On December 3, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, was invested as a Dame of Justice in our Order and installed as the Prior of the Priory of Canada at Rideau Hall.
Presiding over the ceremony was the Chancellor of the Order in Canada Alain L. J. Laurencelle. In attendance was Priory Secretary Patricia Kearney. Also in attendance were Secretary to the Governor General Ian McCowan, Deputy Secretary Marc Thériault, and staff from the Office of the Governor General.
In 1946, St John Ambulance Canada was elevated to full Priory status in recognition of its outstanding first aid and lifesaving training programs to Canadians and abroad, and its voluntary services during WWII. With this change in status, His Excellency, the Governor General, Viscount Alexander of Tunis, became the first Prior of the Order of St John in Canada. The Order is proud to have had Governors General serve in the capacity of Prior for the Order of St John ever since and we are honoured to have Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary Simon as Prior of the Priory of Canada.
