Dear members of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society,

As patron of your organization, I wanted to send along my best wishes to you during these difficult times. I hope you are well.

Wherever you are and whatever you do, you are facing a historic and unprecedented challenge alongside people and organizations from around the world. And you are tackling it head-on.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything and it is affecting every aspect of our society. This invisible enemy is scary and strong, and it has forced us to change the way we live. It calls on each of us to sacrifice our freedom of movement and to accept demanding conditions. In many cases, at great cost.

To defeat the virus, it requires all of us to do our part. Every single one of us. No doubt you are already doing all you can. But what more can we do?

Continue to support everyone helping Canadians during the pandemic. The office of the governor general is proud to play a part in raising awareness and giving thanks. Please lend your voice too.

We can reach out to Canadians by relaying official information and instructions. I invite you to visit www.gg.ca and to share our content, particularly how organizations are making a difference in our communities.

One cannot choose when hardship comes, but one can choose how to respond to it in times of crisis. Please visit Caring Nation, our new online forum, to contribute stories of solidarity and compassion from all over the country.

We are now steadfastly staying the course. It will take time, but when we return to brighter days, we will look back on these challenging times and realize that because we all did our part, we emerged stronger as a nation. Our collective resilience will lead to our collective victory.

In the meantime, as we hold the line, let us focus not on what we cannot control, but on the news that give us hope.

Please stay in touch. Talk to us on social media @GGJuliePayette on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. And above all, stay safe and healthy.

We are all part of the fight against COVID-19.

Yours most sincerely,

Julie Payette
Governor General of Canada