Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has announced 78 new appointments to the Order of Canada — a list that includes activists, authors, artists, Indigenous leaders and other accomplished Canadians.
Simon’s office announced three new appointments of “companions” — the highest level of the Order of Canada — 15 officers, including one honorary officer, and 59 members.
A number of journalists were inducted into the order this year, including two whose work took aim at the presidency of Donald Trump.
Susanne Craig began her career at the Calgary Herald before moving on to the Globe and Mail, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. She was made a member of the order for her work as an investigative reporter.
Craig, David Barstow and Russ Buettner won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting in 2019 for their joint investigation into Trump’s finances.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon announces 78 new appointments to Order of Canada
The Governor General has announced 78 new appointments to the Order of Canada — a list that includes activists, authors, artists, Indigenous leaders and other accomplished Canadians. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and honouree Susanne Craig discusses this distinction and the current climate of journalism.
The Pulitzer Prize website says their 18-month investigation debunked Trump’s “claims of self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges.”
Reached in New York, Craig told CBC News that when she got the call from the Governor General’s office, she thought they had the wrong person.
“I don’t live in Canada but I am a Canadian through and through, and I started crying when I got the call … I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
Crossing Trump
Craig said she hopes the award draws attention to the work of journalists, whom she described as a “dying breed” across the globe.
“Our work … particularly on Donald Trump and his finances, it shows that one reporter or a small team of reporters can really make a difference,” she said.
“When reporters are laid off, or they’re just not there to bear witness, things do go uncovered. We all benefit from a healthy press.”
Michael de Adder, an editorial cartoonist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, joins Craig on the member’s list for his “artistic contributions and pointed commentary” over the years.
De Adder’s freelance contract with Brunswick News Inc. (BNI) was terminated days after he shared a cartoon depicting U.S. President Donald Trump playing golf next to the face-down bodies of two Salvadoran migrants.
Michael de Adder, an editorial cartoonist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been made a member of the Order of Canada for his “artistic contributions and pointed commentary.” (Mairin Prentiss/CBC)
While BNI did not publish the cartoon, it went viral online. While his freelance gig with BNI came to an end, de Adder was employed by the Washington Post two years later, a position he still holds.
“I think it’s amazing. I can’t express how happy it made me. The first feeling you have is unworthy, but it’s great,” he told CBC News about being inducted into the Order of Canada.
De Adder said he does not know what the future holds for editorial cartooning, but awards like the Order of Canada can draw attention to how important his profession is in the current climate.
“Every time a cartoonist gets an Order of Canada … it highlights how important editorial cartooning is to democracy,” he said. “These days, we’re constantly under attack.”
Indigenous leadership in arts, heritage, politics
Willie Adams, 89 — the first Inuit appointed to the Senate in Canada — was honoured this year for his “long-standing support of Indigenous interests and for advancing Indigenous representation in Canadian legislation.”
Adams, who was made an officer of the Order of Canada, said the news was a “shock” because he did not expect to get such a “big award.”
Deantha Rae Edmunds, Canada’s first Inuk opera singer, was made a member of the order “for her original compositions and her mentorship of young Indigenous musicians.”
She said that it means a lot to her to be recognized for dedicating her life to music.
“I’m still in disbelief about this appointment. I’m so touched and it is an absolute honour to be recognized for my work. I’m just thrilled,” she said.
Richard Wayne Hill, an Indigenous knowledge keeper inducted “for his efforts to recover and restore Haudenosaunee artifacts and ways of living,” is being given an honorary appointment as an officer.
Hill was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, but now lives in Ohsweken, Ont. The Governor General can give honorary appointments to five people who are not Canadian citizens each year.
Kim Thúy is an award-winning novelist who lives in Montreal. She has been made a member of the Order of Canada. (Sarah Scott)
Another artist on the list of new members is Montréal-based novelist Kim Thúy, who fled Vietnam with her parents and two brothers at the age of 10.
Thúy landed in a UN refugee camp in Malaysia before being resettled in Granby, Que. After studying linguistics, she worked as a translator before earning her law degree.
Her 2009 debut novel Ru was a bestseller. It won the Governor General’s Literary Award, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize and has since been translated into 15 languages.
“I feel absolutely privileged that I have had the opportunity to contribute in building our society and hoping to take it to a kinder place, a more beautiful place,” she told CBC News.
She said it’s a “privilege” to live in a country that strives to improve through the generations.
“I hope that I won’t waste the opportunity because if there is attention on me, then there is a responsibility that comes with it. And my responsibility is to speak up for those who don’t have their voices heard,” she said.
Retired general Raymond Henault has been made a member of the Order of Canada. (Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)
Also being honoured this year is retired general Raymond Henault, the former chief of the defence staff and chair of NATO’s military committee.
Already a commander of the Order of Military Merit, Henault told CBC News he is “flattered and humbled” to made a member of the Order of Canada.
“I have many friends, acquaintances and folks that I have worked with in the past who’ve received it and know how significant it is and what it means to them. And it certainly means the same thing to me,” he said.
Henault said being named to the order “gives folks who are serving the confidence that government is acknowledging and appreciative of what they do.”
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, has been made a member of the Order of Canada for his work as a “leading policy expert in national trade and industry competition.” (CBC)
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association, has been named a member of the order for his work as a “leading policy expert in national trade and industry competition.”
“I hope, at the very least, Canadians who live normal, everyday lives know that … the country notices hard, humble work and that you can make a difference for the Canada brand by just trying to be the best at what you’re good at,” he said.
The list
Here’s a complete list of the new appointees to the Order of Canada:
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said Thursday “there’s no animosity” toward the organization following an offseason in which his name was prominently mentioned in trade rumors.
“It’s part of the business of hockey,” Trouba said following the first day of training camp for the reigning Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers.
According to reports, Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury had negotiated a trade that would send New York’s captain to Detroit in late June. The trade fell apart, however, when Trouba submitted his 15-team no-trade list to the Rangers on June 30 and included the Red Wings on it.
“Obviously, had the no-move that turned into the partial no-trade,” said Trouba, whom New York acquired in a trade with Winnipeg in June 2019 and signed to a seven-year, $56 million contract one month later. “That’s life, contracts, hockey business, whatever you want to call it.
“I knew that was coming that summer. It’s not by surprise. It was obviously something that was negotiated at the time.”
The 30-year-old’s insistence that his relationship with Drury is fine echoes what the executive said in a pre-training camp conference call with reporters.
“Jacob and I talk all the time as GM and captain should,” Drury said. “We’ve had a number of different conversations over the course of the summer on a lot of different things. He is very clear as to where he stands with me and what I think of him as a player and as a leader.”
Still, Trouba realizes that the 2024-25 season is likely the last for the current iteration of the Original Six franchise. The Rangers have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last three seasons, and have reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and 2024. Following last spring’s six-game series loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Drury wondered aloud in a conference call with reporters if the Rangers’ core players could lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup.
“(It’s) an opportunity that we have in front of us that in all likelihood will probably be the last crack for this core,” Trouba said. “I don’t think that’s a secret by any means. (A) group that’s kind of grown together, spent some years together here, and there’s something we want to accomplish.”
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
