Herstory

The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson was the first visible minority, the first Chinese Canadian, and the second woman to be elected Governor General of Canada. Clarkson is a well-known journalist and has used her personal and professional experience to promote Canada’s multicultural heritage and inclusion for immigrants.

 

The younger of two children, Clarkson was born in Hong Kong on February 10, 1939. Her father, William Poy, worked for the Canadian government. After the colony fell to the Japanese in World War II, the Poy family was fortunate to flee to Canada. According to Historica Canada’s Asia/Canada project, “when the United States had room on its list of a prisoner exchange with Japan, spots were offered to the Canadian Trade Commission. Adrienne’s father, an employee of the Commission, applied and was accepted.” The family arrived in Canada in 1942 and eventually settled in Ottawa, Ontario.

 

Clarkson recounts finding Ottawa a city “full of white people, white bread and white snow.” Her family’s experiences as refugees gave Clarkson a unique view on Canadian citizenship and belonging.

 

Clarkson received her education in Canada and France. In 1963, she married Stephen Clarkson. They had three children and later divorced.

 

Clarkson had an award-winning career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). After starting with the CBC in 1965, she worked on influential Canadian television productions including Take 30, Adrienne at Large, and The Fifth Estate as a writer, producer, and television personality. After leaving The Fifth Estate in 1983, she later returned to CBC in 1988 to host Adrienne Clarkson Presents. In 1992, Clarkson was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada for her long media career.

 

In a recent article for Women of Influence, Clarkson recounts, “I spent nearly 30 years working at the CBC at a time when television was at its most powerful and influential. Many say my presence on the airwaves was newsworthy. I simply saw it as an opportunity to create, to bring stories I believed were important to audiences who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to hear them. I chose to work at the CBC because, well, they picked me. I wasn’t the product of their desire to have a novelty. Yes I was new and different, but it wasn’t because I was a Chinese woman. It was because I could do the job; they were intrigued by me. But I had no illusions. If I had not done well, I would have been out the door, just like anyone else.”

 

Clarkson served as Governor General of Canada from 1999 to 2005. According to Historica Canada, some of the highlights of Clarkson’s time in office include a focus on the arts, increased support for Canadian troops, and building stronger ties with the aboriginal peoples in the Canadian North.

Her focus on the newcomer experience is apparent as Clarkson discusses the importance of her role as Governor General,

 

“My appointment was proof that Canada is a place where the sky is the limit. It became obvious to me that I needed to ensure today’s new citizens feel—as I felt when I came here—they have the same access to everything Canada has to offer.”

 

Since completing her term as Governor General, Clarkson and her husband John Ralston-Saul have founded the Institute of Canadian Citizenship (ICC). The goal of the institute is to help new Canadians integrate more quickly. The ICC provides them with free access to Canada’s cultural places, such as the Royal Ontario Museum, and supports welcoming, community citizenship ceremonies across the country. Not only does the ICC focus on welcoming new citizens, it also encouraged them to be active contributors to their new country.

 

In 2014, Clarkson was the featured speaker for the CBC Massey Lectures which have also been published as Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship. During her lectures, Clarkson discussed inclusion and the benefits Canadian society provides new immigrants, “We have so many different pasts now, we are so used to hearing and being enriched by others’ stories, by what has been called ‘the impossible sum of our traditions,’ that we give space to people in a way that doesn’t happen in Europe.”

 

A prolific writer, speaker, and advocate, Clarkson would like her work to leave a positive impact on her country, “My legacy is to create a sense of belonging for all Canadians regardless of whether their family has been here for five years or five generations.”

 

 

References

 

Adrienne Clarkson. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2015, from http://asia-canada.ca/new-attitudes/defining-citizenship/adrienne-clarkson

 

Adrienne Clarkson. (2013). Retrieved August 7, 2015, from http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/politics/governorgeneral/adrienneclarkson.htm

 

Adrienne Clarkson - the fifth estate - CBC News. (2013, April 10). Retrieved August 7, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/hosts/adrienne-clarkson

 

Adrienne Clarkson on 'the anguish of not belonging' (2014, September 29). Retrieved August 7, 2015, from http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/adrienne-clarkson-on-the-anguish-of-not-belonging/

 

Clarkson, A. (2015). Former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson Shares Her Story of Making the Most of Life’s Opportunities. Retrieved August 6, 2015, from https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/2014/07/08/adrienne-clarkson-most-of-opportunities/

 

Former GG Adrienne Clarkson explores the meaning of Canadian citizenship | Toronto Star. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2015, from http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/11/02/former_gg_adrienne_clarkson_explores_the_meaning_of_canadian_citizenship.html

 

Institute for Canadian Citizenship | Institut pour la citoyenneté canadienne. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2015, from https://www.icc-icc.ca/en/

 

Kelly, G. (2014, November 10). Adrienne Clarkson on why Canada's multiculturalism works. Retrieved August 6, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/adrienne-clarkson-on-why-canada-s-multiculturalism-works-1.2828084

 

Koch, E. (2010, August 15). Adrienne Louise Clarkson. Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/adrienne-louise-clarkson/

 

Munroe, S. (n.d.). Adrienne Clarkson Biography. Retrieved August 6, 2015, from http://canadaonline.about.com/od/gg/p/clarkson.htm