Five things to know about Canada’s next Governor General

OTTAWA — Here are five things about Julie Payette, Canada’s Governor General designate.

1. Payette — the second Canadian woman to fly into space after Roberta Bondar — was aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1999 and Endeavour in 2009. She was the first Canadian astronaut to board the International Space Station.

2. Born Oct. 20, 1963 in Montreal, Payette is fluent in French and English and can converse in Spanish, Italian, Russian and German.

3. Payette enjoys running, skiing, racquet sports and scuba diving and is a member of the board of Canada’s “Own The Podium” Olympic program.