The Alberta Order of Excellence (french: Ordre d'excellence de l'Alberta) is a civilian

honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

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 ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

. Instituted in 1979 when

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 ...

Frank C. Lynch-Staunton Francis Charles "Frank" Lynch-Staunton (March 8, 1905 – September 25, 1990) was the 11th lieutenant governor of Alberta from 1979 to 1985. Early life Born in Pincher Creek, District of Alberta, North-West Territories, the son of Richard Lync ...

granted

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

to the Alberta Order of Excellence Act, 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 Alberta residents for conspicuous achievements in any field, being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the Canadian Crown in right of Alberta.

Structure and appointment

The Alberta Order of Excellence is intended to honour any current or former long-time resident of

who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, having "rendered service of the greatest distinction and of singular excellence for or on behalf of the residents of Alberta." Canadian citizenship is a requirement, and those who are elected or appointed members of a governmental body are ineligible as long as they hold office. Only 10 people may be inducted each year, though a nomination may remain up for consideration by the council for seven years. The process of finding qualified individuals begins with submissions from the public to the Council of the Alberta Order of Excellence, which consists of six individuals without prequalification appointed by the lieutenant governor and meets once yearly to make its selected recommendations to the viceroy each June; posthumous nominations are not accepted. The lieutenant governor, who is ''

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 Alberta Order of Excellence and remains a member following his or her departure from viceregal office, then makes all appointments into the fellowship's single grade of membership by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

bearing 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, ...

''AOE'' and have their portrait added to two galleries, one each at the

Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is a performing arts, culture and community facility, located in Edmonton, Alberta. General information and history The auditorium was built in 1957, on a site adjacent to the University of Alberta to cel ...

and Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

Insignia

Upon admission into the Alberta Order of Excellence, in a ceremony held at Government House in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

, members are presented with the order's insignia. According to Insignia Regulation, which stipulates the design of the order's badges and ribbon and how they are worn, the main emblem of the order is a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

medallion in the form of a cross ''pattée'', with the equidistant arms consisting of a transparent blue enamel over gold patterned to resemble

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. This cross is layered between a burnished gold disk bearing roses and rose leaves, and another roundel with the

coat of arms of Alberta The coat of arms of Alberta, the heraldic symbol representing the Canadian province of Alberta, contains symbols reflecting Alberta's British heritage along with local symbols. The upper part of the shield features the red cross of Saint Geo ...

on a red enamel background, surrounded by a white circle bearing the words "The Alberta Order of Excellence". On the reverse is a maple leaf supported by a sheaf of wheat. The ribbon is patterned with vertical stripes in blue, burgundy, white, 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 also receive a lapel pin for wear on casual clothing.

References

External links

Alberta Order of Excellence
{{Canadian Honours System Alberta awards Provincial and territorial orders of Canada *

Structure and appointment

Insignia

See also

References

External links