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Governor General arrives in Germany for first international visit

Oct 17, 2021 | 1:13 PM

OTTAWA — Gov. Gen. Mary May Simon arrives Sunday in Berlin to begin her first international visit on behalf of Canada in the German capital. 

May Simon’s four-day state visit will include a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and she will represent Canada at the 2021 Frankfurt Book Fair. 

In Berlin, May Simon is to visit the Humboldt Forum, which houses numerous Canadian artefacts, including two Indigenous totem poles from the West Coast.

In Frankfurt, she will attend the world’s largest publishing trade show, and this year Canada is the guest of honour.

The Governor General will also attend a roundtable discussion about Arctic exploration, which will be held at the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum.

The international visit comes a week after May Simon’s first formal public appearance in Ottawa, which was at a homeless shelter.

May Simon and her husband, former journalist Whit Fraser, spent an hour at the Ottawa Mission, meeting staff and volunteers and handing out hot meals to dozens of clients lined up down a city block outside.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2021

The Canadian Press