The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. Instituted in 1989 by

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

David Lam, on the

advice Advice (noun) or advise (verb) may refer to: * Advice (opinion), an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action, conduct * Advice (constitutional law) a frequently binding instruction issued to a constitutional office-holder * Advice (p ...

of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

under

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Bill Vander Zalm William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991. Early life Wilhelmus Ni ...

, the order is administered by the

Governor-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of a ...

and is intended to honour current or former British Columbia residents for conspicuous achievements in any field, being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the British Columbia Crown.

Structure and appointment

The Order of British Columbia, which evolved out of and replaced the earlier

Order of the Dogwood The Order of the Dogwood was the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia's highest civilian honour for public service from 1966 to 1989, during which time 13 individuals were granted the honour of being appointed to the ord ...

, is intended to honour any current or former longtime resident of

who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, demonstrating the "greatest distinction and excell ncein any field of endeavour benefiting the people of the Province or elsewhere." Only those who are elected or appointed members of a governmental body are ineligible as long as they hold office. There are no limits on how many can belong to the order or be inducted at one time. The process of finding qualified individuals begins with submissions from the public to the Order of British Columbia's advisory council, which consists of the

Chief Justice of British Columbia The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act. The BCCA hears appeals from the Supreme Court of Briti ...

, who serves as the Chair; the

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by Speaker (politics), presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled Legislative Assembly, legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures ...

; a president, in turn, of one of British Columbia's public universities, for a two-year term; the President of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities; the Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Relations; and two Members of the order. This committee then meets once yearly to make its selected recommendations to the lieutenant governor. Posthumous nominations are not accepted, though an individual who dies after his or her name was submitted to the advisory council can still be retroactively made a Member of the Order of British Columbia. The lieutenant governor, ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' a Member and the Chancellor of the Order of British Columbia, then makes all appointments into the fellowship's single grade of membership by an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

that bears the viceroyal sign-manual and the Great Seal of the province; thereafter, the new Members are entitled to use the

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

''OBC''.

Insignia

Upon admission into the Order of British Columbia, in a ceremony held at Government House in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, new Members are presented with the order's insignia. The main badge consists of a gold medallion in the form of a stylized flower of the

Pacific Dogwood ''Cornus nuttallii'', the Pacific dogwood, western dogwood, or mountain dogwood, is a species of dogwood tree native to western North America. Description It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching tall, often with a canopy spre ...

—the official provincial flower—with the obverse in white enamel with gold edging, and bearing at its centre the escutcheon of the arms of British Columbia, all surmounted by a

St. Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at Coronation of the British monarch, the ...

symbolizing the

Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

's role as the

fount of honour The fount of honour ( la, fons honorum) is a person, who, by virtue of his or her official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons. Origin During the High Middle Age ...

. The ribbon is patterned with vertical stripes in green, white, blue, and gold, reflecting the colours within the provincial coat of arms; men wear the medallion suspended from this ribbon at the collar, while women carry theirs on a ribbon bow at the left chest. Members will also receive for wear on casual clothing a lapel pin, appearing as a smaller enamel Dogwood flower capped by a crown.

Inductees

Past appointments include: *

Bryan Guy Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

winning musician and photographer, appointed 1990 * Shushma Datt, Radio and television broadcaster, appointed 1992 * Unity Bainbridge, artist and poet, appointed 1993 * Michael Conway Baker , composer, appointed 1997 * Dr. Geoffrey Ballard ,

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

and businessman, appointed 2003 *

Dave Barrett David Barrett (October 2, 1930 – February 2, 2018) was a politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 26th premier of British Columbia from 1972 to 1975. Early life and career Barrett was born in Vancouver, Britis ...

, BC's first NDP Premier, appointed 2012 * Brigadier

Henry Pybus Bell-Irving Henry Pybus "Budge" Bell-Irving, (January 21, 1913 – September 21, 2002) was the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 1978 to 1983. Born in Vancouver, he was educated at Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island and Loret ...

, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, appointed 1990 *

Leon Bibb Leon Bibb (born October 5, 1944 in Butler, Alabama) is an American news anchor and commentator for WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a member of the BGSU Board of Trustees. Leon Bibb was the first African American primetime news anchor in Ohio. ...

, musician and actor, appointed 2009 * Peter M. Brown , financier, appointed 2003 *

Frank Arthur Calder Frank Arthur Calder, (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada. Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the Unive ...

, first

aboriginal Canadian In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and ''Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them ...

elected to any Canadian legislature, appointed 2004 *

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

, three-term

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of gov ...

, appointed 2011 * Raffi Cavoukian , children's entertainer, appointed 2001 * Frankie Edroff , philanthropist, appointed 2010 * Lance Finch , former Chief Justice of British Columbia, appointed 2017 * Lori Fung Methorst , Olympic gymnast, appointed 1990 *

Garde Basil Gardom Garde Basil Gardom, (July 17, 1924 – June 18, 2013) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, and the 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Early life Gardom was born in Banff, Alberta on July 17, 1924. He grew up in the Fraser Valley of Br ...

, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, appointed 2002 *

Paul George Paul Clifton Anthony George (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a seven-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of th ...

, Environmentalist, appointed 2020 *

Gordon Gibson Gordon Fullerton Gibson, (born 1937) is a political columnist, author, and politician in British Columbia (BC), Canada. He is the son of the late Gordon Gibson, who was a prominent businessman and Liberal Party politician in British Columbia ...

, politician, columnist, and author, appointed 2008 * Nancy Catherine Greene ,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and Olympic alpine skier, appointed 2004 * Richard M. Hansen , paraplegic athlete and activist, appointed 1990 * Walter Hardwick , teacher and deputy minister of education, appointed 1997 *

Tara Singh Hayer Tara Singh Hayer (November 15, 1936 – November 18, 1998) was an Indian-Canadian newspaper publisher and editor who was murdered after his outspoken criticism of fundamentalist violence and terrorism. In particular, he was a key witness in the ...

, Indo Canadian Newspaper publisher, appointed 1995 *

Bob Hindmarch Robert George Hindmarch (May 27, 1930 – February 20, 2021) was a Canadian educator, sports administrator and ice hockey coach. He was a multi-sport athlete at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as a student, and returned as a professo ...

Professor and ice hockey coach, appointed 2010 *

Edward John Hughes Edward John Hughes D.F.A., D.Litt. (February 17, 1913 – January 5, 2007) was a Canadian painter, known for his images of the land and sea in British Columbia. Early career Hughes was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and spe ...

, artist, appointed 2005
Dr Robert Joseph, OBC
Hereditary Chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation, and Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada, appointed 2015 *

Douglas Jung Douglas Jung, (; February 25, 1924 – January 4, 2002) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, military officer, and Special Operations Executive secret agent. A Conservative, he was the first member of a visible minority elected to the Parliament o ...

, first

Chinese Canadian , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

federal Member of Parliament, appointed 1997 * Edgar Kaiser Jr. *

Mary Kitagawa Mary Kitagawa (''nee'' Murakami; born 1935) is a Canadian educator. As a Japanese-Canadian growing up in British Columbia, her family was placed in various Japanese Internment Camps during World War II. After the war, she accepted a position ...

, educator, appointed 2018 *

Joy Kogawa Joy Nozomi Kogawa (born June 6, 1935) is a Canadian poet and novelist of Japanese descent. Life Kogawa was born Joy Nozomi Nakayama on June 6, 1935, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to first-generation Japanese Canadians Lois Yao Nakayama a ...

, author and poet, appointed 2006 * Diana Jean Krall , jazz musician, appointed 2000 *

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

OC OBC, Grammy Award winning musician and record executive, appointed 1995 * David Lam, , Lieutenant-Governor of BC, appointed 1995 *

Peter Anthony Larkin Peter Anthony Larkin, (1924–1996) was a fisheries scientist who spent most of his career at the University of British Columbia. After his PhD at the Exeter College, Oxford, he moved to Canada as the Chief Fisheries Biologist of British Columbia ...

, fisheries scientist, appointed 1996 * Robert H. Lee , real estate executive and philanthropist, appointed 1990 * Robert Italo Lenarduzzi , coach of Canadian Olympic and national soccer teams, appointed 2005 *

Trevor Linden Trevor John Linden (born April 11, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former president of hockey operations and alternate governor of the Vancouver Canucks. He spent 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), play ...

, professional hockey player, appointed 2003 *

Clarence Louie Clarence Louie is a Canadian First Nations leader and businessman. Louie has been the chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band in British Columbia's Okanagan for ten terms, the first beginning in 1985. He has been credited with contributing to the econ ...

, Chief of the

Osoyoos Indian Band The Osoyoos Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the town of Oliver and Osoyoos in the Okanagan valley, approximately four kilometres (2½ miles) north of the Canada–United Sta ...

, appointed 2004 * Sarah Ann McLachlan , musician, singer, and songwriter, appointed 2001 *

Kenneth McVay Kenneth "Ken" McVay (born 1940), a Canadian-American dual citizen, is an Internet activist against Holocaust denial. He is the founder of the Nizkor Project, one of the first websites against Holocaust denial. An active participant on ...

, internet activist, appointed 1995 * James Mavor Moore , writer, producer, critic, and educator, appointed 1999 * Stephen John Nash ,

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

player, appointed 2006 *

Wally Oppal Wallace Taroo "Wally" Oppal, (born 1940) is a Canadian lawyer, former judge and provincial politician. Between 2005 and 2009, he served as British Columbia's Attorney General and Minister responsible for Multiculturalism, as well as Member of ...

, former

Attorney General of British Columbia The attorney general of British Columbia (AG) oversees the Ministry of Attorney General, a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The attorney general ...

and Justice of

British Columbia Court of Appeal The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act. The BCCA hears appeals from the Supreme Court of Britis ...

, appointed 2017 * Sophie Pierre , Chief of St. Mary's Indian Band and commissioner for the BC Treaty Commission, appointed 1994 * Derek Porter-Nesbitt , Olympic rower, appointed 1996 * Christopher Duncan Rose , teacher, school principal and school trustee, founder of the Chris Rose Therapy Centre for Autism, appointed 2010 * Martin Schechter , HIV/AIDS scientist, appointed 1994 * Ernest Alvia Smith , last living Canadian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

, appointed 2002 * Michael Smith , UBC scientist and BC's first Nobel Prize winner, appointed 1994 * David Takayoshi Suzuki , environmentalist and science broadcaster, appointed 1995 * Susan Tatoosh, Indigenous leader, appointed 2019 * Arthur Vickers (artist) , artist, storyteller and philanthropist, appointed 2008 *

Peter Wing Peter Wing (), (May 4, 1914 – December 27, 2007) was a Canadian politician and was the first mayor of Chinese descent in North America. He was born in Kamloops, British Columbia in 1914 and had lived most of his life there. Life In 1910, Win ...

, first mayor of Chinese descent in North America, appointed 1990 *

Tamara Taggart Tamara Taggart (born May 2, 1968) is a former Canadian television presenter. She served as the weekday anchor of ''CTV News at Six'' alongside Mike Killeen on CIVT-TV ("CTV British Columbia") in Vancouver between 2010 and 2018. Biography T ...

, former Canadian news anchor, appointed 2015 * Tamara Vrooman, businesswoman

Rescinded

* David Sidoo, CFL player, philanthropist, criminal, appointed 2016, rescinded in 2020

External links

The Order of British Columbia Webpage

References