Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc PC CC CMM ONB CD (December 18, 1928 – June 24, 2009)[1] was a Canadian journalist and politician who served as 25th governor general of Canada from 1995 to 1999.

In 1995, he was appointed as governor general by Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, to replace Ramon John Hnatyshyn as viceroy, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Adrienne Clarkson in 1999, citing his health as the reason for his stepping down.

His appointment as the Queen's representative caused some controversy, due to perceptions of political favouritism, though he was praised for raising the stature of Acadians and francophones, and for returning Rideau Hall to the centre of life in Ottawa.

He then went further, winning in the 1972 federal election a seat in the House of Commons as the Liberal Party representative for Westmorland-Kent, paving the way for his appointment as the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the Cabinet chaired by Trudeau.

LeBlanc was a key figure in Canada's imposition of a 200-mile fishing zone; the establishment of a new fisheries licensing system; the widespread use of quotas and zones that protected Canadian fishermen from overexpansion and competition from trawlers owned by large companies; the owner-operator rule, requiring licence holders to operate vessels themselves; the separate-fleet rule, preventing corporations from obtaining licences for an under-65-foot fleet; and for creating an additional system of advisory committees that permitted fishermen a larger voice in fisheries management.

[8] Late in 1982, LeBlanc became Minister of Public Works for two years before being nominated by Trudeau to then Governor General Jeanne Sauvé for appointment to the Senate on June 29, 1984.

[10] As with each governor general, LeBlanc took on unofficial and personal mandates, choosing for himself: voluntarism, the teaching of Canadian history, Canada's Aboriginal peoples, and the military.

To recognize the "unsung heroes" who volunteer their time and effort to help others, LeBlanc initiated in 1996 the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award, and, on June 21, of the same year, was proud to issue a royal proclamation inaugurating National Aboriginal Day as an annual observance.

Further, he undertook eight state visits, becoming the first governor general of Canada to make such trips to the Czech Republic, India, Pakistan, the Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Mali, and Morocco.

[10] Personal touches were also left on the symbol of the Canadian viceregal office, from which LeBlanc removed the claws and tongue of the crowned lion,[14] saying that they were impolite and un-Canadian.