2016 Performing Arts Awards

Created in 1992 by the late Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, then-Governor General, and his wife Gerda, the GGPAA are presented each year to Canadian performers whose extraordinary lifetime achievements have contributed significantly to the enrichment of Canada’s cultural life.

Each year, a past laureate of the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award is invited to select a professional artist (or artists) to share, learn and grow from the experience and insight of their mentor. This year’s mentor is 2006 GGPAA recipient Albert Milaire, C.C. (first left, front row), an actor, director and arts advocate . The protégée is Quebec playwright Benjamin Pradet (first left, second row).

Presented in six categories: classical music, dance, film, popular music, radio and television broadcasting, and theatre, recipients of the Lifetime Artistic Achievement awards are nominated by the general public.

The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts Laureate recognizes outstanding contributions by an individual or group in voluntary service to the performing arts in Canada. Recipients of this award are also nominated by the general public. This year's laureate is John D McKellar.

In more than 40 years of unwavering commitment to children, playwright and artistic director Suzanne Lebeau has achieved international recognition as a leader in contemporary theatre for young people. Her plays have been translated into two dozen languages, and she is among the most-produced Quebec writers in the world. Her important contributions to changing conventional attitudes and promoting innovative writing for young audiences have earned her many awards and honours.

In a career spanning over four decades, producer Robert Lantos has helped develop many of this country’s leading filmmakers. He built Alliance Communications Corporation, Canada’s first major production and distribution studio, which later—with the launch of the Showcase and History networks—expanded into broadcasting. He produced, invested in and exported to the world films by Denys Arcand, Jean-Claude Lauzon, Robert Lepage, Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, Patricia Rozema and many others.

Ben Heppner is one of the finest operatic tenors of our time, acclaimed for the beauty and power of his voice, his keen musicianship, his intuitive dramatic sense, and his generosity with audiences. His illustrious career has taken him to major cultural venues around the world, and his performances on the opera stage, in concert with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, in prestigious recital venues, and in recordings have set new standards in his demanding repertoire.

Marie Chouinard is internationally recognized as a leading creator of contemporary dance. She is also an author, designer, photographer, filmmaker and multimedia artist. Savage yet disciplined, her choreographies are formal masterpieces with the power to challenge and move even contemporary dance neophytes.

Susan Aglukark is Canada’s first Juno Award-winning Inuk singer–songwriter. Her unmistakable blend of country, world music and pop is distinguished by her gentle voice, upbeat melodies and moving lyrics (sung in English and Inuktitut) inspired by her Inuit culture and by the issues facing Canada’s Aboriginal people. She has released eight albums and is much in demand as a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator.

Paul-André Fortier, Co-Chair of the GGPAA Foundation, also delivered remark and co-presented the recipients.

Douglas Knight, Chair of the GGPAA Fondation, delivered remarks and co-presented this year's laureates.

While Their Excellencies were participating in Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th anniversary celebrations in London, England, The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Deputy Governor General and Chief Justice of Canada, will present the 2016 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) at Rideau Hall.

Once again, the ceremony took place in Rideau Hall's Ballroom.