Order of British Columbia

Structure and appointment

The Order of British Columbia, which evolved out of and replaced the earlier Order of the Dogwood, is intended to honour any current or former longtime resident of British Columbia who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, demonstrating the "greatest distinction and excell[ence] in 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, who serves as the Chair; the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly; 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 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 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 OBC.

Insignia

Upon admission into the Order of British Columbia, in a ceremony held at Government House in Victoria, 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—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 symbolizing the Canadian monarch's role as the fount of honour. 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

Main article: Members of the Order of British Columbia

This is a partial list of notable members of the Order of British Columbia:

• Bryan Guy Adams , Grammy Award winning musician and photographer, appointed 1990
• Unity Bainbridge, artist and poet, appointed 1993
• Michael Conway Baker , composer, appointed 1997
• Geoffrey Ballard , geophysicist and businessman, appointed 2003
• Dave Barrett , BC's first NDP Premier, appointed 2012
• Brigadier Henry Pybus Bell-Irving , Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, appointed 1990
• Leon Bibb, musician and actor, appointed 2009
• Peter M. Brown , financier, appointed 2003
• Frank Arthur Calder , first aboriginal Canadian elected to any Canadian legislature, appointed 2004
• Gordon Campbell , three-term Premier of British Columbia, appointed 2011
• Raffi Cavoukian , children's entertainer, appointed 2001
• Shushma Datt, Radio and television broadcaster, appointed 1992
• Frankie Edroff , philanthropist, appointed 2010
• Sam Feldman , music executive, appointed 2023
• Lance Finch , former Chief Justice of British Columbia, appointed 2017
• David Foster OC OBC, Grammy Award winning musician and record executive, appointed 1995
• Lori Fung Methorst , Olympic gymnast, appointed 1990
• Garde Basil Gardom , Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, appointed 2002
• Paul George , Environmentalist, appointed 2020
• Gordon Gibson , politician, columnist, and author, appointed 2008
• Gurdev Singh Gill, , Physician, appointed 1990
• Nancy Catherine Greene , Senator 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 , Indo Canadian Newspaper publisher, appointed 1995
• Bonnie Henry , Provincial Health Officer, appointed 2021
• Bob Hindmarch Professor and ice hockey coach, appointed 2010
• Edward John Hughes , artist, appointed 2005
• Robert Joseph, OBC, Hereditary Chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation, and Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada, appointed 2015
• Douglas Jung , first Chinese Canadian federal Member of Parliament, appointed 1997
• Edgar Kaiser Jr.
• Kathy Kinloch, businesswoman, appointed 2022
• Mary Kitagawa , educator, appointed 2018
• Joy Kogawa , author and poet, appointed 2006
• Diana Jean Krall , jazz musician, appointed 2000
• David Lam, , Lieutenant-Governor of BC, appointed 1995
• Peter Anthony Larkin , 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 , professional hockey player, appointed 2003
• Clarence Louie , Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, appointed 2004
• Sarah Ann McLachlan , musician, singer, and songwriter, appointed 2001
• Kenneth McVay , internet activist, appointed 1995
• James Mavor Moore , writer, producer, critic, and educator, appointed 1999
• Stephen John Nash , National Basketball Association player, appointed 2006
• Wally Oppal , former Attorney General of British Columbia and Justice of British Columbia Court of Appeal, appointed 2017
• Sophie Pierre , Chief of St. Mary's Indian Band and commissioner for the BC Treaty Commission, appointed 1994
• David R. Podmore , co-founder of Concert Properties, appointed 2014
• Jack W. Poole , co-founder of Concert Properties, appointed 2003
• Derek Porter-Nesbitt , Olympic rower, appointed 1996
• Ryan Reynolds , actor and producer, appointed 2023
• 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, appointed 2002
• Michael Smith , UBC scientist and BC's first Nobel Prize winner, appointed 1994
• Arran Stephens , co-founder of Nature's Path and philanthropist, appointed 2022
• Ratana Stephens , co-founder of Nature's Path and philanthropist, appointed 2022
• Neil J. Sterritt, Gitxsan activist and author, appointed 2017
• David Takayoshi Suzuki , environmentalist and science broadcaster, appointed 1995
• Tamara Taggart, former Canadian news anchor, appointed 2015
• Susan Tatoosh, Indigenous leader, appointed 2019
• Arthur Vickers (artist) , artist, storyteller and philanthropist, appointed 2008
• Tamara Vrooman, businesswoman
• Peter Wing , first mayor of Chinese descent in North America, appointed 1990
• Brian Smith , Attorney General of BC, chairman of CN Rail and BC Hydro, appointed 2016

Rescinded

• David Sidoo, CFL player, philanthropist, criminal (appointed in 2016; rescinded in 2020)

Notes

References

References

1. Bingham, Russell. "The Canadian Encyclopedia". Historica Foundation of Canada.
2. Elizabeth II. (1989). "Provincial Symbols". Queen's Printer for British Columbia.
3. Protocol and Events Branch, Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat. "Order of British Columbia". Queen's Printer for British Columbia.
4. {{Harvnb. Elizabeth II. 1989
5. {{Harvnb. Elizabeth II. 1989
6. {{Harvnb. Elizabeth II. 1989
7. {{Harvnb. Elizabeth II. 1989
8. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "Honours and Recognition Programs > Canadian National Honours". [[Queen's Printer for Canada]].
9. {{Harvnb. Elizabeth II. 1989
10. {{Harvnb. Elizabeth II. 1989
11. "1992 Shushma Datt – Burnaby : Order of BC".
12. P. Ball, David. "Canada's first South Asian physician, Dr. Gurdev Singh Gill, dies at 92". [[CBC.ca]].
13. Government of British Columbia, Protocol and Events Branch. "Order of British Columbia > Recipients > 1996–2001 > 1997 Recipients > Walter Hardwick – Vancouver". Queen's Printer for British Columbia.
14. (2010). "Robert (Bob) George Hindmarch". Government of British Columbia.
15. "2017 Neil J. Sterritt – 150 Mile House : Order of BC".
16. Mason, Kenny. (2016-06-15). "Spirit of the West founder among the Order of BC recipients".