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Soccer legend Christine Sinclair and famed actor Michael J. Fox have been promoted to companions of the Order of Canada, the highest level within the order.
Recently appointed Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour on Friday added 56 new Canadians to what is considered the country’s highest civilian honour.
“These appointees, from diverse backgrounds and fields, reflect the talent and determination that shape Canada’s future. At a time of profound global change, their achievements highlight the strength of Canadians and the values we represent to the world,” Arbour said in a statement.
The Order of Canada is meant to recognize people who make “extraordinary contributions to the nation,” according to the Governor General of Canada website.
One of Canada’s most acclaimed athletes, Sinclair is the country’s most successful soccer player. She won Olympic gold in 2020, adding to two bronze medals she won with Canada in 2012 and 2016.
Canadian women’s soccer team captain Christine Sinclair is honoured for the international goal-scoring record that she broke in January 2020. The 38-year-old now has 188 goals in 308 appearances with Canada.
With nearly 190 goals, Sinclair is the highest-scoring soccer player in the world when it comes to international competition.
Fox joins Sinclair as a companion of the Order of Canada as one of the country’s most recognized actors in the world.
Best known for starring in the Back to the Future movie trilogy and television series Family Ties, Fox is also a vocal advocate in raising awareness for people living with Parkinson’s disease. The actor went public with news he had Parkinson’s in 1998 and is a co-founder of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
More than 50 new appointees
More than 50 Canadians have also been newly appointed officers or members of the Order of Canada.
Among the new officers is former Montreal Canadiens great Yvan Cournoyer.
Nicknamed “Roadrunner” after the speedy nemesis of the Looney Toons’ Wile E. Coyote, the winger won 10 Stanley Cups with the Habs in the 1960s and 70s. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1973 as the NHL playoffs’ MVP.
Joining Cournoyer as an officer of the order is Niv Fichman, a movie producer behind notable Canadian films including Blackberry, Passchendaele and Gunless.
Mayann Francis, Nova Scotia’s first Black Lieutenant Governor, has also been named an officer of the Order of Canada — as has Corrine Sparks, the first Black woman appointed a judge in Canada.
The two are joined by two other African Canadian trailblazers: Gordon Earle, Nova Scotia’s first Black member of Parliament and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, Quebec’s first Black judge and Canada’s first Black law dean, who have been named members of the order.
Epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh is also one of the newly named members of the order.
One of Canada’s leading public health figures, Canadians would recognize Quach-Thanh as the head of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization that oversaw the country’s vaccination program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sahtu Dene advocate Cindy Kenny-Gilday has been named an officer of the order in recognition of her work exposing the health impacts of an old uranium mine in her community of in Great Bear Lake, N.W.T. She also worked at the United Nations and chaired the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s taskforce for Indigenous Peoples.
Verna Williams is being invested as a member of the order for her efforts to preserve the Nisga’a language, including contributions to a student vocabulary guide and language archive.
Duane Gibson, better known by his rapper name D.O., has one of the more unique resumé items on the list of new members: he previously held the Guinness World Record for longest freestyle rap. In addition to his music career, Gibson is being recognized for his work as a motivational speaker.
Here is a full list of those being appointed to the Order of Canada:
Companions of the Order of Canada
- Michael J. Fox (This is a promotion within the order).
- Donald K. Johnson (This is a promotion within the order).
- Lewis Kay (This is a promotion within the order).
- Christine Sinclair (This is a promotion within the order).
Officers of the Order of Canada
- Eric Baker.
- Cecilia Benoit.
- Michel Bouvier.
- Yvan Cournoyer.
- Ronald Cuming.
- Niv Fichman.
- Mayann Francis.
- Alison Keith.
- Cindy Kenny-Gilday.
- Loreena McKennitt (This is a promotion within the order).
- Tonita Murray.
- Peter Nickerson.
- Stephanie Nolen.
- Beverley Orser.
- Duke Redbird.
- Corinne Sparks.
- Mary Thompson.
- Charlie Watt.
- Tim Whiten.
Members of the Order of Canada
- Vicki Adams Willis.
- Philip Akin.
- Stephen Archer.
- Andrew Atagotaaluk.
- Annette Bellavance.
- Trèva Cousineau.
- Allan Covens.
- Chris Cran.
- Gordon Earle.
- John Foster.
- David Fung.
- Christopher Gaze.
- Duane D.O. Gibson.
- Trevor Hurwitz.
- Prakash Joshi.
- Brenda Kamino.
- Clarence LeBreton.
- Martha MacLeod.
- Ry Moran.
- Danny Murphy.
- Nancy Nicol.
- Janice Pasieka.
- Roger Price.
- Caroline Quach-Thanh.
- Robert Quartermain.
- Jean-François Rivest.
- Colin Robertson.
- Lorne Segal.
- Mary Deanne Shears.
- Harvey Skinner.
- Roderick Stewart.
- Floyd Toole.
- Bhavana Varma.
- Jerry Wang.
- Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré.
- Kona Williams.
- Verna Williams.
- Anne Woolger.
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