Up till now, I had no objection to Michaelle Jean becoming the next Governor General of Canada but it turns out that she holds French citizenship as well as being Canadian. The Governor General is the de facto Head of State for Canada, and I can not accept that this post is to be given to a person who holds allegience to a foreign country.
Michaelle Jean should renounce her French citizenship before accepting this post.
I agree. Dual citizenship is not normally an issue for your ordinary Joe, or Michelle, but for a head of state it is not acceptable.
“holds allegiance”? It’s not as if she applied for French citizenship; she got her French citizenship through marriage. I hardly think that’s evidence she “holds allegiance” to France.
Were you aware the Governor General of Canada wasn’t even Canadian until 1952?
Heck, probably at least half of the British Kings and Queens could claim dual citizenship.
This is the GG we’re talking about. She could be Martian for all I care.
If the Queen chose to, could she appoint a non-Canadian to be GG today?
Canada’s head of state is the queen, and she’s certainly not a Canadian citizen. As Gorsnak says, it’s the GG. It’s not like she has any real duties anyway.
No; the GG is now effectively chosen by Parliament, e.g. the Prime Minister.
As RickJay has said, choosing the Governor General is no longer up to the Queen. Which just highlights the fact that Canadian traditions in this matter are still in a state of flux. There’s certainly no longstanding tradition that the Governor General has to be Canadian and only Canadian.
Moreover, since the Governor General no longer governs Canada, but instead acts as a representative of Canada and its government, at home and abroad…well, why not have a GG who’s a bit more worldly than most?
Hey, if Sonia Ghandi can lead the Congress party…
And you will note that Sonia Ghandi is not Prime Minister of India, as the leader of the party would normally have become.
I must admit to some bewilderment at the view that this is fine. I am half-Canadian, and could have had dual citizenship. Had I become either President of the United States or Prime Minister/Governor General of Canada, I would certainly have relinquished an inappropriate citizenship of another country. Caesar’s wife, and all that. But, whatever…
Well lets put that in context shall we? There was no such thing as a Canadian citizen until the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 !
Yes, but as per my second link in the OP, it is the role of the Prime Minister of Canada to “advise” the Queen in regards to a choice for the office. If the Queen ignored the prime minister, we could well have a constitutional crisis.