The Order of Ontario (original) (raw)

About the Order of Ontario

The Order of Ontario is the province’s highest civilian honour. It is awarded to an Ontarian who has shown the highest level of excellence and achievement in their field, and whose impact has left a legacy in our province, in our country and around the world.

Members of the Order are a collective of Ontario’s finest citizens, whose contributions have shaped — and continue to shape — the province’s history and place in Canada.

Excellence in any field

You can nominate someone for achievements and excellence in any field. Some examples include:

• business and technology
• healthcare and medicine
• education and academia
• engineering and architecture
• skilled trades
• mining
• arts and culture
• sports and entertainment
• law and social justice
• media and journalism
• social and community services
• science and aerospace
• literature and writing
• environment and conservation

Eligibility

The person you nominate (the nominee) must be:

• a long-term or former resident of Ontario (the nominee does not need to be a Canadian citizen)
• someone whose career, in any field, has had a major impact or influence on the province, Canada and around the world
• living at the time of nomination

People who are not eligible

You cannot nominate:

• yourself
• someone who has passed away
• an elected federal, provincial or municipal politician currently in office
• a sitting judge of any court
• one of Ontario’s legislative officers while in office:
  • auditor general
  • ombudsman
  • information and privacy commissioner
  • financial accountability officer
  • integrity commissioner
  • chief electoral officer
• a volunteer
• someone for acts of bravery

No person may be appointed to the Order posthumously, unless death occurs following the council’s recommendation for appointment.

Deadline

Nominations are now open.

The deadline to nominate someone is March 31, 2025.

How to nominate someone

1. Gather all the required information.
2. Create an account (or sign in for returning users) on the Ontario Honours and Awards Portal.
3. Submit your nomination through the portal by March 31 of each year.

Required information

You must include the following information in your nomination:

• A brief summary of:
  • why you think the nominee is worthy of nomination
  • how long you have known them
• A detailed description of the nominee and their achievements. The description must include the impact of the achievement on the province or beyond.
• A minimum of 2 signed testimonial letters. The letters must be from 2 different people who are not the nominator. An electronic signature or scanned copy of the signed letters are acceptable. The testimonial writers should:
  • know the nominee
  • be able to explain the value and impact of your nominee’s achievements
  • support the nomination
• The testimonial writers’ first name, last name, email address and phone number.

Optional additional information

You may include additional materials to give more insight into your nominee’s accomplishments, such as:

• supplementary testimonials
• publications
• media stories and news articles

Acceptable formats for letters and documents

The testimonial letters and supporting documents are accepted in these formats: doc, docx, pdf, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, txt. The maximum file size for each is 2 MB.

Read our guide for tips on writing and submitting a nomination.

Selection process

An independent Advisory Council to the Order of Ontario reviews and evaluates all nominations. The council recommends nominees who have the greatest merit for appointment to the Lieutenant Governor in Council of Ontario (LGIC).

The Advisory Council consists of:

• the chief justice of Ontario
• the speaker of the legislative assembly
• the secretary of the cabinet
• up to 6 additional members (who are also members of the Order of Ontario) appointed to the council by the premier

The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario serves as Chancellor of the Order of Ontario, and Honorary Chair to the Council.

Investiture and insignia

Upon admission, members are invested with the Order’s insignia by the Lieutenant Governor as the Queen’s representative. The insignia is a distinguishing mark or emblem worn to signify membership or achievement.

Investiture ceremony

The Lieutenant Governor personally invests the newest members of the Order of Ontario with their insignia at an investiture ceremony. The insignia is placed over their neck, suspended from a scapular/ribbon). The members’ official portraits are taken, and they’re invested with the Order of Ontario insignia.

The Order of Ontario insignia

The insignia — or medal — is a stylized, but recognizable, Ontario trillium (the official provincial flower) and includes the shield and crown.

Insignia protocol

Wearing the official insignia is governed by protocol — official procedure or system of rules governing the Order. The protocol varies depending on:

• clothing
• type of event
• order of precedence

Post-nominal letters

Appointees are given the post-nominal letters (OOnt) — also called post-nominal initials or post-nominal titles (letters placed after a person’s name) — to indicate the honour held by the individual.

Order of Ontario appointees

The Order of Ontario was created in 1986 and the first appointments were made in 1987. Examples of appointees include:

• Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut and the world’s first neurologist in space.
• The Honourable George E. Carter, the first Canadian-born Black judge in Canada, instrumental in establishing legal aid services in Ontario.
• David Cronenberg, an award-winning director, producer, filmmaker, screenwriter, actor and author.
• Jane Jacobs, an urban writer and activist who championed new, community-based approaches to planning for more than 40 years.
• Arthur B. McDonald, an astrophysicist and 2015 Nobel Laureate in Physics for discovering neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.
• Ted Nolan, a former professional hockey player, former head coach of the Buffalo Sabres, and former head coach of Latvia’s national men’s ice hockey team. He established the Ted Nolan Foundation to support Indigenous youth and women across Canada.
• The Honourable Maryka Omatsu, Canada’s first female judge of East Asian ancestry. She was a member of the National Association of Japanese Canadians’ negotiation team in its quest for Canadian redress for the World War II internment.
• Rahul Singh, the founder of GlobalMedic, recognized on Time Magazine’s 2010 list of the world’s 100 most influential people for providing immediate catastrophic disaster relief using volunteer professional emergency workers.

Find previous appointees

Search for appointees in the table. Data was last updated October 24, 2023.

* deceased

Related information

• The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
• The Governor General of Canada
• Other honours and awards

Updated: October 21, 2024

Published: December 02, 2016