Celebrating Excellence Awards: Submit a nomination today
April 7, 2026 - Defence Stories
Estimated read time – 1:25
The Corporate Awards and Recognition Secretariat (CARS) is pleased to announce that the Celebrating Excellence Awards (CEA) nomination period is now open.
Nominations will be accepted until May 1, 2026.
The Defence Team’s prestigious CEA program stands as the highest form of recognition under departmental policy, celebrating the achievements and dedication of Defence Team members over the past year.
The CEAs are an excellent opportunity to highlight the outstanding contributions and hard work of the extraordinary Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and Department of National Defence (DND) public service employees.
Defence team members are eligible to be nominated for an award and to nominate other deserving individuals or teams (up to a maximum of fifteen individuals).
This year’s categories include:
- Deputy Minister (DM) Award of Distinction
- DM John Forster Collaboration Award
- DM/Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Excellence in Defence Award
- Emerging Talent
- Inclusive Excellence and Reconciliation
- Unsung Hero
- Leadership and People Excellence
- DM/CDS Modernization and Transformation Award
- DM/CDS Community Engagement and Volunteer Award
More detailed information on each award, the nomination process, and an overview of the CEA program can be found on the Celebrating Excellence Awards intranet page (accessible only on the National Defence network).
Follow these steps to submit a nomination (National Defence network access required)
- Read the instructions and guidelines (accessible only on the National Defence network) to ensure eligibility.
- Before completing and submitting the nomination form, please contact your Group / Command L1 Awards and Recognition Coordinator (ARC) (accessible only on the National Defence network) to review and approve your prepared narrative for nomination.
- Employees who do not have access to the National Defence network may submit nominations via the positional mailbox: Awards-Recompenses@forces.gc.ca.
- Once approved, complete and submit the nomination form on the Celebrating Excellence Awards intranet page (accessible only on the National Defence network).
Related links
- Nomination tools (accessible only on the National Defence network)
- 2025 Celebrating Excellence Awards recipients