The Advisory Council for the Order of Canada is a duly constituted and independent advisory council that is chaired by the Chief Justice of Canada. The chair’s role is to manage the meeting and the deliberations, so that members of the Advisory Council may give their views on individual cases before a vote is called. The practice of the chair is not to vote or to take a position for or against nominations, except on the rare occurrence of a tied vote.

The Advisory Council reviews all nominations and transmits its decisions to the Governor General. A vote is held on each nomination and there must be a majority of votes for the candidate to be appointed to the Order of Canada. A unanimous vote is not required.

When a nomination does not receive a majority of votes, the Council may request the nomination be held for a period of time and brought forward for review at a future date, allowing the candidate to continue to contribute in his/her field of endeavour. If a candidate is not recommended for appointment, the nomination may be reconsidered at a later date if new information becomes available or if a nomination is re-submitted. A nomination may be presented on more than one occasion.

All deliberations of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada, as well as for any Canadian honour, are confidential.

Members of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada

The members of the Advisory Council champion excellence in every field of endeavour, from coast to coast to coast.

The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C.
Chief Justice of Canada (Chair)

Dr. Ewan Affleck, C.M.

Ms. Susan Aglukark, O.C.

Mr. John Hannaford
Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet

Mrs. Sharon Davis-Murdoch, C.M.

Dr. Marie Yvonne Delorme, C.M.

Ms. Stephanie Dixon, C.M.

Dr. Alain-G. Gagnon, O.C., C.Q.
President, The Royal Society of Canada

Mr. Daniel Germain, C.M., C.Q., M.S.M.

Mrs. Karina LeBlanc, C.M.

Ms. Isabelle Mondou
Deputy Minister, Canadian Heritage

Professor Deep Saini
Chair of the Board of Directors, Universities Canada

Mr. Jesse Wente
Chair, Canada Council for the Arts

Statement of Best Practices

The Order of Canada Advisory Council adopted a Statement of Best Practices (PDF) on July 22, 2019.