Order of Canada#Eligibility and appointment

The process of founding the Order of Canada began in early 1966 and concluded on 17 April 1967,{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=xiii}} when the organization was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II, on the advice of the Canadian prime minister, Lester B. Pearson, who was assisted with the establishment of the order by John Matheson. The snowflake design for the order was suggested by the diplomat John G. H. Halstead.{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=189}} The association was officially launched on 1 July 1967, the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, with Governor General Roland Michener being the first inductee to the order, to the level of Companion,{{Harvnb|Office of the Governor General of Canada|2017|loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20220523001329/https://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=1170 Roland Michener, P.C., C.C., C.M.M., C.D., LL.D.]}} and on 7 July of the same year, 90 more people were appointed, including former Governor General Vincent Massey, former prime minister Louis St. Laurent, novelist Hugh MacLennan, religious leader David Bauer, novelist Gabrielle Roy, historian Donald Creighton, feminist politician and future senator Thérèse Casgrain, pioneering neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, painter Arthur Lismer, public health leader Brock Chisholm, former political leader M. J. Coldwell, disability advocate Edwin Baker, painter Alex Colville, and ice hockey player Maurice Richard.{{Citation |last=Clarkson |first=Adrienne |title=Media > Speeches |date=30 October 2004 |publication-date=15 December 2004 |editor=Office of the Governor General of Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522230341/http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4337 |contribution=Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson: Speech on the Occasion of the Order of Canada Investiture |contribution-url=http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4337 |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |author-link=Adrienne Clarkson |editor-link=Governor General of Canada}} During a visit to London, United Kingdom, later in 1970, Michener presented the Queen with her Sovereign's badge for the Order of Canada,{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=193}} which she first wore during a banquet in Yellowknife in July 1970.{{citation| author=Royal Household| title=Mailbox| journal=Royal Insight Magazine| issue=April 2006| page=3| year=2006| url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page5218.asp| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516000637/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page5218.asp| archive-date=16 May 2008| access-date=6 March 2007}}

From the Order of Canada grew a Canadian honours system, thereby reducing the use of British honours (i.e. those administered by the Queen in her UK Privy Council).{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=228}} Among the civilian awards of the Canadian honours system, the Order of Canada comes third, after the Cross of Valour and membership in the Order of Merit,{{Citation| last=Government of Canada| author-link=Government of Canada| title=Order of Merit (O.M.) Order| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=144| issue=25| date=8 December 2010| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| url=http://publications.gc.ca/gazette/archives/p2/2010/2010-12-08/pdf/g2-14425.pdf| access-date=10 December 2010| archive-date=17 May 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517173330/https://publications.gc.ca/gazette/archives/p2/2010/2010-12-08/pdf/g2-14425.pdf| url-status=live}} which is within the personal gift of Canada's monarch. By the 1980s, Canada's provinces began to develop their own distinct honours and decorations.{{citation |author=Department of Canadian Heritage |title=National and Provincial Honours |date=21 August 2013 |url=http://pch.gc.ca/eng/1362750840252/1363197195376 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025171549/http://pch.gc.ca/eng/1362750840252/1363197195376 |access-date=24 October 2014 |archive-date=25 October 2014}}

Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan represented the order at the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65503950| title=Coronation order of service in full| date=6 May 2023| publisher=BBC News| accessdate=6 May 2023| archive-date=6 May 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506001110/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65503950| url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of post-nominal letters in Canada#National orders and Commonwealth orders}}

The Canadian monarch, seen as the fount of honour,{{citation|url=http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hon/nat-honour-honneur/index-eng.htm |last=Royal Canadian Mounted Police |title=Honours and Recognition Programs > Canadian National Honours |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |access-date=20 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323114038/http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hon/nat-honour-honneur/index-eng.htm |archive-date=23 March 2009 }} is at the apex of the Order of Canada as its Sovereign,{{#tag:ref|In royal proclamations issued by the King or in his name, the order is thus referred to as "Our Order of Canada".{{Citation| last=Elizabeth II| title=Proclamation Summoning Parliament to Meet on May 30, 2011| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=145| issue=1| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=28 March 2011| url=http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2011/2011-03-28-x1/html/si-tr34-eng.html| access-date=14 September 2011| archive-date=9 August 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809114906/http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2011/2011-03-28-x1/html/si-tr34-eng.html| url-status=live}}|group=n|name=Our}}{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=3.1}}{{citation| url=http://archive.gg.ca/honours/nat-ord/oc/index_e.0708071500.asp| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Honours > National Orders > Order of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=2 March 2010| archive-date=18 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118210621/http://archive.gg.ca/honours/nat-ord/oc/index_e.0708071500.asp| url-status=live}} followed by the governor general, who serves as the fellowship's Chancellor.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=3.2}} Thereafter follow three grades, which are, in order of precedence: Companion ({{langx|fr|link=no|Compagnon}}), Officer ({{langx|fr|link=no|Officier}}), and Member ({{langx|fr|link=no|Membre}}), each having accordant post-nominal letters that members are entitled to use.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=21.1.d}} Each incumbent 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.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=12.1}} Additionally, any governor general, viceregal consort, former governor general, former viceregal consort, or member of the Canadian royal family may be appointed as an extraordinary Companion, Officer, or Member.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=9.2}} Promotions in grade are possible,{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=24}} though this is ordinarily not done within five years of the initial appointment,{{#tag:ref|For example, Denys Arcand was created as an Officer of the Order of Canada on 29 December 1986 and was promoted to Companion on 29 October 2004.{{Harvnb| Office of the Governor General of Canada| 2017| loc=[http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=34 Georges-Henri Denys Arcand, C.C., C.Q.]}}|group=n|name=DA}}{{Harvnb| Department of National Defence| 2009| p=2C-2}} and a maximum of five honorary appointments into any of the three grades may be made by the governor general each year.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=10.2}} {{As of|January 2024}}, there have been 28 honorary appointments.{{Harvnb|McCreery|2005|pp=223–224}}

There were originally, in effect, only two ranks to the Order of Canada: Companion and the Medal of Service. There was, however, also a third award, the Medal of Courage, meant to recognize acts of gallantry. This latter decoration fell in rank between the other two levels, but was anomalous within the Order of Canada, being a separate award of a different nature rather than a middle grade of the order. Without ever having been awarded, the Medal of Courage was on 1 July 1972 replaced by the autonomous Cross of Valour and, at the same time, the levels of Officer and Member were introduced, with all existing holders of the Medal of Service created as Officers. Lester Pearson's vision of a three-tiered structure to the order was thus fulfilled.{{Citation| last=Lochnan| first=Carl| contribution=Culture > Awards > Order of Canada| title=The Canadian Encyclopedia| editor-last=Marsh| editor-first=James H| publisher=Historica Foundation of Canada| url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/order-of-canada| access-date=24 July 2009| archive-date=13 December 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213074842/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/order-of-canada/| url-status=live}}{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| pp=126, 149, 166}}

Companions of the Order of Canada (post-nominals: CC, in {{langx|fr|link=no|Compagnon de l'ordre du Canada}}) have demonstrated the highest degree of merit to Canada and humanity, on either the national or international scene. Up to 15 Companions are appointed annually,{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=15}} with an imposed limit of 180 living Companions at any given time, not including those appointed as extraordinary Companions or in an honorary capacity.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=13}} {{As of|August 2017}}, there are 146 living Companions.{{Harvnb| Office of the Governor General of Canada| 2017| loc=[http://www.gg.ca/honours.aspx?ln=&fn=&t=12&p=&c=&pg=1&types=12&advoocHon=Companion&advoocStatus=Living Honour Received: Companion (CC), Field: Living]}} Since 1994,{{Citation| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Did You Know?| journal=Celebrating Excellence!| volume=Winter 2008| page=3| year=2008| url=http://archive.gg.ca/honours/pdf/OCnewsWinter2008.pdf| access-date=24 July 2009| archive-date=14 September 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914123531/http://archive.gg.ca/honours/pdf/OCnewsWinter2008.pdf| url-status=live}} substantive members are the only regular citizens who are empowered to administer the Canadian Oath of Citizenship.{{Citation| last=Institute for Canadian Citizenship| title=Welcoming Canadians: Planning community citizenship ceremonies| publisher=Institute for Canadian Citizenship| date=17 October 2007| url=http://www.icc-icc.ca/en/assets/pdf/CeremonyHandbook.pdf| page=14| access-date=1 January 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706183120/http://www.icc-icc.ca/en/assets/pdf/CeremonyHandbook.pdf| archive-date=6 July 2011| url-status=dead}}

Officers of the Order of Canada (post-nominals: OC, in {{langx|fr|link=no|Officier de l'ordre du Canada}}) have demonstrated an outstanding level of talent and service to Canadians, and up to 64 may be appointed each year, not including those inducted as extraordinary Officers or in an honorary capacity, with no limit to how many may be living at one time.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=17}} {{As of|August 2017}}, there were 1,049 living Officers.{{Harvnb| Office of the Governor General of Canada| 2017| loc=[http://www.gg.ca/honours.aspx?ln=&fn=&t=12&p=&c=&pg=1&types=12&advoocHon=Officer&advoocStatus=Living Honour Received: Officer (OC), Field: Living]}}

Members of the Order of Canada (post-nominals: CM, in {{langx|fr|link=no|Membre de l'ordre du Canada}}) have made an exceptional contribution to Canada or Canadians at a local or regional level, group, field or activity. As many as 136 Members may be appointed annually, not including extraordinary Members and those inducted on an honorary basis, and there is no limit on how many Members may be living at one time.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=19}} {{As of|August 2017}}, there were 2,281 living Members.{{Harvnb| Office of the Governor General of Canada| 2017| loc=[http://www.gg.ca/honours.aspx?ln=&fn=&t=12&p=&c=&pg=1&types=12&advoocHon=Member&advoocStatus=Living Honour Received: Member (CM), Field: Living]}}

{{Clear}}

Upon admission into the Order of Canada, members are given various insignia of the organization, all designed by Bruce W. Beatty, who "broke new ground in the design of insignia of Orders within The Queen's realms" and was himself made a member of the order in 1990;{{citation| url=http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/queenandcommonwealth/MicroObject.asp?row=13&themeid=453&item=13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608221018/http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/queenandcommonwealth/MicroObject.asp?row=13&themeid=453&item=13| archive-date=8 June 2011| author=Royal Collection| title=e-Gallery > Exhibitions > Queen & Commonwealth > Orders > Order of Canada, Sovereign's Badge| access-date=26 July 2009|author-link = Royal Collection}}{{Harvnb| Office of the Governor General of Canada| 2017| loc=[http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=2729 Bruce W. Beatty, C.M., C.D.]}} Beatty attended every investiture ceremony between 1967 and early 2010.{{citation|last=Bourdon|first=Buzz|title=Bruce Beatty was the man behind the Order of Canada|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/bruce-beatty-was-the-man-behind-the-order-of-canada/article580645/?page=all|publisher=Globe and Mail|date=11 May 2011|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025201914/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/bruce-beatty-was-the-man-behind-the-order-of-canada/article580645/?page=all|url-status=live}} The badge belonging to the Sovereign consists of a jewelled, 18-carat gold crown of rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, from which is suspended a white, enamelled, hexagonal snowflake design, with six equal leaves and diamonds between each. At the centre is a disc bearing a maple leaf in pavé-laid rubies on a white enamel background, surrounded at its edge by a red enamel ring (annulus) bearing the motto of the order.{{citation| url=http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=3601802&lang=eng| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302054251/http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3601802| archive-date=2 March 2014| last=Library and Archives Canada| author-link=Library and Archives Canada| title=Sovereign Badge of The Order of Canada| id=MIKAN 3601802| access-date=24 October 2014|date = 19 March 2008}} The Chancellor wears the badge of a Companion and is, upon installation as governor general, granted a livery collar for wear at Order of Canada investiture ceremonies.{{citation| title=Adrienne Clarkson Installed as Governor General| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Autumn 1999| issue=3| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| year=1999| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/installed.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531003841/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/1999/installed.htm|archive-date=31 May 2010|access-date=29 May 2009}}

File:Lorne Michaels David Shankbone 2010 Order of Canada.jpg wearing the lapel pin of a Member (with magnified inset)]]

The badges for inductees are of a similar design to the Sovereign's badge, though without precious stones, and slight differences for each grade. For Companions, the emblem is gilt with a red enamel maple leaf in the central disk; for Officers, it is gilt with a gold maple leaf; and for Members, both the badge itself and the maple leaf are silver. All are topped by a St. Edward's Crown, symbolizing that the order is headed by the Sovereign, and the reverse is plain except for the word CANADA.{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=190}}{{citation| url=http://www.medals.org.uk/canada/canada001.htm| last=Robertson| first=Megan C| title=C > Canada > Orders, Decorations and Medals of Canada > Order of Canada| publisher=Medals of the World| access-date=26 July 2009| archive-date=31 July 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731215607/http://www.medals.org.uk/canada/canada001.htm| url-status=live}}

The ribbon is white and bordered in red stripes, similar to the Canadian national flag. The ribbon bar for each grade has the same ribbon and is differentiated by a maple leaf in the centre, the colour of which matches that on the badge of the related grade (red for Companion, gold for Officer and silver for Member). For civilian wear on less formal occasions, a lapel pin may be worn, which is a miniature version of the recipient's badge and thus is distinct for each grade.

Wear of the insignia is according to guidelines issued by the Chancellery of Honours, which stipulate that the badges be worn before most other national orders, that is, at the end of an individual's medal bar closest to the centre of the chest or at the wearer's neck, with only the Victoria Cross, the Cross of Valour, and the badge of the Order of Merit permitted to be worn before the badges of the Order of Canada.{{Harvnb| Chancellery of Honours| 2005| p=7}} Those in the grades of Companion or Officer may wear their badges on a neck ribbon, while those in the Member group display their insignia suspended by a ribbon from a medal bar on the left chest. Protocol originally followed the British tradition, wherein female appointees wore their Order of Canada emblem on a ribbon bow positioned on the left shoulder. These regulations were altered in 1997, and women may wear their insignia in either the traditional manner or in the same fashion as the men.{{Harvnb| Chancellery of Honours| 2005| p=2}}

File:Personal Coat of Arms of Governor General of Canada David Lloyd Johnston.jpg of David Johnston, former Governor General of Canada and Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, displaying the order's motto and insignia]]

With the patriation in 1988 of oversight of heraldry from the UK to Canada through the Canadian Heraldic Authority,{{citation| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=2| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Heraldry Today| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=2 March 2010| archive-date=16 February 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216041134/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=2| url-status=live}} the constitution of the Order of Canada was amended to include the entitlement of all inductees to petition the Chief Herald of Canada for personal armorial bearings (coats of arms),{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=21.1.b}} should they not already possess any. Companions may receive supporters, and all members may have the escutcheon (shield) of their arms encircled with a red ribbon bearing the order's motto in gold, and from which is suspended a rendition of the holder's Order of Canada badge.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=21.1.c}} The Queen, Sovereign of the Order of Canada, approved the augmentation of her royal arms for Canada with the order's ribbon in 1987.{{cite hansard| url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=35&Ses=1&DocId=2332530| title=Royal Arms of Canada| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310004425/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=35&Ses=1&DocId=2332530| archive-date=10 March 2009| house=House of Commons| date=5 December 1995| column_start=1410| column_end=1415}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615092717/http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2332530 |date=15 June 2022 }}

On the grant to Bishop's College School, Quebec, the Sovereign's insignia of the Order was depicted below the Royal Arms of Canada, the only time the badge has been incorporated into a grant document.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XxBaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA278|title=Order of Canada, Second Edition: Genesis of an Honours System|first=Christopher McCreery|last=MVO|date=January 1, 2018|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9781487500948|via=Google Books}}

The constitution of the Order of Canada states that the insignia remain property of the Crown,{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=23.1}} and requires any member of the order to return to the chancellery their original emblem should they be upgraded within the order to a higher rank.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=24.3.b}} Thus, while badges may be passed down as family heirlooms, or loaned or donated for display in museums, they theoretically cannot be sold. However, this has proved impossible to enforce, with several Order of Canada insignia put up for sale over the decades. The first was the Companion's badge of M. J. Coldwell, who was appointed in 1967; his badge was sold at auction in 1981, an act that received criticism from government officials.{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=197}}

In 2007, it was revealed that one of the first ever issued insignia of the Order of Canada, a Medal of Service awarded originally to Quebec historian Gustave Lanctot, was put up for sale via e-mail. Originally, the anonymous auctioneer, who had purchased the decoration for $45 at an estate sale in Montreal, attempted to sell the insignia on eBay; however, after the bidding reached $15,000, eBay removed the item, citing its policy against the sale of government property, including "any die, seal or stamp provided by, belonging to, or used by a government department, diplomatic or military authority appointed by or acting under the authority of Her Majesty." Rideau Hall stated that selling medals was "highly discouraged"; however, the owner continued efforts to sell the insignia via the internet.{{Citation | last=Canadian Press | url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/order-of-cda-medal-auction-to-proceed-by-e-mail-1.222585 | title=Order of Cda. medal auction to proceed by e-mail | date=6 January 2007 | publisher=CTV | access-date=27 October 2016 | archive-date=27 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027193140/http://www.ctvnews.ca/order-of-cda-medal-auction-to-proceed-by-e-mail-1.222585 | url-status=live }} Five years later, a miniature insignia presented to Tommy Douglas was put on auction in Ontario as part of a larger collection of Douglas artifacts.{{cite news| url=https://lfpress.com/news/london/2012/01/18/19263576.html| title=Daughter sure Tommy Douglas medals are safe| date=18 January 2012| newspaper=London Free Press| access-date=11 September 2013| archive-date=22 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222200916/http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/01/18/19263576.html| url-status=dead}} Douglas's daughter, Shirley Douglas, purchased the set for $20,000.{{cite news| last=Graney| first=Emma| title=Daughter drops $20K to keep Tommy Douglas medals in family| date=9 February 2012| agency=Postmedia News| location=Regina}}

{{Main article|Appointment to the Order of Canada}}

File:EIIR-OoC.jpg, Queen of Canada and Sovereign of the Order of Canada, invests Jules Léger as a Companion of the order at Rideau Hall, August 1973.]]

Any of the three levels of the Order of Canada are open to all living Canadian citizens,{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=9.1}} except all federal and provincial politicians and judges while they hold office. The order recognizes the achievement of outstanding merit or distinguished service by Canadians who made a major difference to Canada through lifelong contributions in every field of endeavour, as well as the efforts made by non-Canadians who have made the world better by their actions. Membership is thus accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, taken from {{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=World English|book=Hebrews|chapter=11|verse=16}} of the Christian Bible, {{lang|la|desiderantes meliorem patriam}}, meaning "they desire a better country." Each of the six to eight hundred nominations submitted each year,{{Citation| last=McCreery| first=Christopher| author-link=Christopher McCreery| date=31 March 2009| type=Interview| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/controversy-and-the-order-of-canada/article20385319/| title=Controversy and the Order of Canada| periodical=The Globe and Mail| access-date=24 October 2014| archive-date=16 October 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016215323/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/controversy-and-the-order-of-canada/article20385319/| url-status=live}} by any person or organization, is received by the order's Advisory Council, which, along with the governor general, makes the final choice of new inductees, typically by consensus rather than a vote; a process that, when conceived, was the first of its kind in the world. Appointees are then accepted into the organization at an investiture ceremony typically conducted by the governor general at Rideau Hall, although the monarch or a provincial viceroy may perform the task, and the ceremony may take place in other locations. Since the 1991 investiture of Ted Rogers, Order of Canada installment ceremonies have been broadcast on various television channels and the Internet; recipients are given a complimentary video recording of their investiture ceremony from Rogers Cable.{{citation|work=CPAC |url=http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.asp?dsp=template&act=view3&pagetype=vod&lang=e&clipID=2224 |title=Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony, 12 December 2008 |medium=Video |publisher=Rogers Media |year=2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220125348/http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.asp?dsp=template&act=view3&pagetype=vod&lang=e&clipID=2224 |archive-date=20 February 2012 }}

At certain periods, holders of the order were presented with other awards, usually commemorative medals. Thus far, two commemoratives have been given automatically to every living member of the Order of Canada: the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977{{citation| url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/cmdp/mainmenu/group10/qeiijm| last=Veterans Affairs Canada| author-link=Veterans Affairs Canada| title=Canada Remembers > Records & Collections > Canadian Orders, Medals and Decorations > Canadian Military Medals and Decorations > Commemorative Medals > Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal (1977)| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=24 October 2011| archive-date=18 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118214953/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/cmdp/mainmenu/group10/qeiijm| url-status=live}} and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.{{citation| url=http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2012/2012-02-04/html/order-decret-eng.html| last=Government of Canada| title=Letters patent creating the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=146| number=5| date=4 February 2012| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=14 June 2012| archive-date=11 February 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211190718/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2012/2012-02-04/html/order-decret-eng.html| url-status=live}}

File:A coin of the Seal of the Order of Canada.png

The task of the order's advisory council is to evaluate the nominations of potential inductees, decide if the candidates are worthy enough to be accepted into the order, and make recommendations to the governor general, who appoints the new members. The council is chaired by the chief justice of Canada, and includes the clerk of the Privy Council, the deputy minister of Canadian Heritage, the chair of the Canada Council for the Arts, the president of the Royal Society of Canada, the chair of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and five members of the order who sit on the council for a three-year period. If a nomination involves a non-Canadian citizen, the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs is invited by the Advisory Council to offer evaluation. Decisions of the council and new appointments to and dismissals from the Order of Canada are announced through the Canada Gazette.{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2010| p=6}}

{{As of|July 2024}}, the members of the advisory council are:{{cite news|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/canadian-honours/order-canada/advisory-council|title=Advisory Council|website=The Governor General of Canada|date=25 September 2017|access-date=12 July 2024|archive-date=9 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809120202/https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/canadian-honours/order-canada/advisory-council|url-status=live}}

• Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada (Chair)
• Ewan Affleck
• Susan Aglukark
• John Hannaford, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet
• Sharon Davis-Murdoch
• Marie Yvonne Delorme
• Stephanie Dixon
• Alain-G. Gagnon, President of the Royal Society of Canada
• Daniel Germain
• Karina LeBlanc
• Isabelle Mondou, Deputy Minister of the Department of Canadian Heritage
• Deep Saini, Chair of Universities Canada and President & Vice-Chancellor of McGill University
• Jesse Wente, Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts

Few have declined entry into the Order of Canada; {{as of|1997|lc = y}}, 1.5 per cent of offered appointments to the order had been refused.{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=209}} The identities of those individuals who have declined induction since the 1970s are kept confidential, so the full list is not publicly known. Some, however, have spoken openly about their decisions, including Robert Weaver, who stated that he was critical of the "three-tier" nature of the order;{{citation| url=http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/01/02/| title=On This Day > Jan. 2, 1988 > Did You Know?| publisher=CBC| access-date=22 June 2008| archive-date=20 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120210728/http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/01/02/| url-status=live}} Claude Ryan and Morley Callaghan, who both declined the honour in 1967; Mordecai Richler, who twice declined; and Marcel Dubé, Roger Lemelin and Glenn Gould, who all declined in 1970.{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=210}} However, all the above individuals, save for Gould, later did accept appointment into the order. Others have rejected appointment on the basis of being supporters of the Quebec sovereignty movement, such as Luc-André Godbout,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGFYX-VzoKkC&q=Luc-Andr%C3%A9+Godbout&pg=PA70 |title=Alienation and Art |publisher=Robert Martin Fink |last=Fink|first=Robert|date=1976|access-date=17 October 2016}} Rina Lasnier and Geneviève Bujold, while Alice Parizeau, another supporter of Quebec sovereignty, was criticized for accepting entry into the order despite her beliefs.{{citation| url=http://archives.radio-canada.ca/c_est_arrive_le/09/30/| title=Alice Parizeau, d'espoir et de liberté| publisher=CBC| language=fr| access-date=24 October 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204022431/http://archives.radio-canada.ca/c_est_arrive_le/09/30/| archive-date=4 February 2012}}

File:The Duke of Edinburgh as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment.jpg, wearing at the neck the insignia of a Companion of the Order of Canada. Philip originally declined an honorary appointment to the Order of Canada, feeling the offer implied he was a foreigner to Canada. In April 2013, he accepted appointment as the first extraordinary Companion.]]

Victoria Cross recipient Cecil Meritt cited the fact that he already held Canada's highest decoration as a reason not to be admitted to the Order of Canada. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was in 1982 offered appointment to the order as an honorary Companion; however, he refused on the grounds that, as the consort of the Queen, he was a Canadian and thus entitled to a substantive appointment.{{citation| last1=Bell| first1=Lynne| last2=Bousfield| first2=Arthur| last3=Bousfield| first3=Gary| title=Queen and Consort| publisher=Dundurn Press| year=2007| page=161| isbn=978-1-55002-725-9}}{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2010| p=5}} In 1993, the Advisory Council proposed an amendment to the constitution of the Order of Canada, making the monarch's spouse automatically a Companion, but Prince Philip again refused, stating that if he was to be appointed, it should be on his merits.{{Citation| last=Valpy| first=Michael| author-link=Michael Valpy| title=The Fresh Prince| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=28 September 2002| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/backgrounder/queen/stories/related02.html| access-date=27 July 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051202235324/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/backgrounder/queen/stories/related02.html| archive-date=2 December 2005}} Congruent with these arguments, he in 1988 accepted without issue a substantive induction as a Companion of the Order of Australia. In 2013, the constitution of the Order of Canada was amended in a way that permitted the substantive appointment of Royal Family members and Prince Philip accepted induction as the first extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada on 26 April 2013.{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15063| author=| title=Governor General Presents Canadian Honours to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh| date=26 April 2013| website=The Governor General of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=28 April 2013| archive-date=13 December 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213083134/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15063| url-status=live}} Former Premier of Newfoundland Joseph Smallwood declined appointment as a Companion because he felt that, as a self-proclaimed Father of Confederation, he deserved a knighthood. Smallwood was never knighted and later accepted induction as a Companion.{{Harvnb| McCreery| 2005| p=168}}

{{Main article|Removal from the Order of Canada}}

Resignations from the order can take place only through prescribed channels, which include the member submitting to the Secretary General of the Order of Canada a letter notifying the chancellery of his or her desire to terminate their membership, and only with the governor general's approval can the resignation take effect.{{Harvnb| Elizabeth II| 2013| loc=25.b}} On 1 June 2009, the governor general accepted the resignations of astronomer and inventor René Racine, pianist Jacqueline Richard, and Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte;{{citation| url=http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5761| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Media > News Releases and Messages > Resignations from the Order of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=1 June 2009| access-date=1 June 2009| archive-date=24 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124044833/http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5761| url-status=live}}{{citation| last=Public Works and Government Services Canada| author-link=Public Works and Government Services Canada| title=Government House > Terminations of Appointment to the Order of Canada| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=143| issue=22| page=1574| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=30 May 2009| url=http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2009/2009-05-30/pdf/g1-14322.pdf| access-date=6 November 2009| archive-date=17 June 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617050059/http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2009/2009-05-30/pdf/g1-14322.pdf| url-status=live}} on 11 January 2010, the same was done for Renato Giuseppe Bosisio, an engineering professor, and Father Lucien Larré;{{citation| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=11 January 2010| url=http://gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13477| access-date=11 January 2010| title=Resignations from the Order of Canada| archive-date=20 January 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120001753/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13477| url-status=live}} and on 19 April 2010 for Frank Chauvin.{{Cite press release| title=Resignation from the Order of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=19 April 2010| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13597| access-date=23 April 2010| archive-date=1 May 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501075442/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13597| url-status=live}} It was also reported that other constituents of the Order of Canada had, in reaction to Henry Morgentaler's induction into their ranks, indicated that they would return or had returned their emblems in protest,{{citation|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-premier-supports-honours-for-morgentaler-1.759015 |title=Catholic group handing in Order of Canada over Morgentaler |date=8 July 2008 |publisher=CBC |access-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709195132/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/08/morgentaler-order.html |archive-date=9 July 2008 }}{{citation|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/former-n-b-lieutenant-governor-to-return-order-of-canada-in-protest-1.749669 |title=Former lieutenant-governor returns Order of Canada in protest |date=9 July 2008 |publisher=CBC |access-date=9 July 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710234936/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/07/09/nb-finn.html |archive-date=10 July 2008 }} including organizations such as the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and Madonna House Apostolate doing so on behalf of deceased former members.{{citation| url=http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/3143435-church-returns-order-of-canada-medals/| last=Chin| first=Joseph| title=Church returns Order of Canada medals| publisher=Mississauga News| date=8 December 2008| access-date=26 October 2014| archive-date=26 October 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026094053/http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/3143435-church-returns-order-of-canada-medals/| url-status=live}}

Members may be removed from the order if the Advisory Council feels their actions have brought the order into disrepute. In order for this to be done, the council must agree to take action and then send a letter to the person both telling of the group's decision and requesting a response. Anyone removed from the order is required to return their insignia. {{As of|2025|02|post=, }} nine people have been removed from the Order of Canada:{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/buffy-sainte-marie-s-order-of-canada-terminated-by-gg-1.7454259| title=Buffy Sainte-Marie's Order of Canada terminated by Governor General| date=7 February 2025| publisher=CBC News| newspaper=cbc.ca| access-date=7 February 2025| archive-date=8 February 2025| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208030352/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/buffy-sainte-marie-s-order-of-canada-terminated-by-gg-1.7454259| url-status=live}} Alan Eagleson, who was dismissed after being jailed for fraud in 1998;{{citation| url=http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-41-1493-10073/sports/alan_eagleson/| title=Sports > Business of Sports > The Rise and Fall of Alan Eagleson| publisher=CBC| access-date=28 July 2009| archive-date=14 October 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014024200/http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-41-1493-10073/sports/alan_eagleson/| url-status=live}} David Ahenakew, who faced calls for his removal due to antisemitic comments he made in 2002;{{citation| title=Quebec Cree Chief wants Ahenakew to lose Order of Canada| publisher=CBC| date=17 December 2002| url=http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc_mosesreax20021217| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028125320/http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc_mosesreax20021217| archive-date=28 October 2005| access-date=28 July 2009}} T. Sher Singh, after the Law Society of Upper Canada found him guilty of professional misconduct and revoked his licence to practise law;{{citation| url=http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5685| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Revocation of Order of Canada membership of T. Sher Singh| date=6 April 2009| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=28 July 2009| archive-date=19 January 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119000450/http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5685| url-status=live}} Steve Fonyo, due to "his multiple criminal convictions, for which there are no outstanding appeals";{{citation| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| author-link=Governor General of Canada| title=Revocation of the Order of Canada Membership of Stephen Fonyo, Jr| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=25 January 2010| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13497| access-date=25 January 2010| archive-date=31 January 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131020049/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13497| url-status=live}}{{citation| title=Fonyo loses his Order of Canada| publisher=CBC| date=25 January 2010| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/fonyo-loses-his-order-of-canada-1.894005| access-date=26 October 2014}} Garth Drabinsky, who was found guilty of fraud and forgery in Ontario and has been a fugitive from American law for related crimes;{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/livent-co-founders-drabinsky-gottlieb-convicted-of-fraud-and-forgery-1.778879| title=Livent co-founders Drabinsky, Gottlieb convicted of fraud and forgery| date=25 March 2009| publisher=CBC News| newspaper=cbc.ca| access-date=26 October 2014| archive-date=11 December 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211123446/http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/livent-co-founders-drabinsky-gottlieb-convicted-of-fraud-and-forgery-1.778879| url-status=live}}{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/02/27/garth_drabinsky_stripped_of_order_of_canada.html| title=Garth Drabinsky stripped of Order of Canada| date=27 February 2013| newspaper=Toronto Star| access-date=27 February 2013}} Conrad Black, who was convicted in the United States in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice;{{cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conrad-black-stripped-of-order-of-canada-1.2519299| title=Conrad Black stripped of Order of Canada| date=31 January 2014| publisher=CBC| access-date=1 February 2014| archive-date=1 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201155208/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conrad-black-stripped-of-order-of-canada-1.2519299| url-status=live}} Ranjit Chandra, whose scientific work was discredited by allegations of fraud;{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ranjit-chandra-order-stripped-1.3396295|title=Ranjit Chandra, medical researcher, stripped of Order of Canada|agency=The Canadian Press|publisher=CBC|date=8 January 2016|access-date=14 January 2020|archive-date=12 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212012943/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ranjit-chandra-order-stripped-1.3396295|url-status=live}} Johnny Issaluk, following allegations of sexual misconduct;{{cite web | url=https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2022/2022-10-15/html/gh-rg-eng.html | title=Canada Gazette, Part 1, Volume 156, Number 42: GOVERNMENT HOUSE | date=15 October 2022 | access-date=1 November 2023 | archive-date=20 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020130509/https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2022/2022-10-15/html/gh-rg-eng.html | url-status=live }}{{cite news |author= |agency=CBC News |date=17 October 2022 |title=Governor General strips Inuk Johnny Issaluk of Order of Canada |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/johnny-issaluk-order-of-canada-revoked-1.6619570 |work=CBC News |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=1 November 2023 |archive-date=16 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516042445/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/johnny-issaluk-order-of-canada-revoked-1.6619570 |url-status=live }} and Buffy Sainte-Marie, after her claims of Indigenous ancestry were reported to be inconsistent with publicly available documents.{{Cite web |title=Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 159, Number 6: GOVERNMENT HOUSE |url=https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2025/2025-02-08/html/gh-rg-eng.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=www.gazette.gc.ca |language=en |archive-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208235805/https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2025/2025-02-08/html/gh-rg-eng.html |url-status=live }} In 2013, Norman Barwin resigned from the order as a result of the Advisory Council moving forward with his pending removal due to his being found guilty of professional misconduct.{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-doctor-loses-order-of-canada-after-sperm-mix-ups-1.1398704| newspaper=cbc.ca| title=Ottawa doctor loses Order of Canada after sperm mix-ups| date=3 August 2013| access-date=3 August 2013| archive-date=23 September 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923000254/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-doctor-loses-order-of-canada-after-sperm-mix-ups-1.1398704| url-status=live}}{{cite journal| url=http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2013/2013-08-03/html/gh-rg-eng.html| title=Government House Termination of Appointment to the Order of Canada| journal=Canada Gazette| volume=147| date=3 August 2013| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=3 August 2013| archive-date=8 August 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808042020/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2013/2013-08-03/html/gh-rg-eng.html| url-status=live}}

The Order's Advisory Council considered a request made in 2021 for the expulsion of Julie Payette, the 29th Governor General of Canada, from the order. Payette, an Extraordinary Companion, resigned from the viceregal post over allegations of harassment of personnel at Rideau Hall.{{cite web| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/advisory-council-considers-terminating-julie-payette-from-order-of-canada-1.6121989| last=Burke| first=Ashley| title=Advisory council could strip Julie Payette of her Order of Canada| date=29 July 2021| publisher=CBC News| accessdate=25 August 2021}}

The advisory board attempts to remain apolitical and pragmatic in its approach to selecting new members of the Order of Canada, generally operating without input from ministers of the Crown; political interference has occurred only once, when in 1978 Paul Desmarais's investiture was delayed for six months by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. However, some of the committee's selections have caused controversy. For instance, the admission in 2001 of sex educator Sue Johanson, host of the long-running Sunday Night Sex Show, as a Member stirred controversy among some of Canada's Christian organizations, as Johanson had taught teenagers methods of safe sex alongside abstinence.{{citation| title=A deserving recipient| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=3 July 2008| url=https://www.thestar.com/comment/article/453124| access-date=5 July 2008| archive-date=4 August 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804170102/http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/453124| url-status=live}} Similarly, the acceptance of birth control advocate Elizabeth Bagshaw and gay rights campaigner Brent Hawkes also incited debate.

File:HenryMorgentaler.jpg (right), with Jack Layton (left); Morgentaler's appointment was one of the most controversial in the history of the Order of Canada.]]

Abortion-rights activist Henry Morgentaler's appointment to the order on 1 July 2008 not only marked the first time the Advisory Council had not been unanimous in its decision, but also proved to be one of the most controversial appointments in the order's history. Opponents of Morgentaler's abortion activism organized protests outside of Rideau Hall on 9 July, while compatriots did the same in front of Government House in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, the official residence of that province's lieutenant governor.{{citation| title=Former N.B. lieutenant-governor to return Order of Canada in protest| publisher=CBC| date=9 July 2008| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/former-n-b-lieutenant-governor-to-return-order-of-canada-in-protest-1.749669| access-date=26 October 2014| archive-date=26 October 2014| archive-url=https://archive.today/20141026143448/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/former-n-b-lieutenant-governor-to-return-order-of-canada-in-protest-1.749669| url-status=live}}

One former police detective, Frank Chauvin, along with a Catholic anti-abortion activist, filed suit against the Order of Canada Advisory Council, demanding that the minutes of the meeting relating to Morgentaler be made public.{{citation| last=Sonski| first=Peter| title=Exclusive: Abortionist's Order of Canada Appointment Brings Law Suit| journal=Headline Bistro| date=27 July 2008| publisher=Knights of Columbus| url=http://www.headlinebistro.com/hb/en/news/world/Morgentaler_lawsuit.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711160958/http://www.headlinebistro.com/hb/en/news/world/Morgentaler_lawsuit.html| archive-date=11 July 2011| access-date=27 July 2009}} The appointment of Morgentaler prompted former Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Clifford Lincoln to write that the workings of the Advisory Council were "mysterious", citing what he theorized to be inbuilt partiality and conflict of interest as reasons why Margaret Somerville, whom Lincoln had twice nominated to the Advisory Council, was turned down for appointment, yet Morgentaler was accepted.{{citation| last=Lincoln| first=Clifford| author-link=Clifford Lincoln| title=Should our top judge be choosing recipients of the Order of Canada?| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| date=15 July 2008| url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=478b56b1-633a-4aec-a9cc-99ff23d39e93| access-date=3 October 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107082634/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=478b56b1-633a-4aec-a9cc-99ff23d39e93| archive-date=7 November 2012}} Journalist Henry Aubin in the Montreal Gazette opined that the council's rejection of Somerville, her personal opposition to same-sex marriage, and the acceptance of Brent Hawkes, Jane Rule, and Jean Chrétien, all regarded as supporting same-sex unions, as well as the appointment of a controversial figure such as Morgentaler, were all signs that the Advisory Council operated with partisan bias.{{citation| last=Aubin| first=Henry| title=McGill ethicist refused OC because she was 'too controversial'| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| date=8 July 2008| url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/features/viewpoints/story.html?id=62cda378-0d93-4a8b-8d88-010af82ffe62| access-date=3 October 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104155543/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/features/viewpoints/story.html?id=62cda378-0d93-4a8b-8d88-010af82ffe62| archive-date=4 November 2012}} Aubin also pointed to the presence on the council of members of the Royal Society of Canada, an organization into which Somerville was received.

Peter Savaryn, a member of the Waffen-SS Galician Division,{{Cite journal |last=Rudling |first=Per Anders |date=2012 |title='They Defended Ukraine': The 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Galizische Nr. 1) Revisited |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |journal=The Journal of Slavic Military Studies |language=en |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=329–368 |doi=10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |s2cid=144432759 |issn=1351-8046 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |access-date=5 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204054910/http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |url-status=live }} was awarded the Order of Canada in 1987,{{Cite news |date=2023-10-02 |title=University of Alberta facing calls to return thousands more in donations connected to Waffen SS veterans |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-university-of-alberta-facing-calls-to-return-thousands-more-in/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |archive-date=25 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925223617/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-university-of-alberta-facing-calls-to-return-thousands-more-in/ |url-status=live }} for which Governor General of Canada Mary Simon expressed "deep regret" in 2023.{{cite web | last=Golinkin | first=Lev | title=Exclusive: Canada apologizes for honoring another veteran from unit that fought with Nazis | website=The Forward | date=2023-10-04 | url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/562864/canada-nazi-ss-galachina-peter-savaryn-yaroslav-hunka-mary-simon/ | access-date=2023-10-04}}

At a 2006 conference on Commonwealth honours, Christopher McCreery, an expert on Canada's honours, raised the concern that the three grades of the Order of Canada were insufficient to recognize the nation's very best; one suggestion was to add two more levels to the order, equivalent to knighthoods in British orders. The order of precedence also came under scrutiny, particularly the anomaly that all three grades of the Order of Canada supersede the top levels of each of the other orders (except the Order of Merit), contrary to international practice.{{Citation| last=Jackson| first=Michael D| title=Honours of the Crown| journal=Canadian Monarchist News| volume=Summer 2007| issue=26| pages=10–11| publisher=Monarchist League of Canada| year=2007| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/Summer_2007_CMN.pdf| access-date=11 November 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625225416/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2007/Summer_2007_CMN.pdf| archive-date=25 June 2008}}

In June 2010, McCreery suggested reforms to the Order of Canada that would avert the awkwardness around appointing members of the Canadian royal family as full members of the order: He theorized that the Queen, as the order's Sovereign, could simply appoint, on ministerial advice, anyone as an extra member, or the monarch could issue an ordinance allowing for her relations to be made regular members when approved. Similarly, McCreery proposed that a new division of the order could be established specifically for governors general, their spouses, and members of the royal family, a version of which was adopted in 2013.{{citation| url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/order-of-canada/| title=The Canadian Encyclopedia| work=Order of Canada| publisher=Historica Canada| date=21 March 2016| access-date=3 July 2017| archive-date=23 June 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623161405/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/order-of-canada/| url-status=live}}

{{portal|border=no|Canada}}

• List of companions of the Order of Canada
• Canadian order of precedence (decorations and medals)

{{Reflist|group=n}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

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{{Sister project links|Order of Canada}}

• [https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/canadian-honours/order-canada Governor General's Order of Canada site]
• [https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/medals/medals-chart-index.html Canadian Medals Chart: Orders, Decorations and Medals]
• [http://www.orderofcanada50.ca Order of Canada 50th anniversary history website]
• [https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients?f%5B0%5D=honour_type_id%3A%22146%22 search for past recipients of the Order of Canada]

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{{Canadian Honours System}}

Category:1967 establishments in Canada

Category:Awards established in 1967

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