Julie Payette took the formal oaths of office to become Canada's 29th Governor General in a traditional ceremony on at Parliament Hill here on Monday.
Payette, 53, replaces David Johnston, 76, who was appointed by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2010.
Payette arrived at Parliament Hill Monday morning. She was greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and indigenous leaders.
At the inauguration ceremony in the Senate chamber, Payette swore three oaths of office administered by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlinl -- the oaths of allegiance of the Governor General, commander-in-chief of Canada, and of the Keeper of the Great Seal of Canada.
Payette, a Montreal-born astronaut, engineer and businesswoman, was accompanied by her 14-year-old son, Laurier Payette Flynn. Her parents and sister and brother were among the invited guests who felt the rumble of a 21-gun salute after Payette signed the oath book and took her seat on the Senate throne.
During the ceremony attended by more than 400 invited guests and dignitaries, Payette made an impassioned appeal for Canadians to tackle "serious and pressing global issues like climate change, migration, nuclear proliferation, poverty and population growth."
She hailed "diversity" as Canada's strength, the value of science and evidence-based decision making, and the need to reconcile with Indigenous peoples who she said were the original pioneers and "opened the way, showed us the way."
Prime Minister Trudeau described Payette as a team player, trailblazer and pioneer who inspired the minds, dreams and imaginations of children and adults alike.
