Newly installed Governor General David Johnston said in his first speech Friday that he wants to bring Canadians of all backgrounds together to create "a smart and caring nation."

"When we set our sights together, we can do better and inspire each other to achieve great things," Johnston said.

Johnston, a career academic with a long record of public service, was sworn in as Canada's 28th Governor General in a display of pomp and ceremony on Parliament Hill Friday morning, taking over from the departing Michaelle Jean.

In his first speech as Governor General, Johnston told a Senate chamber packed with dignitaries that he intends to champion families, education and volunteerism during his time at Rideau Hall.

"I see my role as a bridge in bringing people of all backgrounds and ages together to create a smart and caring nation, a nation that will inspire not just Canadians but the entire world," he said.

Johnston said he wants to help Canada become a country that gives all of its citizens a chance to thrive and grow.

His speech, delivered to an audience which included the Prime Minister, three former prime ministers, MPs, senators, and Supreme Court justices in their red, fur-trimmed robes, was met with a standing ovation in the crowded Senate chamber.

It met with even higher praise from his eight-year-old granddaughter Emma watching in the crowd: she blew kisses to both Johnston and his wife Sharon.

The 69-year-old Johnston -- a husband, father of five and grandfather of seven -- was praised by Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his service to government, the academic community and his country.

"David Johnston has been driven by the intense belief that service is not merely an option. It is a duty, an obligation of the heart that honour compels a man to accept," Harper said.

"He holds it to be so whether the beneficiaries are his large and devoted family, the institutions at which he has worked, the wider communities in which he has lived or the country that he loves."

Before Rideau Hall

Johnston had a long and successful career in academia and previously served as the president of the University of Waterloo.

Before being appointed governor general, Johnston had been recruited by both Conservative and Liberal governments for a variety of projects. He was asked by the Harper government to set the terms of reference for an inquiry into the business dealings between Brian Mulroney and Karlheinz Schreiber, and moderated a 1984 leadership debate between Mulroney and then-prime minister John Turner.

CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife said Johnston's experience in law and government will be useful in his new job.

"In this period of time, we're going to be very likely into another period of minority government after the next election," Fife said, noting that Johnston may be called upon to make tough decisions during his tenure.

John Manley, the former Liberal cabinet minister and deputy prime minister, counts Johnston as a personal friend and admires his talents.

PM praises Michaelle Jean

Johnston replaces the departing Jean, who served as Canada's governor general since September 2005.

Harper announced Friday that his government would provide $3 million to support the Michaelle Jean Foundation and will match up to $7 million in future public donations to her organization.

The Michaelle Jean Foundation is a non-profit that will "promote citizen engagement through the arts and creativity, with a special emphasis on youth from underprivileged, rural and northern communities in Canada," according to a press release from the government.

The gift from the government was to recognize the way Jean "distinguished herself through her engagement with Canadians and her compassion and leadership in responding to the earthquake in Haiti," Harper said in a statement released Friday.

Inside the Senate chamber, Harper said Jean had earned "the lasting respect and gratitude of her country."

The installation of Johnston as Canada's new governor general will be the first time that a male has taken the job at Rideau Hall this century, following Jean's five-year term, and before her, the six-year term of Adrienne Clarkson.

In his speech on Friday, Johnston paid tribute to the "many remarkable women" who served as governors-general before him, including the late Jeanne Sauve.

With files from The Canadian Press