December 12, 2024

Check against delivery

We are gathered today on the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. With this acknowledgement, I want to honour those who have taken care of this land for thousands of years.

Welcome everyone and congratulations to our newly invested members of the Order of Canada.

Today, your names are added to a list of accomplished individuals. People who have enriched our country by excelling in their respective fields since the Order of Canada was created in 1967.

Sport stars like Maurice Richard, Fergie Jenkins and Chantal Petitclerc.

Journalists and world-renowned writers like Susanne Craig, Margaret Atwood and Dany Laferrière.

Scientists like Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin with Charles Best.

Artists like Céline Dion and Michael J. Fox.

In June, I also had the honour of appointing Métis painter Christi Belcourt – whose work, titled Honouring My Spirit Helpers, we can admire right here in front of us.

The list goes on and on.

Over the years, the Order of Canada has also included esteemed leaders such as the Honourable Murray Sinclair, who sadly passed away just a few weeks ago.

I grieve the loss of this exceptional man who guided Canadians along the path of reconciliation.

He understood how connected and interdependent we all are.

He knew how crucial it is that we remember Canada’s true national history, so that Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can build respectful, collaborative relationships moving forward.

He said: “We owe it to each other to build a Canada based on our shared future, a future of healing and trust.”

Each of you plays a part in creating the more beautiful, inclusive future that Murray Sinclair envisioned.

In different ways, in a variety of fields, you have helped bring people together.

You have given a voice to marginalized people and minority cultures.

You have helped tackle some of today’s most pressing challenges, like climate change.

You have advanced health. Education. Justice. Innovation. And numerous ideals that make our country better.

I encourage you to submit nominations for other people who demonstrate excellence – particularly people who, historically, have been less likely to be nominated – so that the Order of Canada represents the full diversity of our rich nation.

We are all interconnected. Your accomplishments make us stronger as a nation.

The year 2024 has brought us its share of challenges, and the future will bring more. Let's continue to use our talents and strengths to help, and to inspire, each other.

The Order of Canada is a call to continue striving for greatness, and to inspire further positive change around you. In the new year and beyond!

Once again, congratulations.