Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order and the second highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. The Canadian monarch, seen as the fount of honour, is at the apex of the Order as its Sovereign, followed by the governor general, who serves as the fellowship’s Chancellor. The serving governor general is currently Julie Payette, who is its Chancellor and Principal Companion and administers the order on behalf of the Sovereign.
About Order of Canada in brief
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order and the second highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. The three tiers of the order are Companion, Officer, and Member; specific individuals may be given extraordinary membership and deserving non-Canadians may receive honorary appointment into each grade. As of January 2020, 7,212 people have been appointed to the order, including scientists, musicians, politicians, artists, athletes, business people, film stars, benefactors, and others. The Canadian monarch, seen as the fount of honour, is at the apex of the Order as its Sovereign, followed by the governor general, who serves as the fellowship’s Chancellor. There were originally, only in effect, only the two ranks: Companion and Medal of Service. Without ever having been awarded, the Medal of Courage was replaced by the autonomous Cross of Valour on July 1, 1972. This award was meant to recognize acts of gallantry, but was anomalous in rank between the other two levels in rank. It was also a separate award of a different nature rather than a separate grade of a separate order of Canada rather than being a separate level of the Canadian honours system. The Order ofCanada was officially launched on 1 July 1967, the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, with Governor General Roland Michener being the first inductee. The process of founding the order began in early 1966 and came to a conclusion on 17 April 1967, when the organization was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II.
By the 1980s, Canada’s provinces began to develop their own distinct honours and decorations, thereby reducing the use of British honours. Among the civilian awards of theCanadianHonours system, the Order of Canada comes third, after the Cross of Valour and membership in the Order of Merit, which is within the personal gift of Canada’s monarch. Thereafter follow three grades, which are, in order of precedence: Companion, Officer, and Member, each having accordant post-nominal letters that members are entitled to use. The serving governor general is currently Julie Payette, who is its Chancellor and Principal Companion and administers the order on behalf of the Sovereign. Appointees are recommended by an advisory board and formally inducted by the governors general or the sovereign. Some have resigned or have been removed, while other appointments have been controversial. The order’s Latin motto, desiderantes meliorem patriam, means ‘they desire a better country’, a phrase taken from Hebrews 11: 16. The Queen is the Sovereign and the Governor General is also installed as the Principal Companion for the duration of his or her time in the viceregal post and continues as an extraordinary Companion thereafter. There have been 25 honorary appointments into the order so far, though though not all of them have been made by the Sovereign or the governorgeneral. There has been no change in the order’s name since it was established in 1967.
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This page is based on the article Order of Canada published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
