Around Town: Gov. Gen. David Johnston's book launch draws great crowd

One down, 100 more to go. That’s roughly how many more books Governor General David Johnston will need to write if he wants to catch up to one of his predecessors, John Buchan, who churned out book after book in his lifetime, before dying in office 76 years ago.

“There’s still time,” host Mark Sutcliffe jokingly encouraged the governor general at a book launch held at the National Arts Centre on Tuesday to discuss Johnston’s new book, The Idea of Canada: Letters to a Nation, a collection of carefully selected letters he has written to people over the years.

To clarify, The Idea of Canada is the first book Johnston has written as a sitting governor general but the former academic previously authored or co-authored a couple dozen.

The full-house event was presented by the Ottawa International Writers Festival and included questions from the audience. The evening touched on a wide-range of topics, such as how a hockey-playing kid from Northern Ontario ended up going to Harvard and becoming the governor general of Canada.

At an earlier reception, the governor general was seen signing copies of his book for the likes of Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, General Jonathan Vance, Anglican Bishop John Chapman and National Capital Commission CEO Mark Kristmanson.

Attendees also included Speaker of the House of Commons Geoff Regan, Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick (along with predecessors Janice Charette and Wayne Wouters), newly appointed Senator Peter Harder and retired general Walt Natynczyk, deputy minister of Veteran Affairs.

On hand was publisher Doug Pepper from Signal/McClelland & Stewart to say a few words about the governor general, whom he described as humble and hard-working, and about his excellent letter-writing skills, which seem to be a dying art form of creativity and communication in today’s Internet world of smiley-face emojis. Added Pepper: “There’s something so intimate, personal and direct about saying what’s on your mind in a letter.”

The book reflects the governor general’s curiosity and sense of hope, said Pepper. “It is also very much about his love for this country and his ability to weigh our challenges and successes in equal measure by writing directly to those — past, present and future, known and unknown, all races, creeds, genders and abilities — in a quest to explore his idea of Canada.”

The governor general, who described his book as a collaborative effort, was joined by his wife, high school sweetheart Sharon Johnston, and members of their family. The viceregal couple has five daughters and 12 grandchildren (with a 13th grandchild on the way in June).

At the reception, the governor general shared some funny material that didn’t make the cut, as well as told the story of his conversation several years back with a young boy in Repulse Bay, an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut. It was during the Johnstons’ annual participation in the Terry Fox Run for cancer research.

“About a minute before it started, a little eight-year-old Inuit boy came up and punched me in the shoulder and said, ‘Who are you, anyway?’
“I said, ‘I’m the Governor General of Canada’.

“ ‘What’s your name, anyway?’

“ ‘My name is David’.

“ ‘Well, David, how old are you, anyway?’

“ ‘I’m 70 years old’.

“ ‘I didn’t think anybody could get that old’.

“So, we finished the race and I went and found him and I put my arm around his shoulder and said, ‘Not dead yet, anyway’.”

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca