Governor General David Johnston plans to speak in the Yukon's legislature next Wednesday and will make history in the process.

While previous governors general have made official visits here, Johnston's planned remarks before our elected lawmakers will be the first time the Queen's representative in Canada – the country's defacto head-of-state – has made such an overture.

Johnston's address is part of a three-day visit to the Yukon with his wife, Sharon.

According to a brief press release from Rideau Hall, the governor general's residence, the couple will meet with local dignataries and attend Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada events. They will also meet mushers competing in the Yukon Quest sled dog race during an anticipated visit to Dawson City.

"My wife and I are looking forward to discovering the rich history, traditions, culture and nature of northern Canada, but most importantly to meet with its people,” Johnston is quoted in the release.

The pair will also travel to Old Crow and meet with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation's chief, councillors, elders and community members.

"It's a very unique situation, and has never happened with other governor generals,” Pamela Bangart, chief of protocol with the Yukon government's Executive Council Office, said today. "Mr. Johnston seems to be hitting the legislatures when he travels to different parts of the country.”

In an e-mail to the Star, Rideau Hall spokeswoman Marie-Éve Létourneau writes that Johnston has spoken in the legislatures of Alberta and Ontario in the fall of 2010.

But Létourneau stressed "That His Excellency David Johnston will be delivering informal remarks at the (Yukon's) Legislative Assembly” and that Johnston's formal address to MLAs will be delivered during a Feb. 9 dinner hosted by Premier Dennis Fentie.

Johnston, an academic and author, assumed his role as governor general on Oct. 1, 2010, and his expertise in constitutional law is considered to be a major factor in his appointment.

Johnston has served as the dean of the University of Western Ontario Law School. In 1979, he was named vice-chancellor of Montreal's McGill University, a role he held until 1994.

In addition to his academic work, Johnston is a Companion in the Order of Canada and a staunch federalist, as expressed in 1995's If Quebec Goes: The Real Cost of Separation, a book he co-wrote.

Johnston also was the co-chair of the Montreal No Committee during the 1995 referendum on Quebec independence.