Louise Imbeault named next lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick

Louise Imbeault will be the next lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Friday afternoon.

Imbeault worked for Radio-Canada as a journalist for more than 30 years, eventually becoming the director of Radio-Canada Atlantique. Since her retirement in 2011, she has served as chancellor of the Université de Moncton, among many other roles.

"It's very exciting and is not something that I thought would ever happen," Imbeault said, when reached Friday.

The new position would be "something all together different" from her past experience as a reporter and work in the Acadian community and with the feminist movement, she said.

"I recognize that it is an honour, and I'm humbled by that."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Imbeault in a statement.

"Throughout her life, Ms. Imbeault has been a tireless advocate for women's rights, Acadian culture, the arts, and Indigenous Peoples," Trudeau said.

Premier Susan Holt also offered her congratulations in a news release.

"As a proud Francophone with a rich background in journalism, culture, and social justice, Louise brings unique experience and insight to this important role," Holt said.

"I know she will represent New Brunswick with compassion and a deep commitment to the values that unite us."

Imbeault said she would be faithful to her values and the work she's done throughout her life. She called the relationship with First Nations very important and said there's a lot of work still to be done. 

Her experience as a reporter, covering municipal and provincial politics, allowed her to know the province well and the issues that people face, she said.

She also promised to support arts and culture, saying it's "important for the well-being of people, but also because it's creative and it brings us to new solutions to problems that we may have had for many years."

Progress of Acadian community earned, Imbeault says

As a bilingual province, Imbeault said the province can do better for both francophones and anglophones.

"I think we have a great province, and we can make it better if we work together."

Born and raised in Moncton, Imbeault said there wasn't a francophone high school in the city when she was younger. Watching her community fight for the school in their language shaped her early years, she said. 

"You could see that the progress is amazing but it was something that was earned, that had to be discussed, that had to be talked over," Imbeault said.

"And that's how people change, when you talk, when you communicate issues."

"I think Moncton was a kind of beacon, to show the way that there is a kind of possibility to live together," she said, "But for each to live in their own culture, his or her own language."

While Imbeault is not the first Acadian lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, she said it's important for the role to be represented over time by people with unique identities, such as Acadians, women and Indigenous people. 

"I think we perhaps all bring a different angle, or a different light to some things, but basically we're all human beings who want to do better and to do the best that we can."

Imbeault replaces Brenda Murphy

Imbeault will replace Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy, who has was criticized for not being bilingual and was the subject of a legal challenge, brought by the Acadian Society of New Brunswick, after her appointment in 2019.

Murphy promised to learn French as part of her role, which Imbeault commended when asked if she thought the lieutenant-governor should be bilingual. 

"I do appreciate the fact that Mme. Murphy ... promised to learn French, and she has met her promise," she said.

"I think Mme. Murphy has really done well in that role, and I admire her for that and her dedication for women and for trying to solve poverty among women."

The Government of Canada website says lieutenant-governors "are the highest-ranking officers of their province and represent His Majesty The King in their jurisdictions." They are appointed by the Governor General of Canada, on recommendation from the Prime Minister, and serve terms of at least five years.

Experience in many roles

Imbeault served as Canada's representative on the Women's Rights Commission at the UNESCO general conference in Paris in 1984 and 1986, according to the news release. She has also held leadership roles with the National Acadian Society, the Moncton Cultural Board and the New Brunswick Museum.

Since 2012, she has led Bouton d'Or Acadie, a publishing house that promotes Acadian and Indigenous stories.

Imbeault was inducted into the Order of Canada, in 2023, and was previously inducted into the Order of New Brunswick as well as the Order of Moncton.

She has also received Radio-Canada's President's Award for her work in journalism and the Prix Albert Sormany from the New Brunswick Society of Acadians.

Imbeault is the fifth woman to serve as lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, after Margaret McCain from 1994-1997, Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, 1997-2003, Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, 2014-2019, and Brenda Murphy, since 2019.

Other Acadians to hold the role include Hédard Robichaud, 1971-1981, Gilbert Finn, 1987-1994, Herménégilde Chiasson, 2003-2009, and Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, 2014-2019.