Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has announced 83 appointments to the Order of Canada — a list that includes doctors, activists, artists and economists.
Simon’s office announced one new companion — the highest level of the Order of Canada —16 officers, two honorary officers and 64 new members, the introductory honour level in the order. Two of the appointments are promotions within the Order of Canada.
“The Order of Canada recognizes individuals who have made positive and lasting impacts on communities here in Canada, or who have brought honour to our country abroad,” the Governor General said in a media statement.
“Congratulations to the new appointees and thank you to the nominators who cast a spotlight on their achievement, purpose and exceptional talent.”
Pop-punk musician Avril Lavigne has been made a member of the order to mark both her career success and her work supporting people with serious illnesses and disabilities. The Napanee, Ont. native has been open about her battle with Lyme disease.
Mellissa Fung, the acclaimed author, filmmaker and former CBC war correspondent, has been made a officer of the order for her advocacy for women and girls in war-torn countries.
Fung was kidnapped in Kabul while covering the war in Afghanistan for CBC in 2008. She chronicled the experience in her book Under the Afghan Sky: A Memoir of Captivity.
“I couldn’t believe it, and I just started to cry,” Fung told CBC News.
She said she thought back to when she immigrated to Canada with her parents as a four-year-old girl who spoke no English.
“Canada has just given me so many opportunities to pursue what I wanted to, to open up all these doors that I could walk through. And I … have always been very grateful to be a Canadian, very proud to be a Canadian,” she said.
Award-winning actress and producer Tina Keeper, who played RCMP officer Michelle Kenidi in CBC’s North of 60, is being named a member. Keeper was one of the first Cree members of Parliament and is known for her Indigenous-themed film and television work.
Joyce Napier, a former Radio-Canada journalist and Canada’s current ambassador to the Vatican, has also been made a member of the order for her services to broadcasting and journalism.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has announced 83 appointments to the Order of Canada. The list includes doctors, activists, artists and economists.
Monique Forget Leroux, the former president and CEO of Desjardins Group, is the only companion on the list. The Governor-General’s office said she has represented Canada on multinational groups and committees and was the first Canadian woman to chair the International Cooperative Alliance.
Stephen Poloz, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, has been made an officer. Poloz told CBC News that he went to Queen’s University to become a doctor, but a chance encounter with a first-year economics course changed his life.
“I chose economics because it seemed like a powerful thing where you could actually help a lot of people live better lives if it was done right,” he said.
Poloz, who also served as the president and CEO of Export Development Canada, said he was honoured and surprised when he learned that he was being made an officer of the Order of Canada.
“I got this phone call and it was just, I was stunned,” he said. “I was very thrilled. It’s a very proud moment. It really is.”
Longtime childcare advocate Martha Friendly, who was also made an officer, told CBC News she’s “thrilled” and hopes that it draws attention to her life’s work.
“I’ve worked on child care my whole life, my whole career,” she said. “I really do think [this honour] recognizes that child care is now an important issue for Canada … This wouldn’t have happened five or seven years ago.”
Madeleine Humer, who was made a member of the Order of Canada for her work as a music teacher and a children’s choir conductor, said she didn’t realize her family and friends had been working behind the scenes to see her recognized.
“One hears about these things when one’s younger and you just never think it’s something that you might get connected to,” she told CBC News.
She said it seems strange to be honoured for “waving her hands at children” all day but she hopes the recognition demonstrates how important music is in the lives of children.
“It’s about reaching children in a way that they don’t even know is important to them, and seeing that ‘ah-ha’ moment on their faces when they’re singing and they realize how connected they are to each other, to the organization and to the music we are all creating together,” she said.
Pamela Appelt has been named an officer of the order. Originally from Jamaica, she is a celebrated community leader and the first Black Canadian woman to be appointed to the Court of Canadian Citizenship.
“I have been working in the community for decades and decades and I do it because I love it,” she said. “I am truly humbled by this honour.
“It highlights for me that when you have thrown in your lot with a country that you call home, your adopted country, you have that responsibility to give back. And in my case, Canada has opened the doors for so many aspects of my life to be improved.”
She said she hopes her appointment inspires young people across Canada to get involved in their own communities.
“It’s never too early to start to make those connections in the community by using whatever you’re gifted to do,” she said.
Celebrated playwright Colleen Louise Murphy, who has also written operas and directed films, was named a member of the order.
She told CBC News that she “was pretty surprised” when she heard she was being honoured for her life’s work “because I’m in theater, and a playwright, and we keep low profiles.”
“Anything that shines a bit of a light on the theater, play writing in particular, is great,” she said.
Companions
Monique Forget Leroux [promotion within the Order]
Officers
Yusuf Altintas
Pamela Geraldine Appelt
Martha Rachel Friendly
Mellissa Veronica Fung
Chit Chan Gunn [promotion within the Order]
Beverley Jean Johnston
Daniel Gérald Lavoie
Lindsay Machan
Daphne Maurer
Charles M. Morin
Kent George Nagano [honorary appointment]
Jack Cyril Pearpoint
Stephen Shawn Poloz
Kenneth John Rockwood
Frances Estelle Reed Simons
Douglas Wade Stephan
Jozef Straus
Vaira Vike-Freiberga [honorary appointment]
Members
Joe Brock Average
Vickie Elaine Baracos
Christi Marlene Belcourt
David Gordon Ben
Daniel Georges Bichet
bill bissett
John Allan Cairns
Mark Joseph Cameron
Pierre Chastenay
Edward Herman Cole
John Terry Copp
The Reverend Michael Creal
Budhendranauth Doobay
Nima Gyaltsen Dorjee
Elder Jane Rose Dragon
Marcelle Dubois
Leonard John Edwards.
Lee Edward Errett
Brian Ross Evans
William Anthony Fox
Janine Elizabeth Fuller
Rosemary Burns Ganley
Arnie Gelbart
Franklyn Griffiths
Sylvia D. Hamilton
Madeleine D. Humer.
Jane Knott Hungerford
Captain Sidney Joseph Hynes
William Janzen
Tina Jones
Christina Jean Keeper
Judy M. Kent
William James Gordon Kirby
James Gregory Kyte
Patrick Joseph Lahey
The Honourable Susan Elizabeth Lang
Barry Paul Lapointe
Myrna Eunilda Lashley
Avril R. Lavigne
Pierre Legault
Brandt Channing Louie
Bruce A. Lourie
Zoe N. Lucas
Mother Pierre Anne Rosaria Mandato
Bruno Marti
Theresa Helen Matthias
James David Meekison
Richard Kelly Miskokomon
Colleen Louise Murphy
Joyce Napier
Javaid Abbas Naqvi
Robert Panet-Raymond
E. Michael Perley
Dan Poenaru
Linda Rabeneck
Stephen James Randall
Solomon Ratt
Jonathan Scott Rose
Bibudhendra Sarkar
Frances Marjorie Shaver
Donald George Simpson
Marvin R. V. Storrow
Jack Edward Taunton
Charles E. Weaselhead
