The Canadian Honours System. Christopher McCreery
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG), though he declined it and offered it to William Lyon Mackenzie King, who also declined it. Bennett was the last Canadian prime minister to make use of all aspects of the imperial honours system, with the final knighthood made on the recommendation of a Canadian ministry being a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG), going to one of Canada’s first diplomats, the Honourable Herbert Meredith Marler, Canada’s minister plenipotentiary to Japan.
The Second World War
When Mackenzie King was returned as prime minister in 1935, the brief revival of imperial honours came to an abrupt end. Thus, Canada entered the Second World War with no policy on honours, other than to allow for the bestowal of gallantry and valour decorations. Even this policy was unclear as to who would approve the awards, from where nominations would emanate, and how many were to be allotted for Canadian service personnel. To deal with these problems a special interdepartmental committee, which would later become the Awards Coordination Committee (ACC), was founded in early 1940. This committee drafted formal honours policies, the first of which set out that Canadians could receive gallantry decorations “in operations against the enemy.”[1] No provisions were made for appointing Canadians to the various imperial orders of chivalry.
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG.
Throughout the Second World War, numerous proposals were devised to create a Canadian order, but none came to fruition, and thus Canada continued to work within the broader imperial honours system. In 1942, Parliament again tackled the issue of honours and awards. In July of that year, the Awards Coordination Committee met and ultimately decided that, in addition to being allowed to receive gallantry and valour decorations, Canadians should be eligible for the non-titular levels of the imperial orders of chivalry (those not conferring knighthood). It also expressed the opinion that the Canadian government should establish a Canadian order of merit. Essentially, the committee adhered to the Nickle Resolution — which allowed for the award of honours only on the advice of the Canadian government — while simultaneously discarding the proposals of the 1919 Special Committee on Honours and Titles, which sought to cease the naming of Canadians to all imperial orders of chivalry.
It was not until 1967 with the founding of the Order of Canada that the Canadian government acted upon the 1942 proposal to create a Canadian honour. In terms of the other proposals, Canadian service personnel and civilians were made eligible for the non-titular levels of the Order of the Bath, the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the Order of the British Empire, and the Imperial Service Order. This came to an end with the conclusion of the war, and Dominion Day 1946 saw the last civil honours list until the establishment of the Order of Canada.
The Korean War
With the beginning of the Korean War, Cabinet was once again faced with making decisions about honours in Canada. It elected merely to institute a policy similar to that used during the Second World War, which allowed for members of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force to accept imperial gallantry decorations and the non-titular levels of the imperial orders of chivalry. However, in contrast to the Second World War, civilians who made an important contribution to the Korean War effort were not permitted to receive any honours.
The 1956 Policy: An Incomplete Solution, 1956–1967
The end of the Korean War saw the flow of imperial honours, aside from long service awards, cease once again. In 1956, however, Cabinet passed a directive that instated a more liberal policy toward honours and awards. Cabinet Directive 30 allowed Canadian civilians to receive the George Cross, George Medal, and Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct for “acts of bravery performed at the risk of death or serious injury.” Thus, for the most part, the Canadian honours system consisted of bravery decorations. Allowances were also made to permit appointments for gallantry to the various levels of the Order of the British Empire, and a handful of appointments to the order were made to both civilians and members of the Canadian Armed Forces for bravery. Members of the military were still eligible for the various imperial gallantry decorations, though there were no such allowances for other recognition (see chapter 5). The 1956 policy also allowed for Canadians to accept foreign honours under certain circumstances. This was the first time since the Second World War that Canadian civilians were permitted to accept foreign honours.
The final Canadian to be awarded an imperial honour on the advice of the Canadian government came in 1968 when Captain (Nursing Sister) Josephine A. Cashin of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) with gallantry emblem. This was in recognition of her bravery in assisting with the rescue effort following the crash of a Czechoslovakian State Airline plane near Gander International Airport in September 1967.
Establishing the Canadian Honours System, 1967
Letters patent constituting the Order of Military Merit, 1972.
The modern Canadian honours system finds its basis, initially, in the Order of Canada, established by letters patent signed by Queen Elizabeth II on March 17, 1967. At first the order consisted of three separate parts: Companion of the Order of Canada, the Medal of Courage of the Order of Canada, and the Medal of Service of the Order of Canada. These three awards served as the cornerstone upon which the post-1967 Canadian honours system has developed. The development of the Order of Canada has embodied much more than the creation of a single institution; it is rather a project that expanded to include the various Canadian Decorations for Bravery, the Order of Military Merit, and an entire family of honours. To this has been added the provincial orders and a select number of provincial medals.
Honours in the Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland, itself a periodic autonomous dominion prior to joining Canada in 1949, had a rather different honours experience. Indeed, imperial honours were bestowed upon Newfoundlanders right up until the eve of Confederation. There was never a prohibition on residents of this dominion from accepting any honours, and liberal use was made of the system, especially between 1930 and 1949. The governor and premier played a direct role in drawing up nomination lists that were submitted to the Colonial and later the Dominions Office.
During the Commission of Government period (1934–1949), when there was no premier, the roles of the governor and chairman of the commission were paramount in the process. As with the appointments made to Canadians during the Bennett premiership and throughout the Second World War, the Dominions Office simply provided each dominion with a maximum allotment of honours, and they did not become involved in the actual nomination process. Much to the annoyance of the Canadian government, the flow of knighthoods to Newfoundlanders continued right up to the moment of Confederation.
On a per capita basis, Newfoundland was one of the most honoured parts of the British Empire, its residents having received one peerage, one Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG), thirteen Knight Commanders of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMGs), fourteen Companions of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMGs), nine Knight Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (KBEs), one Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), three military Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBEs), twenty-six civil CBEs, nine military Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBEs), forty-eight civil OBEs, ninety-eight Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs), and one Imperial Service Order (ISO). One Newfoundlander serving in the Royal Navy was a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and later a Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), while his brother was a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) — all in the military division.[2]
The Creation of Canadian Honours Today
Proposals to create new honours or medals generally come from the Chancellery of Honours or the Department of National Defence, though they occasionally emanate from individuals, organizations, members of the public, or commissioned reports.
The Chancellery researches to ensure that the proposed honour