1987 •
John Black Aird – 23rd
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario • Aline Akeson – poverty activist •
J. M. S. Careless – historian •
Hon. William G. Davis –
Premier of Ontario (1971–1985) •
Celia Franca – founder of
National Ballet of Canada •
Harry Gairey – civil rights activist • Duncan Gordon •
Roger Guindon – university administrator • Dianne Harkin – founder of Women for the Survival of Agriculture •
Cleeve Horne – portrait painter and sculptor •
Benjamin Sinclair Johnson – sprinter •
Franc Joubin – prospector and geologist •
Johnny Lombardi – pioneer of multicultural broadcasting in Canada • Clifford McIntosh – public speaker, author and founder of the Quetico Centre •
Oskar Morawetz – composer •
John Polanyi – Nobel laureate •
Al Purdy – poet •
James Swail – researcher and developer of assistive devices for the blind • Bessie Touzel – social worker and teacher •
Whipper Billy Watson – professional wrestler, supporter of children's charities
1988 •
Alex Baumann – competitive swimmer, Olympic medalist •
June Callwood – journalist, author and social activist •
Floyd Chalmers – editor, publisher and philanthropist •
Robertson Davies – novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, professor, founding Master of
Massey College •
Reva Gerstein – first woman Chancellor of the
University of Western Ontario (1992–96) • Charlotte Lemieux – teacher and public servant •
Walter Frederick Light – business executive •
Gordon Lightfoot – singer and songwriter •
Dennis McDermott – trade unionist, Canadian Director of the
United Auto Workers (1968–78), and president of the
Canadian Labour Congress (1978–86) •
Pauline McGibbon – 22nd
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario • Don Moore – activist and immigration advocate • Bernice Noblitt – President of the Federated Women's Institute of Canada, women's rights activist and teacher •
John C. Parkin – architect •
Beryl Potter – activist for the rights of people with disabilities •
John Josiah Robinette – lawyer •
Murray Ross – founding president of
York University •
Robert B. Salter –
Orthopedic surgeon and professor •
John Weinzweig – composer
1989 •
Louis Applebaum – composer •
John W. H. Bassett – publisher, media baron • Dorothy Beam – advocate for the rights of the Deaf •
Leonard Birchall – decorated
RCAF pilot (
World War II) • Violet Blackman – black rights activist •
Morley Callaghan – author & playwright • Paul Charbonneau – priest and founder of Brentwood Recovery Home •
Charles George Drake – neurosurgeon • Anne Gribben – nurse and labour activist •
James Ham – engineer, administrator and President of the University of Toronto •
Kenneth Hare – climatologist •
Daniel Iannuzzi – broadcaster •
Norman Jewison – film director, producer, actor and founder of the
Canadian Film Centre •
Basil Johnston –
Anishinaabe writer & storyteller •
Cliff Lumsdon – world champion marathon swimmer • Janet Murray – nun, educator and hospital administrator •
Laure Rièse – educator; first female faculty member to obtain a PhD from
University of Toronto •
Harry Thode – geochemist, nuclear chemist, and academic administrator •
Eberhard Zeidler – architect
1990 • James Archibald – veterinary surgeon, organ transplant pioneer •
Margaret Atwood – writer • John Bailey – physician and community organizer • Maxwell Enkin – refugee advocate •
Maureen Forrester – contralto •
Ursula Franklin – metallurgist, research physicist, author and educator •
George R. Gardiner – businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of the
Gardiner Museum •
Stanley Grizzle – trade union activist •
Karen Kain – dancer •
Vicki Keith – marathon swimmer •
Wilbert Keon – heart surgeon, scientific researcher •
Dr. Robert McClure – surgeon, missionary,
Moderator of the United Church of Canada (1968–71), social activist •
Roland Michener – 20th
Governor General of Canada • Roderick Moran – paediatric dentist and organizer of specialized care clinics for disabled children •
Brian Orser – figure skater (Olympic medallist/world champion) •
Clifford Pilkey – trade union leader • Wilfrid Sarazin • Herbert Smith – engineer and educator •
Kathleen Taylor – the first woman to chair the board of a major Canadian bank • Jean Woodsworth – social worker, women's and seniors' rights activist
1991 • Gerald Barbeau •
John Basmajian – scientist • Elisabeth Bednar •
Agnes Benidickson – first female chancellor of
Queen's University •
Liona Boyd – classical guitarist • Clara Bernhardt – writer, poet and composer •
A. J. Casson – artist, member of the
Group of Seven •
Clifford Chadderton – veteran (
World War II), CEO of The
War Amps •
Frances Dafoe – figure skater, World Champion and Olympic medallist •
Dora de Pedery-Hunt – artist, designer of coins for
Royal Canadian Mint •
John Craig Eaton – businessman •
John Robert Evans – pediatrician, academic, businessperson, civic leader, founding dean of
McMaster University Faculty of Medicine •
Timothy Findley – author & playwright • Mary Lou Fox • Wilbur Howard – minister, the first black person to graduate from Emmanuel College and be ordained in the United Church of Canada •
William Goldwin Carrington Howland – lawyer, judge and former Chief Justice of Ontario •
Greta Kraus – Harpsichordist, pianist and teacher • Sim Fai Liu – doctor and founder of the Mon Sheong Foundation • Veronica O'Reilly •
Tom Patterson – founder of
Stratford Festival of Canada •
Walter Pitman – president of
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (1975–80) •
Annabel Slaight – teacher, environmentalist and co-founder of
OWL • Arthur Solomon •
Louis Temporale – sculptor • George Rutherford Walker •
Lois Miriam Wilson – first female
Moderator of the United Church of Canada (1980–82)
1992 •
Lincoln Alexander – 24th
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario •
Bromley Armstrong – civil rights leader •
Boris Berlin – pianist, music educator, arranger, and composer •
Pierre Berton – author, journalist, TV personality •
Suzanne Rochon-Burnett – first aboriginal person in Canada to own and operate a private commercial radio station • Linda Crabtree – writer, advocate and founder of CMT International • Stefan Dupré – economist, teacher and administrator •
William Hutt – actor • Germain Lemieux – folklorist and teacher •
Arthur Martin – justice of the
Court of Appeal for Ontario •
Doris McCarthy – artist • Terry Meagher – human rights and labour activist •
Raymond Moriyama – architect •
Fraser Mustard – physician and scientist •
Oscar Peterson – jazz pianist •
Serafina Petrone – writer, educator and philanthropist •
Nancy Pocock – activist, advocate for refugees and artist •
Harry Rasky – documentary film producer • Judith Simser – teacher and advocate for the deaf •
Rose Wolfe – Chancellor of the
University of Toronto (1991–1997)
1993 •
Roberta Bondar – astronaut •
Pat Capponi – author and advocate for mental health issues and poverty issues •
Jean-Gabriel Castel – law professor and Professor Emeritus at
Osgoode Hall Law School •
Tirone David – cardiac surgeon • Colin diCenzo • Budhendra Doobay – cardiologist, heart surgeon and philanthropist •
Grace Hartman – first female mayor of
Sudbury •
Daniel G. Hill – civil servant, human rights specialist, and Black Canadian historian • Thomas Hill – curator, writer, art historian, artist, actor, producer and traditional eskanye singer • Karl Kaiser – wine maker and ice wine pioneer •
Murray Koffler – businessman and philanthropist • Benjamin Lu – chemical engineering professor and Professor Emeritus at
University of Ottawa • Abbyann Lynch – teacher and ethics consultant •
Lois Marshall – concert soprano •
Isabel McLaughlin – artist •
Gunther Plaut – author • Paul Rekai – doctor and co-founder of Central Hospital • Mary Stuart – administrator and volunteer • William Tamblyn – engineer, administrator and first President of
Lakehead University • Shirley Van Hoof •
Donald J.P. Ziraldo – wine maker and ice wine pioneer
1994 • Prasanta Basu – ophthalmologist, researcher and director of the Eye Bank of Canada (1955-1991) •
Joan Chalmers – philanthropist •
Martin Connell – businessman and philanthropist • Elsie Cressman – missionary and midwife •
Lorna deBlicquy – aviator and Canada's first woman Civil Aviation Flight Inspector • Selma Edelstone •
Nicholas Goldschmidt – conductor, first music director of the Royal Conservatory Opera School (
University of Toronto) •
Martha Henry – actress •
Conrad Lavigne – media executive •
Donald C. MacDonald – politician •
Flora MacDonald – politician •
Edwin Mirvish – businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario •
Alice Munro – writer •
Phil Nimmons – jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader •
Ted Nolan – hockey player and coach •
George Pedersen – president of
University of Western Ontario (1985 to 1994) • Ronald Satok – artist • Nelles Silverthorne – pediatrician, researcher and vaccine pioneer • Elizabeth Thorn • Bryan Walls – dental surgeon, historian and author
1995 •
Doris Anderson – author, journalist, women's rights activist • Tim Armstrong – public policy advisor, legal counsel and author •
Harry Arthurs – lawyer, academic, labour law scholar •
Douglas Bassett – media executive • Thomas Beck – entrepreneur and philanthropist • Laurent Belanger – entrepreneur and administrator • Marlene Castellano – teacher and researcher •
Shirley Carr – labour leader, first woman president the
Canadian Labour Congress. •
Angela Coughlan – internationally ranked competitive swimmer, Olympic medallist • Corinne Devlin – gynecologist and teacher • Robert Filler – surgeon and researcher • Ted Hargreaves – businessman and charitable fundraiser •
Elmer Iseler – conductor of the
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, founder of the
Festival Singers of Canada and the Elmer Iseler Singers • Heather Johnston – first lay woman president of the
Canadian Council of Churches •
Vim Kochhar – former senator and co-founder of Rotary Cheshire Homes •
Linda Lundström – fashion designer • Lloyd Perry – lawyer • Natavarlal Shah – physician, co-founder of the Sikh Education Research Centre and co-founder of the Mount Carmel Home • William Somerville – public servant and administrator
1996 •
Avie Bennett – businessman and philanthropist • Huguette Burroughs – journalist and public servant •
Herbert Carnegie – hockey player • Jesse Davidson & John Davidson – co-founders of the charity
Jesse's Journey •
Clifford R. Evans – labour leader •
Gregory Evans – judge •
Ellen Louks Fairclough – first female member of the Canadian federal Cabinet • Amber Foulkes •
Charles Godfrey – physician, professor and former
MPP •
Kamala-Jean Gopie – political activist •
Chris Hadfield – astronaut •
Tommy Hunter – country singer •
Arlette Lefebvre – child psychologist at the
Hospital for Sick Children • Jeffrey Wan-shu Lo •
Janet Lunn – children's writer •
Trisha Romance – artist • Etienne Saint-Aubin – lawyer •
Ezra Schabas – musician, educator and author •
Al Waxman – actor • William Wilkinson •
Doreen Wicks – humanitarian
1997 • John Brooks – founder of the John Brooks Community Foundation and Scholarship Fund • François Chamberland • Audrey Cole – activist for people with disabilities •
John Colicos – actor • William Coyle – aerospace pioneer •
Leslie Dan – businessman •
Michael de Pencier – entrepreneur, environmental investor and publisher •
Jack Diamond – architect, founding director of the Master of Architecture program at the
University of Toronto •
Charles Dubin – judge • Ralph Ellis – filmmaker, documentarian and administrator •
Larry Grossman – politician •
Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook – portrait sculptor •
Abbyann Lynch – medical ethicist • Ron Ianni – lawyer, teacher and President of the
University of Windsor • Roy Laine • Moon Lum • Kathleen Mann – teacher and choir director • Judith Meeks • Nancy Raeburn •
Jack Rabinovitch – philanthropist and founder of the
Giller Prize •
Richard Rohmer – writer •
Bob Rumball – pastor and advocate for the deaf and those with special needs • Nalini Stewart – administrator • Paul Tsai
1998 •
Marion Anderson – Aboriginal band councillor •
Bluma Appel – philanthropist, arts patron •
Jean Ashworth Bartle – Founder and director of the
Toronto Children's Chorus •
Allan Leslie Beattie – lawyer, former
chairman of the board for the
Hospital for Sick Children •
Irene Broadfoot – community activist •
Norman Campbell – television director & producer, playwright •
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 (AGO) • Dr.
Kenneth C. Hobbs – physician, international humanitarian •
Hal Jackman – business leader, philanthropist, 24th
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 for the
Francophone community •
Knowlton Nash – journalist •
Alfred U. Oakie – pioneer in
traffic safety •
Lloyd Seivright – activist •
Masami Tsuruoka – sports figure •
Thomas Leonard Wells – politician
1999 •
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 – disability-rights activist •
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 scholarship sponsor •
Eileen McGregor – community activist •
Winnie "Roach" Leuszler – first Canadian to swim the
English Channel, sportswoman •
Alice King Sculthorpe – community activist • Dr.
Bette Stephenson – physician, founding member of the
College of Family Physicians of Canada, former Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP and cabinet minister •
Hin Cheung Tam – community activist •
Gordie Tapp – entertainer •
Anthony Toldo – industrialist, philanthropist, bicyclist •
Lisette Véron-Rainu – children's activist •
Ken Watts – Founder of the
Ontario Collegiate Drama Festival 2000 •
Danielle Allen and
Normand Pellerin – educators • Maggie Atkinson – Lawyer and AIDS activist •
Marilyn Brooks – Fashion designer and philanthropist •
Nickie Cassidy – activist on behalf of sufferers of
multiple sclerosis •
Ernie Checkeris – Educator and activist, Chancellor of
Thorneloe University, Sudbury •
George A. Cohon – Chicago-born lawyer; founder/senior chairman of
McDonald's Restaurants of Canada; philanthropist •
Lloyd Dennis – educator •
William Andrew Dimma – businessman and educator •
Kildare Dobbs – writer, journalist •
Joyce Fee – educator and community activist • Dr.
Robert Freedom – physician, professor and author •
Donald H. Harron – journalist, author and actor •
Jane Jacobs – U.S.-born naturalized Canadian author; Toronto-based urban philosopher •
Stephan Lewar –
venture capitalist, financier and philanthropist •
Janet MacInnis – fundraiser and volunteer •
Frank Miller – politician (former
Premier of Ontario) •
Betty Oliphant – founder of the
National Ballet School of Canada •
J. Robert S. Prichard – educator, author and former President of the
University of Toronto •
Joseph Radmore – athlete, member of the
Canadian Paralympic Team •
Margaret M. Risk – nurse •
Haroon Siddiqui – journalist, columnist • Dr.
Calvin Stiller – physician •
Donald A. Stuart –
gold and
silversmith • Dr.
Lap-Chee Tsui – molecular geneticist; Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Hong Kong •
Irving Ungerman – entrepreneur,
boxer and activist
2001 •
Richard M. Alway – President/Vice-Chancellor of
St. Michael's College, promoter of
Catholic-
Anglican dialogue in Canada •
Gwen M. Boniface – first female
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner •
Rita Burak – public servant •
Danielle Campo – athlete, member of the
Canadian Paralympic Team •
Michael "Pinball" Clemons – President and former player of the
Toronto Argonauts •
Ken Danby – artist •
Terry Daynard – researcher, teacher •
Terrence J. Donnelly – fundraiser for cardiac research and development •
Gail J. Donner – Dean of the Faculty of
Nursing at the
University of Toronto; Executive Director of the
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario •
Fredrik Stefan Eaton – businessman, community volunteer •
C. Dennis Flynn – elected official, fundraiser, community volunteer and war veteran • Prof. Dr.
Nicolas D. Georganas – pioneer in
multimedia medical communications and telelearning •
Helen Haddow – community activist •
Paul Kells –
workplace safety advocate •
Jake Lamoureux – Volunteer with young people •
Alexina Louie – composer of
classical music •
Lewis W. MacKenzie, Major General (Retired) – Ontario Director of ICROSS Canada, the
International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering •
Signe and
Robert McMichael – builders and donors of the
McMichael Canadian Art Collection of
Group of Seven paintings in
Kleinburg •
Dusty Miller – patron of the arts, artistic director of the
Cambrian Players •
David Mirvish – leader in the development and promotion of the
visual arts in Ontario •
Peter Nesbitt Oliver – historian •
James S. Redpath – Chancellor of
Nipissing University • Dr.
Donald T. Stuss – clinical
psychologist,
neuropsychologist and behavioural neuroscientist •
Bhausaheb Ubale – human rights activist • Dr.
Carin Wittnich –
University of Toronto professor and researcher •
Madeline Ziniak – Vice-president and executive producer of
CFMT television, promoter of
multiculturalism 2002 •
Peggy Baker – dancer, choreographer and teacher; founder of the
Toronto-based
Dancemakers •
James Bartleman –
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario •
Marilyn Bell DiLascio – first person to swim
Lake Ontario (1954) •
David Blackwood – artist •
Frederick M. Catzman – lawyer •
Austin Clarke – author, teacher, mentor, writer-in-residence at the
University of Toronto; recipient of the 2002
Giller Prize •
Barbara Chilcott – actress •
Mario Cortellucci – fundraiser •
Patricia Freeman Marshall – community activist •
Irving R. Gerstein – businessman, philanthropist •
Joan Goldfarb – teacher of adults with disabilities •
Walter Gretzky – Ambassador for the
Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and father of
Wayne Gretzky •
Phyllis M. Grosskurth – Professor emerita and Fellow,
Massey College,
University of Toronto; 1965 winner of the
Governor General's Award for non-fiction • Dr.
Raymond O. Heimbecker – cardiovascular surgeon •
Patrick John Keenan – volunteer •
Tom Kneebone – actor, playwright •
Burton Kramer – graphic designer • Dr.
Benson Lau – physician and teacher •
J. Douglas Lawson – Vice-Chairman of the
Ontario Arts Council •
Rhéal Leroux – Volunteer, former president of the
Festival Franco-Ontarien • Dr.
William K. Lindsay – surgeon and professor •
Joan Murray – art historian, former director of the
Robert McLaughlin Gallery in
Oshawa •
Dr. Mark J. Poznansky – President and Scientific Director of the
Robarts Research Institute • Dr.
Joanna Santa Barbara – physician, national president of the
Physicians for Global Survival •
Thomas H. B. Symons – founder of
Trent University and its president and vice-chancellor (from 1961–72) •
Lela Wilson – artists' rights activist
2003 •
Joseph J. Barnicke – businessman and philanthropist •
John Kim Bell – musician, promoter of Aboriginal culture • Col.
Archibald J. D. Brown – businessman, community activist •
Dorothy Ellen Duncan – Executive Director of The
Ontario Historical Society, teacher, curator •
Julian Fantino – police officer, former
Chief of Police for
London,
York Region and
Toronto; Ontario's Commissioner of Emergency Management; now
Commissioner of the
Ontario Provincial Police •
Mary Germain – community activist • Dr.
Avis E. Glaze – teacher, administrator, writer and international educator • Dr.
Benjamin Goldberg – psychiatrist •
Doris Grinspun – Executive Director of the
Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) •
George Gross – Corporate Sports Editor of Sun Media Corporation •
Macklin Hancock – pioneer in
urban planning,
urban design and
landscape architecture •
Ryan Hreljac – elementary school student, committed to raising funds for clean water and sanitation projects around the world since the age of six •
Dr. Frederic Jackman – psychologist •
Laura Louise Legge – lawyer, community activist • Helen Lu – volunteer, organizer and fundraiser for charitable organizations in
Toronto • Dr.
Donald Mackay – Professor of Environmental and Resource Studies at
Trent University, and director of the
Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre • Hon.
Jack Marshall –
Second World War veteran, Member of Parliament,
Senator, and activist •
Anna Porter – writer, book publisher • Hon.
Robert Keith Rae – Member of Parliament, former
Premier of Ontario, lawyer •
Eric Wilfrid Robinson – promoter of
adult education •
Diane Simard Broadfoot – community activist •
Joan Thompson – volunteer •
Rita Tsang – businesswoman • Hon.
Mabel Van Camp – judge; first woman on the
Supreme Court of Ontario •
Mike Weir – golfer; first Canadian to win the
Masters Golf Tournament •
Kirk Albert Walter Wipper – environmentalist,
heritage conservationist and
fitness advocate (died 2011) •
William John Withrow – former director of the
Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
2004 • Dr.
Tyseer Aboulnasr – engineer •
Jeff Adams – Paralympian and world champion in
wheelchair sports •
Mohammad Azhar Ali Khan – journalist, multiculturalism expert •
Diana Alli – outreach worker •
Patricia Ann Arato –
aphasia care volunteer • Dr.
Robin F. Badgley –
sociologist, founder of Department of Behavioural Science at the
University of Toronto •
Iain Baxter& – conceptual artist •
Louise Binder – speaker on
HIV/AIDS issues •
Richard Bradshaw – director of the
Canadian Opera Company •
Leonard A. Braithwaite – lawyer and former MPP • Dr.
Inez Elliston – educator, community volunteer •
Adele Fifield – director of "
The War Amps" •
Joan Francolini – community volunteer •
Sheldon Galbraith –
figure skating coach • Dr.
Allan Gross – Professor of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto •
Andrea Hansen – violinist •
Joyce Ann Lange – advocate for the
hearing impaired •
Delores Lawrence – leading female entrepreneur and philanthropist •
René J. Marin – respected Francophone jurist •
David McGirr – community volunteer in Northern Ontario •
Anthony Pawson – scientist known for research of
signal transduction in cells •
Kim Phuc Phan Thi –
Vietnamese
napalm victim •
John Rochon – marksman •
Chandrakant Shah – public health educator •
Gordon Surgeoner –
entomologist specializing in insect transmitted diseases •
Galen Weston – businessman in food services sector •
Reverend Monsignor Lawrence Anthony Wnuk – outreach worker to the Polish community •
James Young – former Chief Coroner •
Margaret Zeidler – architect
2005 •
Naomi Alboim – public servant •
Ron Barbaro – community service •
Harold Brathwaite – educator •
Boris Brott – conductor (
Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra) •
Donald Carr – lawyer •
Brian Desbiens – educator •
Thomas Dignan – Aboriginal healthcare advocate •
Deborah Ellis – children's author, human rights advocate •
Hughes Eng – community service •
Brenda L. Gallie – Expert in the treatment of
retinoblastoma •
Dorothy Griffiths – researcher, educator •
William A. Harshaw – fundraiser for
Parkinson's disease •
John Honderich – former editor and publisher,
Toronto Star •
Leon Katz – engineer, medical inventor •
Gisèle Lalonde – educator •
Mike Lazaridis – founder,
Research in Motion; inventor,
BlackBerry •
Beatrice Levis – advocate for social justice •
Nancy Lockhart – Chair,
Ontario Science Centre •
Ernest McCulloch – pioneer in
stem cell biology •
Lillian McGregor – teacher of aboriginal languages •
Sher Ali Mirza – engineer •
Ratna Omidvar – former president, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants •
Sandra Rotman – philanthropist •
Mark Starowicz – broadcaster, journalist •
Marlene Streit – professional golfer •
Ronald W. Taylor – physician in
sports medicine; team physician to the
Toronto Blue Jays •
James Till – pioneer in
stem cell biology •
John Walker Whiteside – assistant
crown attorney •
Moses Znaimer – broadcaster
2007 •
Thomas J. Bitove – businessman, community activist •
John Richard Bond –
University of Toronto astrophysicist and
cosmologist •
Bernice and Rolland Desnoyers – foster parents for children and youth since 1960 •
Peter J. George – economist, author, President and Vice Chancellor of
McMaster University in Hamilton and Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities •
Christopher A. Harris – cofounder of the Ottawa-Carleton Immigrant Services Organization, the National Capital Alliance on Race Relations and the Jamaican Ottawa Community Association •
Peter Herrndorf – Broadcasting executive •
Rebecca F. Jamieson –
First Nations activist •
Max Keeping –
Ottawa media personality •
M. David Lepofsky – disability activist • Dr.
Tak W. Mak – biomedical scientist •
J. William McConkey –
University of Windsor professor • Dr.
Roderick R. McInnes – University of Toronto professor and senior scientist with the
Hospital for Sick Children •
R. Roy McMurtry – former Chief Justice of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario •
Lorraine Monk – author, photographer, and artist •
Albert Kai-Wing Ng – graphic designer and creator of graphic design accreditation •
Adeena Niazi – helping newcomers settle in Canada •
Gordon M. Nixon – President/CEO of the
Royal Bank of Canada •
Margaret Helen Ogilvie – Chancellor's Professor of Law at
Carleton University •
Eva Olsson – Holocaust survivor •
Marlene Ann Pierre –
Aboriginal activist • Dr.
Frances A. Shepherd –
University of Toronto professor •
Janice Gross Stein – scholar, academic •
Paul-François Sylvestre – novelist, researcher and
mentor •
William Thorsell – Director/CEO of the
Royal Ontario Museum • Dr.
David Walde – Director of the
Oncology Program • Dr.
Paul Walfish –
University of Toronto professor and senior consultant
2008 Reference: •
George Brady – human rights advocate, public speaker and Auschwitz survivor •
Jack Chiang – journalist, community service •
Tony Dean – Secretary of the Cabinet, credited with improving the Ontario Public Service • Mary Dickson – lawyer, educator and advocate for people with disabilities •
Noel Edison – Artistic Director of the
Elora Festival and the conductor of the
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir • Frank Fernandes – Toronto businessman and volunteer •
Jean-Robert Gauthier – for his work in advancing French-language education •
Sam George – Native Canadians' rights activist • Heather Gibson – educator specializing in American Sign Language (ASL) • Robert A. Gordon – served as president of
Humber College • Gordon Gray – philanthropist • Susan Hoeg – community service on behalf of the
Georgina Island Chippewas • Claude Lamoureux – served as president and CEO of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan • Patrick Le Sage – served as Chief Justice for the Ontario Superior Court of Justice • Dr. Joe MacInnis – physician, scientist and undersea explorer • Dr.
David MacLennan – biomedical scientist, expert in biochemistry, genetics and physiology of muscle function •
Lorna Marsden – served as President of
York University and of
Wilfrid Laurier University, and a former senator. •
David Peterson – former Premier of Ontario • Ed Ratushny – expert on the Canadian judiciary • Rosemary Sadlier – author and president of the Ontario Black History Society • Dr. Fuad Sahin – for his contributions to community service; founder of the
International Development and Relief Foundation. •
Barbara Ann Scott-King – Olympic champion figure skater in 1948 •
Ellen Seligman – for contributions to publishing and support of Canadian authors •
Peter Silverman – broadcaster and consumer advocate • David Smith – philanthropist •
Ted Szilva – originator and developer of the
Big Nickel Project • Mary Welsh – for 35 years of community and civic contributions
2009 Reference: •
Constance Backhouse – legal scholar and historian • Dr. Philip Berger – physician and leader in the fields of urban medicine, addiction, homelessness and HIV/AIDS care •
Lawrence Bloomberg – businessman and philanthropist •
Lesley Jane Boake – educator and founder of Canine Opportunity, People Empowerment • Dr.
Helen Chan – clinical oncologist •
Peter Crossgrove – businessman and charity fundraiser •
Mike DeGagné – community leader and advocate for Aboriginal peoples •
Levente Diosady – a leader in the field of food process engineering •
Fraser Dougall – media owner and philanthropist •
Jacques Flamand – writer and promoter of Franco-Ontarian literature •
Jean Gagnon – an advocate for the health and safety of workers •
Paul Godfrey – Chair of
Metro Toronto (1973–1984), businessman •
Peter Godsoe – businessman •
Ovid Jackson – provincial politician • Dr.
Kellie Leitch – orthopaedic pediatric surgeon; Assoc. Professor of Medicine,
University of Toronto •
Gerry Lougheed, Jr. – funeral director and volunteer •
Diana Mady Kelly – theatre director and teacher of dramatic arts •
Naseem Mahdi – spiritual leader • Dr.
Samantha Nutt – Executive Director,
War Child Canada • Dr.
James Orbinski – physician; Associate Professor of Medicine,
University of Toronto; President of
Médecins Sans Frontières (1998–2001) •
Bonnie Patterson – former president of
Ryerson University •
Shirley Peruniak – park naturalist and conservationist •
Alice Porter – nurse and missionary •
Ken Shaw – news anchor (
CTV) and philanthropist • Janet Stewart – lawyer and philanthropist •
Shirley Thomson – civil servant • George Turnbull – expert in financial services and philanthropist •
Dr. Mladen Vranic – physician and researcher •
Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik – physician and female AIDS activist
2010 Reference: •
Suhayya Abu-Hakima – technology entrepreneur and volunteer •
Russell Bannock – fighter pilot and Second World War commander •
Gail Beck – child and adolescent psychiatrist and champion of the HPV public immunization program •
Joseph Chin – medical pioneer and a leader in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer •
Lynn Factor – social worker •
Gerald Fagan – choral conductor, teacher and mentor •
Nigel Fisher – former president of
UNICEF Canada •
Jacques Flamand •
Lillie Johnson – Ontario's first black director of public health •
Ignat Kaneff – developer and philanthropist •
Mobeenuddin Hassan Khaja – founder of the Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario and Canada •
Elizabeth Ann Kinsella – founder of the Youville Centre •
Huguette Labelle – civil servant and the first woman to lead the Red Cross in Canada •
Elizabeth Le Geyt – writer and birdwatcher •
Clare Lewis – former Crown attorney and judge •
Louise Logue – expert advisor in the field of crime prevention •
Gordon McBean – scientist and environmentalist •
Wilma Morrison – educator, historian and founder of the Niagara Black History Association •
James Orbinski •
Coulter Osborne – lawyer and former associate chief of justice •
Chris Paliare – civil litigator •
Gilles G. Patry – consultant, researcher, and a university administrator •
Dave Shannon – lawyer •
Molly Shoichet – researcher •
Howard Sokolowski – leader in the home building industry and philanthropist •
Edward Sonshine – entrepreneur and philanthropist •
Reginald Stackhouse – author, retired politician and co-founder of
Centennial College •
David Staines – scholar, professor, literary critic and writer •
Martin Teplitsky – mediator-arbitrator, Lawyer and founder of the Lawyers Feed the Hungry program •
Dave Toycen – president and CEO of
World Vision Canada •
John Ronald Wakegijig – launched a mental health program for First Nations youth and established Rainbow Lodge •
Elizabeth Hillman Waterston – researcher and writer
2011 Reference: •
Peter Adams – politician, professor and volunteer • Dr.
Anna Banerji – helped create the Immigrant Health and Infectious Disease Clinic and the Canadian Refugee Health Conference • Dr.
Sandra E. Black – cognitive neurologists specializing in stroke and dementia •
Paul Cavalluzzo – Lawyer, Senior Partner, Cavalluzzo Shilton McIntyre Cornish LLP, Barristers and Solicitors • Catherine Colquhoun – volunteer •
David Crombie – three-term mayor of
Toronto • Nathalie Des Rosiers – legal expert • Marcel Desautels – philanthropist •
Sara Diamond – artist and president of
OCAD University • Charles Garrad – archaeologist, historian, and scholar • Peter Gilgan – developer and philanthropist •
Frank Hayden – created
Special Olympics International •
Donald Jackson – world gold medalist in male figure skating • Zeib Jeeva – founding member of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund •
Howard McCurdy – scientist, civil rights activist and
MPP • Arthur McDonald – physicist • Noella Milne – lawyer and volunteer •
Suzanne Pinel – French-language educator and television personality • Ucal Powell – head of Ontario's Carpenter's Union •
Barbara Reid – children's author and illustrator • Alison Rose – documentary filmmaker and reporter •
Linda Schuyler – co-creator and executive producer of the
Degrassi television franchise • Dr.
Louis Siminovitch – geneticist •
Rahul Singh – founder of GlobalMedic • Connie Smith – journalist, television host and teacher • The Honourable Ray Stortini – retired Superior Court Judge •
John Tory – lawyer, business leader, community activist, broadcaster and former
MPP 2012 Reference: • Dr.
Izzeldin Abuelaish – physician, human rights and peace activist •
Michael Burgess – actor and singer •
Mark Cohon – commissioner of the
Canadian Football League •
Glen Cook – businessman and restored and preserved the historic Puce River Black Community Cemetery •
Stephen Cook – computer scientist •
Phyllis Creighton – chair of the Ontario Mental Health Foundation and the Addiction Research Foundation's clinical institute •
Michael Davies – businessman and philanthropist •
Ronald Deibert – director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's
Munk School of Global Affairs • Dr.
Rory Fisher – headed the Department of Extended Care at
Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto for almost 20 years •
Anne Golden – administrator •
Joan Green –
Toronto Board of Education's first female CEO • Dr.
Vladimir Hachinski – neurologist and teacher •
John D. Honsberger – lawyer • Dr.
Shafique Keshavjee – thoracic surgeon and world leader in lung transplantation • Fr.
Joseph MacDonald – founder of Poverello Charities Ontario • Don MacKinnon – advocate of Ontario's energy industry •
Deepa Mehta – filmmaker and women's rights activist •
Vincent Pawis – Native Inmate Liaison Officer • Sr.
Helen Petrimoulx – advocate for refugees • The Honourable
Sydney Robins – Supreme Court of Ontario judge • Dr.
Gail Robinson – psychiatrist, professor and advocate, she co-founded Canada's first rape crisis centre •
Mamdouh Shoukri – president and vice-chancellor of
York University •
Barry Smit – professor and climate change researcher •
Brian Stewart – reporter and foreign correspondent •
Frank Tierney – teacher and founder of the Borealis Press and Tecumseh Press
2013 Reference: •
Irving Abella – scholar and historian • Dr. Mohit Bhandari – orthopaedic surgeon and researcher • Paul Burston – public servant •
George E. Carter – lawyer and the first Canadian-born Black judge •
Ellen Campbell – founder and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness •
Penny Collenette – leader and innovator •
Ronald Common – President of
Sault College •
Paul Corkum – physicist and the father of attosecond science •
David Cronenberg – filmmaker •
Alvin Curling – first Black Speaker of the Ontario Legislature • Allison Fisher – Executive Director of Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health •
Claude Gingras – former chair of the Fondation Franco-Ontarienne •
Avvy Yao Yao Go – lawyer •
Piers Handling – Director and CEO of the
Toronto International Film Festival •
Paul Henderson – hockey player and mentor •
Justin Hines – singer, songwriter and founder of Justin Hines Foundation •
Ronald Jamieson – former Senior Vice President of Aboriginal Banking at
BMO Financial Group •
Jeanne Lamon – Music Director of Toronto's
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra •
Frances Noronha – civil servant •
Lyn McLeod – former leader of the
Ontario Liberal Party •
Diane Morrison – former Executive Director of the Mission, an Ottawa homeless shelter •
Steve Paikin – journalist and television host • Dr.
James Rutka – pediatric neurosurgeon and researcher •
Adel Sedra – engineering scholar, professor and administrator •
Toby Tanenbaum – philanthropist and volunteer
2014 Reference: •
Mary Anne Chambers – Cabinet Minister and
MPP •
Ming-Tat Cheung – cardiologist and medical researcher •
Michael Dan – neurosurgeon and philanthropists •
Don Drummond – economist •
Rick Green – performer, writer and advocate for people with
ADD •
Patrick Gullane – head and neck surgeon •
Joseph Halstead – civil servant and administrator •
Alis Kennedy –
Métis leader •
Sylvie Lamoureux – teacher, scholar, and academic •
Gilles LeVasseur – lawyer, economist and professor •
Gary Levy – founding Director of the Multi-Organ Transplant Program at
Toronto General Hospital •
Sidney B. Linden – former Chief Justice of the
Ontario Court of Justice •
Barbara MacQuarrie – advocate for women's rights •
Eva Marszewski – founder and Executive Director of Peacebuilders International •
Marilyn McHarg – Co-founder and former Executive Director of the Canadian branch of
Doctors Without Borders/Médécins Sans Frontières •
Hans Messner – scientist and physician •
James Murray – philanthropist •
Robert Nixon – former Minister of Finance and leader of the
Ontario Liberal Party •
Dhun Noria – surgical pathologist •
Maryka Omatsu – retired Ontario Court Justice and Canada's first Asian-Canadian female judge •
Charles Pachter – artist •
John Ralston Saul – writer and lecturer •
Najmul Siddiqui – entrepreneur, community leader and philanthropist •
Jeffrey Turnbull – physician, humanitarian and Medical Director of Ottawa Inner City Health •
Dolores Wawia – pioneer in native education •
David Williams – Canadian astronaut, physician and scientist •
Warren Winkler – former labour lawyer, mediator and Chief Justice of Ontario
2015 Reference: •
Hugh Allen Surgeon and Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology •
Susan Bailey Nurse, Teacher and Pioneer in Palliative care •
Isabel Bassett Former Ontario Cabinet Minister and
MPP •
Monica Elaine Campbell Pioneer in the Development of Palliative Care Services for the Deaf in Ontario •
Dennis Chippa Community Leader and Humanitarian •
Wendy Craig Professor of Psychology at
Queen's University and Expert on the Prevention of Bullying •
Gordon Cressy Former Politician, Public Servant, Humanitarian, Mentor and Youth Advocate •
Madeline Edwards Community Advocate and Founding Member of the Congress of Black Women of Mississauga and Area Chapter •
Hoda ElMaraghy Professor and Director of the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Center at the
University of Windsor •
Robert Fowler Critical Care Physician at
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Associate Professor of Medicine and Critical Care Medicine at the
University of Toronto •
Herbert Gaisano Professor and Researcher at the
University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine and Gastroenterologists •
John Gignac Veteran Fire Captain •
June Girvan Founder of the J'Nikira Dinqinesh Education Centre in Ottawa •
Beverley Gordon Founding CEO of The Safehaven Project for Community Living •
Richard Gosling community leader and youth advocate •
Stephen Goudge Former Judge in the
Court of Appeal for Ontario •
Anton Kuerti Concert Pianist and Composer •
Rita Letendre Painter, Muralist and Printmaker •
Jackie Maxwell Artistic Director of the
Shaw Festival •
Errol Mendes Professor of Law at the
University of Ottawa, Author and Advocate for the Universal Application of Human Rights •
Julian Nedzelski Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist and Head and Neck Surgeon at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and a Pioneer of Cochlear Implants in Ontario •
Mike Parkhill Founder of SayITFirst •
René Pitre Business Leader and Advocate of French Language Culture, Community and Education in Ontario •
Donna Trella Founder of Reach for the Rainbow •
Stanley Zlotkin A Nutrition Specialist and Researcher at
The Hospital for Sick Children 2016 Reference: •
Peter A. Adamson Surgical Specialist in Otolaryngology •
Mehran Anvari Surgical Robotics Pioneer •
Donovan Bailey Track and Field Icon •
Jennifer Bond Professor of Law and Human Rights Advocate •
Angèle Brunelle Advocate for Northwest Ontario's Francophone Community •
Ronald F. Caza Lawyer and Defender of Francophone Linguistic Rights •
Anthony Kam Chuen Chan Pediatric Hematologist and Scientist •
Ethel Côté Entrepreneur, Volunteer and Community leader •
Jim Estill Entrepreneur and Philanthropist •
Carol Finlay Anglican Priest and Education Advocate •
Cheryl Forchuk Scholar in the Fields of Homelessness, Poverty and Mental Health •
Dorothée Gizenga International Development Expert and Human Rights Advocate •
Shirley Greenberg Lawyer and Women's Rights Advocate •
Robert Pio Hajjar Motivational Speaker •
Greta Hodgkinson Prima Ballerina •
Dorothy Anna Jarvis Pediatrician •
Lisa LaFlamme Broadcast Journalist •
M.G. Venkatesh Mannar Expert in Food Science Technologies and Nutrition •
Ernest Matton (Little Brown Bear) Community Capacity Builder and Spiritual Ambassador •
Dennis O'Connor former Associate Chief Justice of Ontario •
David Pearson Professor and Promoter of Science Communication •
Fran Rider Women's Hockey Advocate •
Beverley Salmon Anti-Racism and Community Activist •
Hugh Segal Public Servant •
Helga Stephenson Arts Administrator and Human Rights Activist •
Margo Timmins Vocalist
2017 Reference: • Dr. Upton Allen pediatric infectious disease specialist •
Daniel Aykroyd actor and entrepreneur • Dr.
Alan Bernstein cancer researcher and research leader • Dr. David Cechetto neuroscientist and director of international medical development projects • Dr. Peter Chang lawyer and psychiatrist • The Honourable Sandra Chapnik lawyer and judge • Dr. Tom Chau biomedical engineer • Dr. Dorothy Cotton psychologist and mental health advocate • Peter Dinsdale Anishinaabe community leader • Leslie Fagan singer and promoter of Canadian music •
Michael Geist scholar and public intellectual • Shashi Kant professor of forest resource economics • Myrtha Lapierre retired nursing professor •
Floyd Laughren former MPP and Finance Minister •
Michael Lee-Chin entrepreneur and philanthropist • Gail Nyberg former Daily Bread Food Bank executive director and former school trustee • Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani psychiatrist • Elder Geraldine Robertson educator and advocate for residential school survivors •
Allan Rock former politician and UN Ambassador •
Robert J. Sawyer celebrated science-fiction author •
Sandra Shamas writer, performer and comedian • Elizabeth Sheehy criminal law, scholar • Ilse Treurnicht CEO and advocate for women and innovation
2018 Reference: •
Jean Augustine politician and social justice advocate •
Salah Bachir businessman and philanthropist • Dr. Sue Carstairs veterinarian and conservationist • Ralph Chiodo entrepreneur and philanthropist • Dr. Zane Cohen colorectal surgeon •
Dwayne De Rosario soccer player • Michele DiEmanuele CEO and public servant • Philip Epstein lawyer, scholar in family law • Dr.
Aaron Fenster biomedical physicist •
Mark Freiman lawyer, public servant and former Deputy Attorney General of Ontario • Emmanuelle Gattuso philanthropist •
Mary Gordon social entrepreneur, educator and child advocate •
Edward Greenspon journalist •
Spider Jones sports journalist, author and member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame • Neal Jotham animal welfare advocate •
Dalton McGuinty provincial politician and former
Premier of Ontario 2003-2013 • Peter Menkes businessman • Janice O'Born entrepreneur and philanthropist • Cheryl Perea child advocate • Dr. Lyne Pitre physician and educator •
Col. A. Britton (Brit) Smith philanthropist
2019 Reference: • Melanie Adrian law professor at
Carleton University •
Roland Armitage former Ontario politician and Member of the
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame •
Dr. Allan Carswell physicist • Helen Ching-Kircher businesswoman and philanthropist • John Colangeli CEO of Lutherwood and Lutherwood Child and Family Foundation • Nancy Coldham businesswoman and philanthropist •
Sean Conway former
Ontario Cabinet Minister under
David Peterson • Clare Copeland former Chair of
Toronto Hydro • Barbara Croall
composer and
musician • Lisa Farano charity executive • Geoffrey Fernie biomedical engineer • Dr. Allan Fox neuroscientist • John Freund
author and peace activist • Susan Hay journalist • Dr. John Jennings historian • Dr.
Marlys Koschinsky Biochemistry Professor • James W. Leech former head of the
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan • Audrey Loeb law professor • Dani Reiss President and
CEO of
Canada Goose Incorporated • Janis Rotman philanthropist • Linda Silver Dranoff lawyer • Joan Sutton Straus journalist
2020 Reference: • Daniel Allen public servant • Dr. Joseph Raymond Buncic physician at
The Hospital for Sick Children • Michael DeGasperis property developer and philanthropist • Dr. Raymond Desjardins atmospheric scientist •
Ernest Eves former
Premier of Ontario 2002-2003 •
Hershell Ezrin public servant •
Carlo Fidani businessman and philanthropist • Karen Goldenberg
occupational therapist •
Michael Deane Harris former
Premier of Ontario 1995-2002 •
Ellis Jacob President and
CEO of
Cineplex Entertainment • Dr. Jing Jiang engineering professor at the
University of Western Ontario • Dr. Shana O. Kelley professor at the
University of Toronto • Dr. André Lapierre linguistics professor at the
University of Ottawa •
Dale Lastman lawyer •
André M. Levesque soldier • Dr. Peter Liu
cardiologist •
Hazel McCallion former
Mayor of Mississauga 1978-2014 • Arden McGregor humanitarian • Janet McKelvy philanthropist • George McLean artist •
Hon. Rosemary Moodie Senator •
Hon. Robert W. Runciman former
Senator 2010-2017 • Dr. Marilyn Sonley pediatric oncologist • Ahmad Reza Tabrizi philanthropist •
Hon. Karen M. Weiler former judge
2021 Reference: •
Payam Akhavan - human rights lawyer •
Walter Arbib - co-founder of SkyLink Aviation •
Teresa Cascioli - former CEO of Hamilton’s Lakeport Brewing •
George Chuvalo - heavyweight boxing champion •
Angela Cooper Brathwaite - nurse •
Aimée Craft - researcher, professor, and author •
Stephen Diamond - philanthropist •
Nishan Duraiappah - Chief of Police for Peel Region •
Mitch Frazer - attorney •
Leo Goldhar - philanthropist •
Steve (Suresh) Gupta - businessman •
Elise Harding-Davis - museum curator and professor •
Armand P. La Barge - President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police •
Sandra Laronde - artist •
Dave Levac - former Member of Provincial Parliament •
David McKay - CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada •
Barbara Morrongiello - doctor •
Lori Nikkel - CEO of Second Harvest •
Rose M. Patten - banker •
Christina Petrowska-Quilico - pianist •
Robert Poirier - former chair of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport •
Kevin Smith - hospital administrator •
Joan VanDuzer - creator of the Harbinger Foundation •
Sara Waxman - author and journalist
2022 Reference: •
Dyane Adam - commissioner of official languages • Cindy Adams - Executive Director of Scientists in School • Jordan Bitove - owner of Torstar • Vanessa Burkoski - former Chief Nursing Officer of Ontario • Dr. Michael Cheng - child psychiatrist •
Dianne Cunningham - former Member of Provincial Parliament •
Andre De Grasse - athlete and Olympic Gold Medalist •
Rhoda Howard-Hassmann - human rights scholar •
Dr. David J. Jenkins - researcher and professor •
Christina Jennings - producer •
Dr. Mohamed Lachemi - researcher and educator •
Eric Lindros - ice hockey player • Arthur Lockhart - educator • Lorin MacDonald - human rights lawyer •
Christine Nesbitt - speed skater and Olympic medalist •
Dr. Beverley A. Orser - physician and scientist •
Pauline Shirt - indigenous educator • Dr. Frank Silver - neurologist •
Dr. John P. Smol - environmental researcher • Dr. David Tannenbaum - physician • Biagio Vinci - owner of Biagio and founder of social service programs • Dr. Ajay Virmani - CEO • Dr. Padraig Warde - oncologist • Dr. MaryLynn West-Moynes - educator • Marva Wisdom - Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs •
Elizabeth Witmer - former Member of Parliament
2023 Reference: •
Jay Aspin - educator and former Member of Parliament • John M. Beck - founder of Aecon Group • Jo-Anne Clarke - geriatrician • Hon.
David Collenette - former Member of Parliament and cabinet minister • Claire Crooks - psychologist and researcher • Julie Di Lorenzo - President of Mirabella Development Corp •
John English - author and former Member of Parliament • Lee Errett - surgeon and professor • Gervan Fearon - educator • Patrick Foran - CTV Consumer Alert reporter and author •
Blake C. Goldring - entrepreneur and philanthropist • Herbert Ho Ping Kong - doctor and educator •
Blake Hutcheson - CEO of Toronto-based OMERS • Michael Latner - CEO of Shiplake Properties • Bernard Leduc - CEO of Ottawa’s Hôpital Montfort • Joy MacDermid - researcher •
Dwayne Morgan - creator of Up From The Roots Entertainment • Florence Ngenzebuhoro - CEO of the Centre Francophone du Grand Toronto • Hazelle Palmer - CEO of Sherbourne Health • Fred Possmayer - researcher • Peter Simon - President of The Royal Conservatory of Music •
Gary Slaight - CEO of Slaight Communications • George Trusler - surgeon •
Raquel Urtasun - co-founder the Vector Institute • Bhavana Varma - CEO of United Way of Kingston
2024 Reference: •
Zanana Akande - former provincial Cabinet Minister • Martin Antony - doctor and researcher • Hon.
Todd L. Archibald - former judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice • Lise Bourgeois - teacher and entrepreneur • Rudolph Bratty - founding partner of Brattys LLP •
Marilyn Denis - television and radio host • Nick Di Donato - entrepreneur •
Brian Dunne - CEO of PHSS Support Services • Diane Dupuy, CM - founder of Famous PEOPLE Players • Jeremy Freeman - oncologist •
Vivek Goel, CM - public health researcher • Brian Gover - lawyer • Margery Holman - educator •
Royson James - journalist • Kevin Junor, MMM, CD - military Captain • Catherine Karakatsanis - engineer • Winston Kassim, CM - executive at RBC •
Danielle Lussier - educator • Alejandro Marangoni, OC, FRSC - researcher • Mina Mawani - CEO of Dixon Hall • Howard Ovens - researcher • Jeanne-Lucille Pattison - curator of the McMichael Gallery • Poonam Puri - governance advisor • Elizabeth Richer - Indigenous social services • Jean Seely - researcher • Walied Soliman - lawyer • Juliana Sprott - Chief Giving Officer of The Sprott Foundation • Jennifer Suess - lawyer • Joseph Vitale - founder of Italpasta
2025 Reference: • Ahmad Attia - CEO of Gestalt Communications •
Cameron Bailey - CEO of
Toronto International Film Festival • Arron Barberian - Restaurateur, Philanthropist, Accessibility Advocate •
Jean-Robert Bernier, Major-General (Retd) - Former
Canada’s Surgeon General and Former chief medical adviser for
NATO •
John B.W. Carmichael - Former Member of Parliament • Dr. Jamaica Cass - Physician and
Indigenous Health Advocate •
Don Cherry - Former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator • Donette Chin-Loy Chang - Philanthropist • Dr. Robert James Cusimano - Cardiac surgeon •
Dr. Philip J. Devereaux - Physician and researcher (perioperative care) • Dr. Morris Freedman - Physician and researcher (dementia care) • Jacques Frémont - Former President and Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Ottawa • Dr. Kathleen Gartke -
Orthopedic surgeon • Professor Amanda Grzyb - Scholar in
genocide studies •
Zabeen Hirji - former CHRO of Royal Bank of Canada and Founder Purposeful Third Act • Elder Shirley Horn - First Chancellor of
Algoma University • Dr. Bernard Lawless -
Trauma surgeon and researcher •
Nathan Leipciger -
Holocaust survivor and human rights advocate •
David MacNaughton - Professional advisor and former
Canadian Ambassador to the United States • Joe Mancinelli - Trade union activist • Claudette McGowan - CEO of Protexxa •
Tracy Moore - Canadian broadcaster and advocate •
Edward Rogers - Executive Chair of Rogers Communications • Richard Rooney - co-founder of Burgundy Asset Management • Dr. John L. Semple -
Reconstructive surgeon • Nancy Mei Chun Siew - Heritage preservationist •
Stephen J. R. Smith - co-founder of
First National Financial •
Hon. George Strathy - Former
Chief Justice of Ontario • J. David Wake, KC - Former Associate Chief Justice of the
Ontario Court of Justice and former
Integrity Commissioner •
Dr. Mary Wells - Dean of Engineering at the
University of Waterloo ==References==