Member of the Order of Canada
- Awarded on: May 25, 2009
- Invested on: April 07, 2010
Columnist, novelist and poet, Claude Le Bouthillier is one of the most renowned writers in New Brunswick. His many books, which emerged from both his rich imagination and historical facts, illustrate the history of the Acadian people, focussing on their courage and traditions. He is especially well-known for his trilogy on the deportation of the Acadians: Le Feu du Mauvais Temps; Les Marées du Grand Dérangement; and Complices du silence? Through his work, which has garnered him numerous awards, he has played a role in the renaissance of the Acadian novel. As a former chair of the Festival acadien de poésie, a columnist with Caraquet's daily French-language newspaper, L'Acadie Nouvelle, and as a guest speaker at events across Canada and around the world, he helps to foster understanding of the region he so proudly calls home.