Pomp and procedure: Installation ceremony set for new Ontario lieutenant-governor

thestar.com
Nov. 14, 2023

TORONTO - Ontario's new lieutenant-governor is set to officially begin her new position today, with an installation ceremony full of pomp and procedure.

Edith Dumont will become the province's 30th lieutenant-governor and the first francophone to hold the office.

Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell will end her term, which began in 2014 and during which her office said she has conducted about 6,000 engagements in all of Ontario's 124 ridings.

The ceremony today is set to begin with Dumont riding in a carriage to the Ontario legislature and a viceregal salute to the outgoing lieutenant-governor.

The official party is then set to go into the legislative chamber, where certain constitutional requirements will be fulfilled, such as the oath of office and oath of allegiance to King Charles, and surrendering the Great Seal of Ontario to the new lieutenant-governor.

Following the ceremony, Dumont is set to inspect a guard of honour and a band will play both "God Save the King" and "O Canada."

Dumont has held a long career in education, working as a special education teacher, a school principal and an executive. She was also the first woman to lead the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario, a school board in eastern Ontario.

She most recently served as vice-president of partnerships, communities and international relations at the Université de l'Ontario francais in Toronto.

"Madame Dumont has always promoted diversity as a vital strength in every community, women as indispensable contributors to decision-making tables, collaboration as the foundation of high-performing teams and la francophonie as a source of pride in all aspects of society," according to her official biography from the lieutenant-governor's office.

Dumont and her husband have three children and her official biography says that in her spare time, Dumont enjoys open water swimming, hiking, cross-country skiing and skating on the Rideau Canal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2023.