“In 1957, I was a third-year university student when I saw young Prince Karim on the cover of Time magazine. He had just become Aga Khan IV. I could not imagine then what it was like to be our age and to bear that enormous responsibility of spiritual and temporal leadership,” writes Adrienne Clarkson, Canada’s 26^th governor-general and co-founder of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. “Years later, when I was governor-general, I had the privilege of meeting this remarkable man when he came to Ottawa to turn the sod for the building of the Ismaili Centre. We became friends. I consider this friendship to be one of the most meaningful in my life. And I will miss my dear friend, who died on Tuesday at the age of 88. He thought very highly of Canada and had a great belief in our values. He wrote that he wanted his people to live here, “where the threat to democracy is minimal and seeks to draw on the experience of established democracy to make a vibrant and civil society and is sensitive to cultural difference. In this way, they can be effective in improving the quality of life of all their citizens. Canada is a prime example of such a country.” He had such a belief in us. And that is why he established the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, which works to examine the experience of pluralism in practice. At a time when we are being faced with manic pronouncements and threats to our sovereignty from our nearest neighbour, we must remember that the Aga Khan, the greatest spiritual leader of our time, believed in Canada.”