2015 Killam Prizes

The Canada Council Killam Prizes were inaugurated in 1981 with a donation made by Mrs. Dorothy J. Killam in memory of her husband, Izaak Walton Killam. The prizes were created to honour eminent Canadian scholars and scientists actively engaged in research, whether in industry, government agencies or universities. The Killam Program at the Canada Council also includes the Killam Research Fellowships, which support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and interdisciplinary studies within these fields.

The Governor General presented the 2015 Killam Prizes to five eminent Canadian scholars during a ceremony at Rideau Hall.

D. Lorne Tyrrell – Health Sciences, University of Alberta

Donald J. Savoie – Social Sciences, Université de Moncton

Victoria Kaspi – Natural Sciences, McGill University

Vijay K. Bhargava – Engineering, University of British Columbia

David Bentley – Humanities, Western University

Simon Brault, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts also delivered brief remarks.

"In such times as these we need our leading scholars and researchers to help us make sense of the world and to guide us through change," said the Governor General. "And we must support our scholars and researchers in those efforts. That’s what makes the Killam Prizes so important."

To recognize and honour Ann McCaig’s (second to the left) tremendous work at the University of Calgary and as a Killam Trustee, a special presentation was made in her honour at the end of the ceremony. The McCaig Killam Teaching Prize at the University of Calgary was announced.