Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is an award given in the Canadian province of Ontario. Created in 1986 by then Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, the award is the most prestigious official honour in the province. The Order recognizes the highest level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, but is not awarded for acts of bravery.
Selection for Membership
Each year, recipients of the award are selected by an Advisory Council consisting of the Chief Justice of Ontario (chair), the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the Secretary of the Cabinet, as well as other members of the Order.
Eligibility
The Order can be awarded to residents or former long-term residents of Ontario, who are not sitting elected federal, provincial or municipal representatives.
Insignia
The insignia of the Order is a stylized trillium, in white and green enamel, edged in gold. In the centre of the trillium is the provincial shield of arms, surmounted by the Crown. The ribbons are red (the colour of the Ontario Ensign), white, green and gold
Recipients
1998 Recipients
- Marion Anderson - Aboriginal band councillor
- Bluma Appel - Philanthropist and patron of the arts
- Jean Ashworth Bartle - Founder and director of the Toronto Children's Chorus. She
- Allan Leslie Beattie - Lawyer and former chairman of the board for the Hospital for Sick Children
- Irene Broadfoot - Community activist
- Norman Campbell - Composer
- Armando Felice DeLuca - Community activist
- Claire O. Dimock - Community activist
- Ydessa Hendeles - Founder, director and curator of the Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation and Grand Founder" of the Art Gallery of Ontario
- Dr. Kenneth C. Hobbs - Medical doctor and international humanitarian
- Hon. Henry N.R. Jackman - Business leader, philanthropist, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Chair of the Ontario Arts Council and Chancellor of the University of Toronto
- Maureen Kempston Darkes - President and General Manager of General Motors Canada Ltd and community activist
- Marvelle Koffler - Founder of the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Koffler Centre for the Arts
- Dr. Lap Cheung Lee - Community activist
- Andrée Lortie - Advocate of the francophone community
- Knowlton Nash - Journalist
- Alfred U. Oakie - Pioneer of traffic safety
- Lloyd Seivright - International activist
- Masami Tsuruoka - Sports
- Thomas Leonard Wells - Politician
1999 Recipients
- William Blake - Community activist
- Doris Boissoneau - Ojibwe language activist
- Paul Michel Bosc - Wine-maker
- Mavis Elaine Burke - Educator , advocate for early childhood education and community activist
- Clarice Chalmers - Philanthropist
- Keshav Chandaria - Philanthropist
- Susan Charness - Activist with persons with disabilities
- Sam John Ciccolini - Entrepreneur and philanthropist
- Esther Farlinger - Charity fundraiser
- Victor Feldbrill - Violinist, orchestral conductor and champion of Canadian music
- Dr. James Ferguson - Medical researcher
- Maxwell Goldhar - Businessman, philanthropist
- Doris Lau - Financial adviser, charity fundraiser, goodwill ambassador for Ontario and a scholarship sponsor
- Eileen McGregor - Community activist
- Winnie "Roach" Leuszler - First Canadian to swim the English Channel, sportswoman
- Alice King Sculthorpe - Community activist
- Dr. Bette M. Stephenson - Medical doctor, founding member of the College of Family Physicians Canada, cabinet minister
- Hin Cheung Tam - Community activist
- Gordie Tapp - Entertainer
- Anthony Toldo - Industrialist and philanthropist
- Lisette Véron-Rainu - Children's activitist
- Ken Watts - Founder of the Ontario Collegiate Drama Festival