Past Recipients

Financial analyst and former politician Barbara McDougall has been profoundly influential in Canadian public life. A former federal minister of state, finance, employment and immigration, she has also held leadership positions with Scotiabank, Sun Media and Stelco, among many others. A financial commentator and columnist, McDougall is currently an advisor at Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis LLP where she counsels clients on matters of international business development, corporate governance and government relations.

Lawyer Arthur Meighen was the ninth prime minister of Canada. He was first elected to Parliament as a conservative member in 1908, serving in various cabinet portfolios including solicitor-general. Renowned for his sharp wit and logic, Meighen is widely acknowledged as the finest debater and orator ever to speak in the House of Commons. He was appointed to the Senate in 1932.

Poet and novelist Anne Michaels is one of Canada’s most celebrated writers. The UC English graduate’s first novel, Fugitive Pieces, was published to international acclaim, winning the Trillium Prize, the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Guardian Fiction Prize and America's Lannan Literary Award for Fiction. Similarly, Michaels' first collection of poetry won the Commonwealth Prize for the Americas. She is also a composer of musical scores for theatre.

Lorne Michaels is the creator and executive producer of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, the most Emmy-nominated show in history. A former member of the UC Follies theatre troupe, Michaels began his career as a writer and producer for the CBC. He has been executive producer of Up All Night, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, 30 Rock and Portlandia. Michaels has produced films that include Mean Girls, Baby Mama, Wayne’s World and Three Amigos. He has won 13 Emmys and, in 2008, was included in Time magazine's Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people. Michaels was honoured with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime artistic achievement and received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2004.

Michael Moldaver began his career practising criminal law and joined the Queen’s Counsel in 1985. He served the Ontario Court of Justice before being elevated to the Court of Appeal in 1995 and the Supreme Court in 2011. Throughout his career, he has played an active role in the legal community as a teacher, speaker and member of the Criminal Lawyers' Association and the Advocates' Society.

Arts icon Mavor Moore left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape in Canada. He acted in and produced radio programs for the CBC and helped his mother, theatre matriarch Dora Mavor Moore, establish the New Play Society. The author of more than 100 plays, documentaries and musicals, he taught theatre history at York University and was the first artist to chair the Canada Council for the Arts. A founding governor of the Stratford Festival and the National Theatre School, Mavor was recognized with several honorary doctorates, the Molson Prize, and the Governor General’s Award for lifetime achievement in performing arts.

Trailblazing mathematician Cathleen Morawetz helped clear the path for female math scholars in the 1950s. Despite the lack of opportunity at the time, she completed a PhD and secured a tenured position at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. Morawetz published on a variety of topics in applied mathematics, including viscosity, compressible fluids and transonic flows. She was the recipient of a number of honours, including the National Medal of Science, the Outstanding Woman Scientist Award and the lifetime achievement award from the American Mathematical Society.

Writer and environmentalist Farley Mowat is one of Canada’s most widely read authors. His affinity for nature and animals permeates his dozens of novels, which have been translated into more than 52 languages and are credited with changing attitudes towards conservation and Indigenous peoples. He has been honoured with the National Outdoor Book Award, a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame and a namesake ship, the RV Farley Mowat.

Poet, novelist, editor and filmmaker Michael Ondaatje is one of the most influential figures in Canadian literature. As an author, he has published 13 collections of poetry and six novels, winning the Giller Prize, the Booker Prize, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, the Prix Médicis, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize and the Governor General's Award. As a critic and editor, he has read and shaped numerous Canadian authors. Ondaatje is perhaps best known for his novel The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film.

Leading contemporary artist Charles Pachter has been described as the artist who created Canada’s modern mythology. His signature representations of the Canadian flag and the Queen with moose have become pop icons of Canadian art. A painter, printmaker, sculptor and designer, his works are displayed in public and private collections around the world. He holds three honorary doctorates and has been recognized with the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, among other accolades.

Colonel Charles Perry Stacey was the official historian of the Canadian army during the Second World War. He held a doctorate in history from Princeton University where he taught before the war. An elegant writer, his four-volume account of the Second World War was recognized with the Governor General’s Award. After the war, he taught history at U of T and produced research which shed light on the poorly managed writing of the official history of the First World War.

Business and community leader Wilfred Posluns was a dominant figure in the retail fashion industry in Canada. As the co-founder of Dylex -- a $2-billion conglomerate of clothing factories and chain stores -- he was one of the first retailers to realize the potential of the suburban shopping mall. He also helped raise $100 million for charity over his lifetime and served on the boards of numerous health-care and Jewish organizations.