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Orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces

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The orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces comprise a system in which each province of Canada has created orders and other awards to honour residents for actions or deeds that benefit their local community or province, and are in turn subsumed within the Canadian honours system. Each province sets its own rules and criteria for eligibility and for how each award is presented. Most of the awards allow for the recipients to wear their awards in public, and most grant the recipients the use of post-nominal letters after their names. Not all of the awards created by the provinces are part of the Canadian honours system, therefore some of them may not be worn or court mounted with awards that are part of the Canadian honours system.

Development

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Ontario was the first province to establish their own honour with the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in 1973

British Columbia was the first province to establish an award that was distinct to the province: the Dogwood Medallion, created in 1957 for the centennial of the province and its preceding Colony of British Columbia, and reformed into the Order of the Dogwood in 1966.[1]

After the establishment of the Canadian honours system in 1967, the rest of the provinces, recognizing the Crown's distinct operation within each provincial jurisdiction, moved to establish their own honours after Ottawa declined to do so on their behalf. Ontario was the first, creating the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in 1973, and the Police Bravery Medal and Firefighter's Bravery Medal in 1975 and 1976, respectively.

Alberta followed with the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1979. Quebec was the first province to establish a true order: l'Ordre national du Quebec in 1984. The Saskatchewan Order of Merit was established in 1985.

The Order of Ontario came in 1986, the Order of British Columbia in 1989 (which replaced the Order of the Dogwood), the Order of Prince Edward Island in 1997, the Order of Manitoba in 1999, and the Order of Nova Scotia, of New Brunswick, and of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001.

However, the federal government did not recognize these honours and decorations, fearing duplications and citing the fact that, aside from the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador,[2] the Queen had not authorized them. The provinces responded by stating that since provincial ministers did not constitutionally have the right to advise the sovereign directly, they would do so via legislation under the prerogative of the provincial Crown. The federal government finally came to recognize provincial orders after a compromise was reached between Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn and Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan Sylvia Fedoruk, wherein provincial honours established by legislation or order in council would be ranked below all national honours, but above national decorations.[3]

Provincial and territorial orders

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Name Founded Ribbon bar Post-nominal letters Number of inductees
Provincial
Alberta Order of Excellence 1979 A.O.E. 220[4]
Order of British Columbia 1989[a] O.B.C. 515[5]
Order of Manitoba 1999 O.M.
Order of New Brunswick 2000 O.N.B.
Order of Newfoundland and Labrador 2001 O.N.L. 151[6]
Order of Nova Scotia 2001 O.N.S. 151[7]
Order of Ontario 1986 O.Ont. 903[8]
Order of Prince Edward Island 1996 O.P.E.I. 82[9]
National Order of Quebec[b] 1984 G.O.Q., O.Q., C.Q.[c] 1,201[10]
Saskatchewan Order of Merit 1985 S.O.M. 262[11]
Territorial
Order of the Northwest Territories 2013 O.N.W.T. 30[12]
Order of Nunavut 2010 O.Nu. 25[13]
Order of Yukon[d] 2018 O.Y. 34[15]

In all provinces except Quebec, the provincial honours are presented by the relevant Lieutenant-Governor.[3] The territorial honours are presented by their respective Commissioner.

Most provincial orders only have one grade, or level, which is membership. The only province that has a multi-level order system is Quebec: the National Order of Quebec has three grades (in descending order of grade): Grand Officer (GOQ), Officer (OQ), and Knight (CQ).

The Canadian Forces has listed the following orders to be worn in the following manner: National Order of Quebec, Saskatchewan Order of Merit, Order of Ontario, Order of British Columbia, Alberta Order of Excellence, Order of Prince Edward Island, Order of Manitoba, Order of New Brunswick, Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, the CF has stated that while this is the order of sequence on a ribbon bar, it is unlikely or even impossible that a member will receive a medal or an order from all Canadian provinces.[14]

Various people who have been awarded provincial orders have also been presented with national decorations and orders, such as the Order of Canada. An example of this would be Gordon Lightfoot being awarded the Order of Ontario. Lightfoot was also a Companion of the Order of Canada.[16] Each province has a limit on how many can be awarded with their order per year: Ontario places no limit on the number that can be distributed (although it is usually around 25), Alberta and Saskatchewan are limited to 10 inductees each year,[17][18] and the territories limit theirs to 3 per year.

Provincial medals

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Medals that are followed by + are not part of the official Canadian honours system, and as such may not be mounted with official honours or otherwise worn upon the left breast.

Saskatchewan

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Ontario

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British Columbia

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Alberta

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Newfoundland and Labrador

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Manitoba

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New Brunswick

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Nova Scotia

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Prince Edward Island

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Replaced the Order of the Dogwood (O.D.), founded in 1966.
  2. ^ French: Ordre national du Québec
  3. ^ Presented in three grades:
    • Grand Officer (grand officier)
    • Officer (officier)
    • Knight (chevalier)
  4. ^ An unofficial order for the Yukon Territory, the Order of Polaris, had been created prior to the Order of Yukon in 2018, but was not a territorial order. It is not listed on the medals and orders chart for members of the Canadian Forces.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Royal British Columbia Museum: Media Images Archived 2012-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Roberts, Edward (2004). "Message from the Lieutenant Governor". In Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (ed.). Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. St. John's: Queen's Printer for Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  3. ^ a b Jackson, Michael; Canadian Monarchist News: Golden Jubilee and Provincial Crown; Winter/Spring, 2003 Archived 2007-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Alberta Order of Excellence: Members". Government of Alberta. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  5. ^ "35 years of excellence: 12 outstanding individuals honoured". Government of British Columbia. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Eight People to be Invested into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador". government of Newfoundland and Labrador. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Order of Nova Scotia Recipients". Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Province Honours 2024 Order of Ontario Appointees". Government of Ontario. 1 January 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Previous Years Recipients of the Medal of Merit". Government of Prince Edward Island. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Members of the Ordre national du Québec". Government of Quebec. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Recipients of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit" (PDF). Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Order of the Northwest Territories". Government of the Northwest Territories. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  13. ^ "Order of Nunavut". Government of Nunavut. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  14. ^ a b National Defence: Canadian Forces Honours and Awards Chart
  15. ^ "Order of Yukon inductees". Government of Yukon. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  16. ^ Governor General of Canada: Gordon Lightfoot receives the Order of Canada; December 13, 2003 Archived October 28, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Alberta Order of Excellence Act". Government of Alberta. 10 May 2005. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  18. ^ "The Provincial Emblems and Honours Act". Government of Saskatchewan. 29 June 1988. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Manitoba honours 10 police officers with Excellence in Law Enforcement Awards". News 4. 2018-11-24. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  20. ^ "Province of Manitoba | News Releases | Manitoba Police Officers Recognized with Excellence in Law Enforcement Awards". Province of Manitoba. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

Further reading

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