Her Excellency Sharon Johnston Appointed Honorary Captain (Navy) of Military Personnel Command of the Canadian Armed Forces

Her Excellency Sharon Johnston, wife of the Governor-General of Canada, David Johnston, has been chosen as Honorary Captain (Navy) of Military Personnel Command of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Her new title was officially announced on Monday June 6 at an investiture ceremony at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.

Lieutenant-General Christine Whitecross, Commander Military Personnel Command, presented Johnston with an official scroll signed by Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan.

“Her Excellency Sharon Johnston is a distinguished Canadian whose extensive volunteer involvement with medical and educational institutions demonstrates the values of an Honorary Captain (Navy), such as personal commitment and sense of duty. I couldn’t be happier welcoming her to our Command,” said Whitecross.

According to a Department of National Defence press release, as Honorary Captain Johnston’s duties include: “fostering esprit de corps  developing, promoting and sustaining strong community support; establishing and maintaining liaison with unit charities and associations as well as with the commander and other persons with honorary appointments; participating in parades and official functions in which the Command takes part; and advising the commander.”

Becoming Honorary Captain another accomplishment in a long list of accomplishments Johnston already has under her belt. The new Honorary Captain has a doctorate degree in rehabilitation science and worked early in her career in child psychiatry, while raising five daughters with her husband.

She’s volunteered on many administrative boards including Collège de Marie de France, in Montréal, and Bishop’s College School, in Lennoxville, Québec.

In addition, she was a founding member of the Friends of the Neuro volunteer group at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.

Johnston’s passion for horse-riding led her to run a horse-training centre for 12 years out of Chatterbox Farm in Ontario, which she shared with her husband.

In 2015, She published her first novel, Matrons and Madams a fictional tale of life in southwestern Alberta during the early 20th century.