|
( Order of Canada)
The Order of Canada (French Ordre du Canada) is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council,[n 1] on behalf of the Queen of Canada.[5] Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the three-tiered order was established as a fellowship that recognizes the achievement of outstanding merit or distinguished service by Canadians, through life-long contributions in every field of endeavour, and who made a major difference to Canada, as well as the efforts made by non-Canadians who have made the world better by their actions.[6] Membership is thus accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, taken from Hebrews 1116, desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "they desire a better country."[7] The Canadian monarch, at present Elizabeth II, is Sovereign of the order, and the serving governor general, currently Michaëlle Jean, is its Chancellor and Principal Companion. Appointees into the order are selected by an advisory board and formally inducted by the governor general; as of July 2009, 5,657 people have been appointed to the Order of Canada,[8] including musicians, politicians, artists, athletes, businessmen, television and film stars, benefactors, and others. Since 1994,[9] substantive members are the only regular citizens who are empowered to administer the Canadian Oath of Citizenship.[10] The process of founding the Order of Canada began in early 1966 and came to a conclusion on 17 April 1967,[11] when the organisation was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II, on the advice of her then Canadian prime minister, Lester B. Pearson, who was assisted with the establishment of the order by John Matheson. The association was then officially launched on 1 July 1967, the 100th anniversary of the formation of Canadian Confederation, with Governor General Roland Michener being the first inductee to the order&_160;— to the level of Companion[12]&_160;— and on 7 July of the same year, 90 more people were appointed, including Vincent Massey, Louis St. Laurent, Hugh MacLennan, David Bauer, Gabrielle Roy, Donald Creighton, Thérèse Casgrain, Wilder Penfield, Arthur Lismer, and Maurice Richard.[13] During a visit to London, United Kingdom, later in 1967, Michener presented the Queen with her Sovereign's badge for the Order of Canada, and she first wore it during a banquet in Yellowknife in July 1970.[14] From the Order of Canada grew a larger Canadian honours system, thereby reducing the use of British honours (i.e. those administered by the Queen in her British privy council), the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George being the main ones used for Canadians.[15] Other non-British Commonwealth realms were soon inspired to follow suit; Jamaica being the first in 1968 and,[15] by the 1980s, Canada's provinces began to develop their own distinct honours and decorations.
|
Order of Canada Subcategories
Order of Canada Articles
|
|
