Although Governor General David Johnston said goodbye to Prince Albert on Tuesday night, a grounded flight kept him in town for an extra day.
“They got up in the morning, and walked from the Holiday Inn to the river and back — that was their morning exercises, so they do a lot of walking,” Mayor Jim Scarrow said of Johnston and his wife Sharon’s extra morning in the city.
They had intended on spending Wednesday in northern Saskatchewan, but limited visibility kept them in Prince Albert until about 2 p.m., when they departed for Regina.
After their morning walk, the Johnstons went out for breakfast, where two trustees from the Northern Lights School Division recognized them from pictures printed in Wednesday’s edition of the Daily Herald.
After confirming his identity, the trustees invited him to speak at their annual teachers’ convention, which was taking place in the city, an invitation Johnston accepted.
“He was fabulous with the teachers. He really has an affinity to young people — particularly in the north, and I think he was disappointed that they weren’t going there,” Scarrow said.
With teachers from the Northern Lights School Division serving northern Saskatchewan, his presentation provided a means of reaching these communities, despite missing out on visiting them due to his grounded flight.
“It was a great event, and I think he was really tickled that he could reach out to that community,” Scarrow said.
During his extra time in Prince Albert, Johnston also visited City Hall for a second time.
Scarrow calls the Governor General’s visit to Prince Albert, which was organized by the city, a success.
“It was outstanding,” he said. “They are truly, truly nice people. Everywhere they went they shook more hands than the people would expect.”
The Northern Lights School Division was not available for comment on this story.
