GG Michaëlle Jean . Wyatt . Nelson . January 18, 2010 . Canada East . January 20, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928101023/http://www.canadaeast.com/front/article/924618 . September 28, 2011.
- Book: Azzi, Stephen . Biography > Governors General of Canada > Jean, Michaëlle . Historica Foundation of Canada . Marsh . James Harley . Toronto . The Canadian Encyclopedia . October 21, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141007231139/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michaelle-jean/ . October 7, 2014 . live.
- Web site: Indepth > Governor General Michaëlle Jean . October 11, 2005 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . November 3, 2015.
- Web site: The Montréal Buzz > Montreal Neighbourhood 101: Little Burgundy . Murphy . Brendan . Tourisme Montréal . November 3, 2015 . July 6, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170706200430/http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/montreal-neighborhood-101-little-burgundy/ . dead .
- News: Michaëlle Jean steps down as University of Ottawa chancellor . April 14, 2015 . Ottawa Citizen . July 12, 2015.
- News: Governor-General shares grief with B.C. Haitians . Taber . Jane . February 10, 2010 . The Globe and Mail . February 10, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100211030922/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/haiti/governor-general-shares-grief-with-bc-haitians/article1463457/ . February 11, 2010.
- Web site: Announcement by Paul Martin of Michaëlle Jean's appointment . Office of the Prime Minister . August 4, 2005 . Queen's Printer for Canada . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20051211085728/http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news.asp?id=556 . December 11, 2005 . August 8, 2005.
- Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson Governor General of Canada on the announcement of Michaëlle Jean as new Governor General Designate . August 4, 2005 . Government House . August 4, 2005.
- News: Rideau Hall pick disappoints separatist hard-liners . Peritz . Ingrid . August 11, 2005 . The Globe and Mail . August 11, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050813002909/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050811/LAFOND11/National/Idx . August 13, 2005.
- News: Separatist says 'Come clean, Jean' . Wyatt . Nelson . August 11, 2005 . The Globe and Mail . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160209175313/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/separatist-says-come-clean-jean/article20425086/ . February 9, 2016.
- News: GG-designate challenged on 1995 referendum vote . Canadian Press . August 11, 2005 . August 11, 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050911081144/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1123796154319_119205354/?hub=Canada . September 11, 2005 . CTV.
- News: New governor general must clarify sovereignty position, premiers say . August 12, 2005 . March 17, 2021 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: Martin defends viceregal pair . LeBlanc . Daniel . August 13, 2005 . The Globe and Mail . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/martin-defends-viceregal-pair/article4119954/ . January 7, 2016.
- Statement by Paul Martin on the Governor General-Designate . August 17, 2005 . Office of the Prime Minister . August 17, 2005 . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080610212700/http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=564 . June 10, 2008 . dead.
- News: Haitian community holds special church service for the governor general-designate . August 27, 2005 . November 3, 2015 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- Wherry . Aaron . October 3, 2010 . Michaëlle Jean in conversation . Maclean's . Toronto . October 2010 . 0024-9262 . October 21, 2010.
- Book: Victoria . Constitution Act, 1867 . Queen's Printer . III.15 . Westminster . March 29, 1867 . Victoria of the United Kingdom . February 22, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100203024121/http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html . February 3, 2010 . live.
- News: New governor general to give up French citizenship . September 25, 2005 . November 3, 2015 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- Décret du 23 septembre 2005 portant libération des liens d'allégeance à l'égard de la France . September 24, 2005 . Legifrance . May 25, 2013 . Journal Officiel de la République Française.
- News: Passion and Tears: Jean Sworn In . Thompson . Elizabeth . September 28, 2005 . The Gazette . September 28, 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060404075846/http://www.canada.com/national/features/governor_general/story.html?id=78549c49-781f-43c0-908d-20f24db2ca5a . April 4, 2006.
- Jean . Michaëlle . April 17, 2006 . Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean Speech on the Occasion of the Opening Ceremony of the Toonik Tyme Festival . Government House . April 17, 2006.
- News: GG encourages dialogue to end domestic violence . Canadian Press . May 16, 2007 . March 17, 2021 . CTV.
- News: Hundreds greet new Governor General . October 18, 2005 . October 18, 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070211123935/http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/story/mb_gg20051018.html . February 11, 2007 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: Canadians honour war dead in solemn ceremony . November 11, 2005 . November 11, 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20051124173208/http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051111/Remembrance_Day_051111 . November 24, 2005 . CTV.
- News: Governor General visits her family's hometown in Haiti . May 16, 2006 . May 18, 2006 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: Jean welcomed by 'brothers and sisters' . Panetta . Alexander . November 22, 2006 . Toronto Star . November 30, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929153740/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1164235812148 . September 29, 2007.
- Web site: BLOGG > Canada and Africa . Jean . Michaëlle . November 19, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070211023003/http://www.citizenvoices.gg.ca/en/blogs/michaelle_jean/25 . February 11, 2007 . November 30, 2006.
- News: Malis gives GG thanks, and a goat . Canadian Press . November 27, 2006 . Toronto Star . August 21, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022005743/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/123644--malis-gives-gg-thanks-and-a-goat . October 22, 2012.
- News: Press in Mali gives GG thanks, and a Goat . Panetta . Alexander . November 25, 2006 . Toronto Star . November 30, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071201101248/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1164409811440 . December 1, 2007.
- News: South Africa's president praises Canada's first black governor general for setting an example for immigrants . Associated Press . December 5, 2006 . Herald Tribune . March 25, 2009 . Associated Press.
- News: GG visits Canadian troops . Canadian Press . March 8, 2007 . Toronto Star . March 15, 2007 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20070312010554/http://www.thestar.com/News/article/189686 . March 12, 2007.
- Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada undertakes first visit to Afghanistan . March 8, 2007 . Office of the Governor General of Canada . March 15, 2007.
- News: Thyroid problem forced Governor General to miss work: office . April 26, 2007 . March 17, 2021 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: Will Jean thwart election call?; . Hébert . Chantal . September 27, 2006 . Toronto Star . September 28, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929165425/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159307412136&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795 . September 29, 2007 . Chantal Hébert.
- News: 'Your biggest problem is Rideau Hall,' top bureaucrat warned Harper . Valpy . Michael . April 24, 2007 . The Globe and Mail . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/your-biggest-problem-is-rideau-hall-top-bureaucrat-warned-harper/article683952/ . January 7, 2016 . Michael Valpy.
- News: Governor General criticized by sister over Boisclair jokes . November 6, 2005 . November 3, 2015 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: Le Québec boude le Canada, déplore Michaëlle Jean . September 2006 . September 27, 2006 . dead . https://archive.today/20060929133808/http://lcn.canoe.com/lcn/infos/national/archives/2006/09/20060923-170419.html . September 29, 2006 . LCN . fr.
- News: Governor-General defends remarks on Quebec . Canadian Press . September 25, 2006 . The Globe and Mail . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/governor-general-defends-remarks-on-quebec/article4111050/ . January 7, 2016.
- News: Exchanges bring two solitudes closer . Editorial . September 27, 2006 . Toronto Star . September 27, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929153810/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159307412210&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795 . September 29, 2007.
- News: Her Charter gaffe . Editorial . April 19, 2007 . The Globe and Mail . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/her-charter-gaffe/article1326049/ . January 7, 2016.
- News: Inside the ROM crystal . Canadian Press . June 1, 2007 . Toronto Star . February 26, 2009 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20090319113057/http://www.thestar.com/article/220522 . March 19, 2009.
- Governor General to visit Salvador, Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro as part of State Visit to Brazil . June 27, 2007 . Queen's Printer for Canada . July 9, 2021 . July 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184635/https://www.gg.ca/en/media/news/2007/governor-general-visit-salvador-brasilia-sao-paulo-and-rio-de-janeiro-part-state-visit-brazil . dead .
- News: GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January . December 4, 2008 . November 3, 2015 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: PM gave Jean pledges in prorogation crisis . Elliott . Louise . October 2, 2010 . November 13, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20101005004604/http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/10/01/harper-jean-prorogation.html . October 5, 2010 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: The race is on: Harper calls election for Oct. 14 . September 7, 2008 . March 17, 2021 . CTV.
- News: The Crown and the Constitution: Sustaining Democracy? . Smith . David E. . June 10, 2010 . The Crown in Canada: Present Realities and Future Options . November 3, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131017024753/http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/Arch/2010/ConferenceOnTheCrown/CrownConferencePapers/The_Crown_and_the_Constitutio1.pdf . October 17, 2013 . Queen's University . Kingston . 5.
- News: Former GG unimpressed with Jean's seal snack . Panetta . Alexander . May 31, 2009 . Toronto Star . May 31, 2009 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20090601214317/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/643294 . June 1, 2009.
- News: Governor General's seal snack sparks controversy . May 26, 2009 . November 3, 2015 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: My apologies to Michaëlle Jean . Gormley . John . May 29, 2009 . The StarPhoenix . November 3, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=45dfd68e-6b00-478f-b833-04c79dbf8547 . January 7, 2016 . John Kenneth Gormley.
- News: Governor-General's hearty seal meal 'proper etiquette' . Coutts . Matthew . May 26, 2009 . National Post . February 2, 2011 . dead . https://archive.today/20110205084754/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Governor+General+hearty+seal+meal+proper+etiquette/1632873/story.html . February 5, 2011.
- News: Canada's governor general eats seal heart . Associated Press . May 26, 2009 . San Francisco Chronicle . May 27, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090529090450/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2009%2F05%2F26%2Fnational%2Fa102735D50.DTL . May 29, 2009 . Associated Press.
- Governor General to Undertake State Visits to Ukraine and Norway . April 15, 2009 . Queen's Printer for Canada . November 2, 2009.
- Governor General to Undertake Visits to Slovenia, Croatia and Greece . October 14, 2009 . Queen's Printer for Canada . November 2, 2009.
- Web site: Active and Engaged > Representing Canada > Abroad > State Visits > State Visit to Mexico . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Governor General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . December 12, 2009.
- News: Jean presents new flag to the Canadian navy . June 27, 2009 . January 20, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100621064453/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/06/27/queen-colour.html . June 21, 2010 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- News: Royals join Canadians for Remembrance Day . Benzie . Robert . November 11, 2009 . Toronto Star . January 20, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100621050605/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/remembranceday/article/724247 . June 21, 2010.
- News: Governor General conducts fleet review to mark navy centennial . DeRosa . Katie . June 12, 2010 . National Post . June 13, 2010 . dead . https://archive.today/20100616152514/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Governor+General+conducts+fleet+review+mark+navy+centennial/3147422/story.html . June 16, 2010.
- News: Michaëlle Jean and Stephen Harper do us proud in Haiti . Siddiqui . Haroon . January 17, 2010 . Toronto Star . January 17, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110606031603/http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/751486#article . June 6, 2011.
- News: Governor General delivers tearful statement on Haiti . MacCharles . Tonda . January 13, 2010 . Toronto Star . January 14, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100117061129/http://www.thestar.com/news/world/haiti/article/750385--governor-general-delivers-tearful-statement-on-haiti . January 17, 2010.
- Governor General Attends a Vigil of Hope at La TOHU . January 21, 2010 . Queen's Printer for Canada . January 25, 2010.
- Governor General to meet Prime Minister of Haiti . January 25, 2010 . Queen's Printer for Canada . January 25, 2010.
- News: Gov. Gen. Jean to open 2010 Games: PM . Canadian Press . June 27, 2009 . Edmonton Sun . August 14, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090629080357/http://www.edmontonsun.com/sports/2009/06/27/9958406-cp.html . June 29, 2009.
- Governor General to open the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games . March 12, 2010 . Queen's Printer for Canada . March 12, 2010.
- News: Governor-General to land in Port-au-Prince for two-day tour . Leeder . Jessica . March 7, 2010 . The Globe and Mail . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/governor-general-lands-in-port-au-prince-for-two-day-tour/article4310077/ . January 7, 2016.
- News: Michaëlle Jean arrives in Haiti . Canwest News Service . March 8, 2010 . National Post . March 8, 2010 . dead . https://archive.today/20100310095605/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2654140 . March 10, 2010.
- News: Michaëlle Jean confirme que son mandat prendra fin en septembre . Panetta . Alexander . April 14, 2010 . La Presse . April 14, 2010.
- News: Michaelle Jean on her way out as GG . Greenway . Norma . April 14, 2010 . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.canada.com/news/michaelle+jean/2906806/story.html . January 7, 2016 . Canada.com.
- News: Michaëlle Jean will leave big shoes to fill . Weese . Brian . April 10, 2010 . Toronto Sun . April 11, 2010.
- Michaëlle Jean Tulip unveiled . May 12, 2010 . Hempstead, Doug . Canoe . Ottawa . Adobe Flash.
- News: Dutch princess visits Rideau Hall . Hempstead . Doug . May 12, 2010 . Ottawa Sun . May 26, 2010 . May 15, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100515123941/http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/05/12/13923666.html . dead .
- Web site: Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands at Rideau Hall . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Governor General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . May 26, 2010.
- News: Michaëlle Jean grew in the viceregal office . Editorial Board . June 22, 2010 . The Globe and Mail . June 24, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100626215810/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/michalle-jean-grew-in-the-viceregal-office/article1613940/ . June 26, 2010.
- News: Jean's G-G tenure marked by euphoria and controversy . Posner . Michael . June 22, 2010 . The Globe and Mail . June 24, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100626172908/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/jeans-g-g-tenure-marked-by-euphoria-and-controversy/article1614003/ . June 26, 2010.
- Editorial Board . 2010 . The Conscience of a Nation . Canadian Monarchist News . Toronto . Monarchist League of Canada . Spring-Summer 2010 . 31 . 15 . June 24, 2010.
- News: Michaëlle Jean lands UN post, starts foundation . Cohen . Tobi . June 22, 2010 . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.canada.com/news/governor+general+lands+post+launches+foundation/3185896/story.html . January 7, 2016 . Canada.com.
- Web site: Michaëlle Jean designated UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti . UNESCO . October 1, 2010.
- News: Governor-General's next role will be special envoy for UN . Boesveld . Sarah . June 21, 2010 . The Globe and Mail . June 22, 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100625235439/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/governor-generals-next-role-will-be-special-envoy-for-un/article1612618/ . June 25, 2010.
- Web site: Haiti not forgotten: Michaëlle Jean taking up her duties as UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti on 8 November . UNESCO . March 17, 2021.
- News: Former governor general Michaëlle Jean to begin United Nations work for Haiti . November 7, 2010 . The Canadian Press . September 3, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120903014951/http://www.thespec.com/news/world/article/274046--former-governor-general-michaelle-jean-to-begin-united-nations-work-for-haiti . dead .
- News: UN special envoy calls for overhaul of Haitian education system . February 15, 2011 . November 3, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054013/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=37540 . January 7, 2016 . UN News Centre.
- Michaëlle Jean named University of Ottawa Chancellor . November 7, 2011 . University of Ottawa . November 7, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111111102348/http://www.media.uottawa.ca/mediaroom/news-details_2454.html . November 11, 2011 . dead.
- Web site: Chancellor . University of Ottawa . February 3, 2012 . February 4, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120204101047/http://web5.uottawa.ca/admingov/chancellor.html . dead .
- Web site: Lights, camera, action! Making room for women behind the camera. 2023-09-14. Ben Waldman . September 14, 2023 . Winnipeg Free Press.
- Abdou Diouf appoints Michaëlle Jean Grand Témoin de la Francophonie for the London 2012 Olympic Games . April 20, 2011 . Michaëlle Jean Foundation . May 9, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120323175735/http://www.ifn.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/Communique_15_Grand_Temoin_Londres_EN_version_.pdf . March 23, 2012 . dead .
- News: Political stars suddenly align for Jean . June 12, 2014 . The Globe and Mail . June 12, 2014.
- News: Michaëlle Jean elected new head of la Francophonie . November 30, 2014 . The Globe and Mail . November 30, 2014.
- News: Michaëlle Jean chosen as new head of la Francophonie . November 30, 2014 . November 30, 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141201203309/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/micha%C3%ABlle-jean-chosen-as-new-head-of-la-francophonie-1.2855138 . December 1, 2014 . CBC News.
- Web site: Pride de fonction officielle de Madame Michaëlle Jean, nouvelle secrétaire générale de la Francophonie . Organisation internationale de la Francophonie . February 5, 2015 . February 6, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150206030309/http://www.francophonie.org/Prise-de-fonction-officielle-de.html . dead .
- News: L'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) appelle à la retenue et au dialogue . January 20, 2016 . March 26, 2016 . Radio Television Caraibes.
- News: Liberia: Women, Youth at Forefront of South-South, Triangular Ties . February 13, 2016 . March 26, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160411195813/https://www.the-newshub.com/general/francophonie-announces-election-mission-to-car-niger-comoros-benin-elections . April 11, 2016 . Liberia News Agency.
- News: Political stars suddenly align for Jean . June 12, 2014 . The Globe and Mail . June 12, 2014.
- Web site: Ottawa signals Michaëlle Jean's bid for second term at Francophonie all but over – CBC News . October 9, 2018.
- Web site: Ex-governor general Michaëlle Jean's reign as head of la Francophonie may be nearing a controversial end – The Star . . June 8, 2018 . June 11, 2018.
- Web site: Michaelle Jean loses bid to hold onto job as Francophonie secretary general . Marquis . Melanie . October 12, 2018 . October 12, 2018.
- Web site: Francophonie – Louise Mushikiwabo takes office as secretary general of La Francophonie (03.01.19) . étrangères . Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires . France Diplomatie – Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs . January 10, 2019 . April 15, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190415030921/https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/francophony-and-the-french-language/events/article/francophonie-louise-mushikiwabo-takes-office-as-secretary-general-of-la . dead .
- Web site: Michaëlle Jean à la tête de la Fédération haïtienne de soccer. Zone Sports-. ICI.Radio-Canada.ca. Radio-Canada.ca. January 25, 2021 .
- Web site: Honours > Order of Canada . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . November 3, 2015.
- Web site: Honours > Order of Military Merit . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . February 26, 2009.
- Web site: Honours > Order of Merit of the Police Forces . Office of the Governor-General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . February 26, 2009.
- Web site: Honours > Insignia Worn by the Governor-General . Office of the Governor-General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . February 26, 2009.
- Governor General to be Inducted as Honorary Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada . January 25, 2007 . Office of the Governor-General of Canada . January 28, 2007.
- Web site: The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada:: Honorary Fellowship . www.royalcollege.ca.
- Web site: Governor General > Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada . Office of the Governor-General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . February 26, 2009.
- Web site: Our Founders and Co-Presidents > The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D. . Michaëlle Jean Foundation . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054013/http://www.fmjf.ca/en/foundation/team/founders/ . January 7, 2016 . November 3, 2015.
- Web site: Canada's Top 25 Immigrants 2009. 2021-06-18. Canadian Immigrant. en-US.
- Web site: Media > Photos > Governor General honoured with Recognition of Achievement Award from the National Quality Institute . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Governor General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . February 4, 2010.
- News: Phillips . Caroline . March 8, 2022 . Former governor general Michaëlle Jean is awarded Key to City on International Women's Day . . Ottawa, Ontario . December 20, 2023.
- Governor General to Receive UNIFEM Canada Award . May 28, 2010 . Queen's Printer for Canada . June 7, 2010.
- Government of Canada . December 31, 2011 . Awards to Canadians . Canada Gazette . Ottawa . Queen's Printer for Canada . 145 . 53 . July 4, 2012.
- News: Six Canadiens décorés de l'Ordre de la Pléiade . Gagnon . Charles-Antoine . July 7, 2014 . Le Journal de Montréal . July 9, 2014.
- Web site: JEAN, Michaëlle . Office of the President.
- Web site: List of McGill Honorary Degree Recipients from 1935 to September 2019. February 1, 2020. February 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200201021217/https://mcgill.ca/senate/files/senate/list_of_mcgill_honorary_degree_recipients_from_1935_to_september_2019.pdf. dead.
- Web site: Osgoode Hall Law School Convocation conferring honorary degree on Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean . York University . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080609204906/http://www.yorku.ca/mygraduation/Convocation/webcast/March2007/mar2007archive.htm . June 9, 2008 . February 26, 2009.
- Jean . Michaëlle . June 5, 2007 . Speech on the Occasion of the Presentation of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Manitoba . Office of the Governor General of Canada . June 10, 2007.
- Web site: University of Alberta Senate > Honorary Degrees > Past Honorary Degree Recipients > J . University of Alberta . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185921/http://www.senate.ualberta.ca/HonoraryDegrees/PastHonoraryDegreeRecipients.aspx#J . March 4, 2016 . November 3, 2015.
- Web site: Honorary Doctorate from the Université de Moncton . Governor General of Canada . May 26, 2009.
- Web site: Governor General receives an honorary doctorate from the Université Laval . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Queen's Printer for Canada . June 21, 2009.
- Larose . Yvon . June 18, 2009 . Des moments forts et inoubliables . Au fil des événements . Quebec City . Université Laval . 44 . 34 . June 21, 2009 . June 29, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090629175400/http://www.aufil.ulaval.ca/articles/des-moments-forts-inoubliables-17711.html . dead .
- Web site: Archives > Photo of the Day > May 20, 2010 – Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario . Department of National Defence . Department of National Defence (Canada) . Queen's Printer for Canada . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110609135444/http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/gal/photos-eng.asp?id=238 . June 9, 2011 . May 21, 2010.
- Governor General to Receive an Honorary Degree from the Université de Montréal . May 26, 2010 . Queen's Printer for Canada . June 7, 2010.
- Langlois . Sophie . May 19, 2010 . Honorary degrees awarded to 11 outstanding personalities . dead . Nouvelles . Montreal . Université de Montréal . https://web.archive.org/web/20100604102750/http://www.nouvelles.umontreal.ca/udem-news/news/20100519-honorary-degrees-awarded-to-11-outstanding-personalities.html . June 4, 2010 . June 7, 2010.
- Web site: Michaëlle Jean Among Honorary Degree Recipients . February 18, 2011 . University of Guelph . February 26, 2011.
- News: Michaelle Jean thrilled to receive honorary U of C degree . Sean . Myers . November 18, 2011 . Calgary Herald . February 13, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120122061014/http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Michaelle%2BJean%2Bthrilled%2Breceive%2Bhonorary%2Bdegree/5729024/story.html . January 22, 2012.
- Web site: Honorary LLD Law Society of Ontario . lso.ca . 31 January 2020.
- Web site: Honorary Degree Recipients (Fall 2012) – Convocation . carleton.ca . February 1, 2020 . April 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200401044309/https://carleton.ca/convocation/honorary-degrees/fall-2012/ . dead .
- Web site: DePaul University of Chicago Confers an Honorary Doctorate on the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean . January 31, 2020.
- Web site: View NorQuest College honorary diploma recipient Michaëlle Jean's acceptance speech – NorQuest College – Edmonton, Alberta . norquest.ca . February 1, 2020 . February 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200201020530/https://www.norquest.ca/media-centre/news/2013/view-norquest-college-honorary-diploma-recipient-m.aspx . dead .
- Web site: A special day for a special woman – NorQuest College – Edmonton, Alberta . norquest.ca . February 1, 2020 . February 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200201020529/https://www.norquest.ca/media-centre/news/2013/a-special-day-for-a-special-woman.aspx . dead .
- Web site: Michaëlle Jean . laurentian.ca . 31 January 2020.
- Web site: Michaëlle Jean . Dalhousie University . February 1, 2020 . December 29, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191229155601/https://www.dal.ca/academics/convocation/history_traditions/honorary_degree_recipients/hon_degree_2019/micha%C3%ABlle_jean.html . dead .
- Book: Jean, Michaëlle . Media > Documents > News Releases . January 27, 2010 . Queen's Printer for Canada . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Governor General of Canada . Ottawa . Launch of the Michaëlle Jean and Jean-Daniel Lafond Endowment Fund . February 1, 2010 . http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13499.
- New Award Honours Michaëlle Jean, Student Efforts in Emergency Relief . February 25, 2011 . University of Guelph . November 3, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160107054012/http://www.uoguelph.ca/news/2011/02/new_internation.html . January 7, 2016 . live.
- Web site: Regional Visits to Saskatchewan and Manitoba . Office of the Governor General of Canada . Governor General of Canada . August 19, 2010 . Queen's Printer for Canada . August 26, 2010.
- Web site: École Élémentaire Michaëlle Jean . Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121006131120/http://schools.hwdsb.on.ca/michaellejean/ . October 6, 2012 . September 10, 2012.
- Web site: The Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada > Michaëlle Jean . Canadian Heraldic Authority . September 20, 2005 . Queen's Printer for Canada . January 10, 2024.