Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: November 19, 2015
• Invested on: November 17, 2016

The Honourable Joseph Z. Daigle, C.M.
Dieppe, New Brunswick
Member of the Order of Canada

For his contributions as a jurist and lawyer, notably for increasing access to justice for Francophones in his province.

Joseph Daigle has demonstrated remarkable dedication and service to his province. An accomplished civil litigator for 20 years, he later served as a provincial court judge and politician, and went on to become the first Acadian and Francophone to serve as chief justice of New Brunswick. A champion of French-language rights, he has increased access to justice for Francophones in his province, notably by overseeing the revision and translation of New Brunswick’s laws into French. As a result of his efforts, a new French vocabulary for common law was developed and has now been adopted by other legal systems.