Backgrounder: Canada’s Volunteer Awards 2017 Recipients

Complete biographies of the Award winners can be found at Canada’s Volunteer Awards Program

National awards

Timothy Nusse – Thérèse Casgrain Lifelong Achievement                    

Regional awards

Business Leader

New Brunswick Community College – Business Leader for Atlantic Region

Lufa Farms Inc. – Business Leader for Quebec Region

United Parcel Service Canada (UPS) – Business Leader for the Ontario Region

Britton’s Your Independent Grocer – Business Leader for the Prairies Region

Green Chair Recycling Inc.  – Business Leader for British Columbia and the North

Emerging Leader

Mark Allison – Emerging Leader for Atlantic Region

Valérie Toupin-Dubé – Emerging Leader for Quebec

Prakash Amarasooriya – Emerging Leader for Ontario

Poshika Dhingra – Emerging Leader for the Prairies

Akuechbeny Kuol – Emerging Leader for British Columbia and the North

Community Leader

Li Yuan Ma – Community Leader for Atlantic Region

Pierre Latraverse – Community Leader for Quebec Region

Marie-Claire Ivanski – Community Leader for the Ontario Region

The Laura Milner White Committee (Sheila Milner) – Community Leader for the Prairies Region

Deborah Morrow – Community Leader for British Columbia and the North

Social Innovator

Metro Non-Profit Housing Association – Social Innovator Leader for Atlantic Region

Le Pivot – Social Innovator Leader for Quebec Region

Parkdale Food Centre – Social Innovator Leader for Ontario Region

Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society – Social Innovator for the Prairies Region

Iqaluit Music Society - Iqalunninijjausijarnimut Katujjiji – Social Innovator for British Columbia and the North

Canada’s Volunteer Awards

The Government of Canada is committed to recognizing the innovative contributions volunteers make to Canada. Canada’s Volunteer Awards complement other government activities that engage individuals at the community level to promote partnerships and lever resources across sectors to address persistent social problems.

The objective of Canada’s Volunteer Awards is to recognize annually and bring national prominence to the enormous contributions individuals, not-for-profit organizations and businesses make to their communities through volunteer contributions. This aligns with the Government of Canada’s interest in promoting innovative solutions to local social problems.

There are a total of 21 awards, at both the regional and the national levels:

There are 20 regional awards, including four for each of the five regions across Canada (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies and British Columbia and the North):

• Emerging Leader (youth 18 to 30);
• Community Leader (for individual volunteers or groups of volunteers);
• Business Leader (for businesses); and
• Social Innovator (for not-for-profit organizations).

There is also one national award:

• Thérèse Casgrain Lifelong Achievement Award (for those who have volunteered for at least 20 years).

Recipients are selected through a three-step assessment process:

1. Department officials screen nominations to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Regional Reviewers (volunteer representatives from across the country) assess eligible nominations based on the assessment criteria and develop a list of top‑ranked nominations for the National Advisory Committee.
3. The National Advisory Committee, comprising of volunteer members from various regions of Canada and selected by the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development assesses the top-ranked nominations and advises the Minister on final decisions.

The Government of Canada and its role in supporting volunteering:

As the lead department for volunteering, Employment and Social Development Canada supports a number of initiatives including Canada’s Volunteer Awards, Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating and the New Horizons for Seniors Program which encourages seniors to engage in volunteerism. The Social Development Partnerships Program also includes projects that address volunteerism as a way of increasing the sustainability of community organizations.

Recognition package for recipients:

The award recipients are invited to attend a ceremony where they are recognized by the Government of Canada. In addition, regional award recipients are eligible to identify a not-for-profit organization to receive a $5,000 grant. The national award recipient is eligible to identify a not-for-profit organization to receive a $10,000 grant.