Backgrounder: Canada’s Volunteer Awards 2018 Recipients

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

National awards

Harold L. Empey – Thérèse Casgrain Lifelong Achievement                  

Regional awards

Business Leader

PEI Credit Unions – Business Leader for Atlantic Region

Marché Ferdous Inc. – Business Leader for Quebec Region

Tangerine Bank – Business Leader for the Ontario Region

ENMAX Corporation – Business Leader for the Prairies Region

Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-operative Ltd. – Business Leader for British Columbia and the North

Emerging Leader

Sue Duguay – Emerging Leader for Atlantic Region

Sébastien Verger Leboeuf – Emerging Leader for Quebec

Gerald Mak – Emerging Leader for Ontario

Kaleb Ryland Dahlgren – Emerging Leader for the Prairies

Sukhmeet Singh Sachal – Emerging Leader for British Columbia and the North

Community Leader

David G. Bradley – Community Leader for Atlantic Region

Audrey Burt – Community Leader for Quebec Region

Paul Nguyen – Community Leader for the Ontario Region

Oswald R.D. Sawh – Community Leader for the Prairies Region

Cornelis Zandbergen – Community Leader for British Columbia and the North

Social Innovator

Choices for Youth – Social Innovator Leader for Atlantic Region

Accueil Bonneau – Social Innovator Leader for Quebec Region

David McAntony Gibson Foundation – GlobalMedic – Social Innovator Leader for Ontario Region

Arusha Centre Society – Social Innovator for the Prairies Region

The Japanese Community Volunteers Association (Tonari Gumi) – 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.