The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Instituted in 1989 by

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 ...

David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier

Bill Vander Zalm William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a Dutch-born Canadian businessman and politician who served as the 28th premier of British Columbia and leader of the British Columbia Social ...

, 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 refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of appr ...

and is intended to honour current or former British Columbia residents for conspicuous achievements in any field, being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the British Columbia Crown.

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

who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, demonstrating the "greatest distinction and excell ncein 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 Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and terr ...

; 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 An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or 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 r ...

'' 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 An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy 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 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, an academic degree, accreditation ...

''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 Arms or ARMS may refer to: * Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons ** ...

, all surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown symbolizing the

Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's Government#Forms, form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canadian federalism, Canada's cons ...

's role as the

fount of honour The fount of honour () is a person, who, by virtue of their official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons. Origin During the High Middle Ages, European knights ...

. 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 A lapel pin, also known as an enamel pin, is a small brooch, pin worn on clothing, often on the Jacket lapel, lapel of a jacket, attached to a bag, or displayed on a piece of fabric. Lapel pins can be ornamental or can indicate the wearer's affi ...

, appearing as a smaller enamel Dogwood flower capped by a crown.

Inductees

This is a partial list of notable members of the Order of British Columbia: * Bryan Guy Adams ,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning musician and photographer, appointed 1990 * Unity Bainbridge, artist and poet, appointed 1993 * Michael Conway Baker , composer, appointed 1997 * Geoffrey Ballard ,

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

and businessman, appointed 2003 *

Dave Barrett David Barrett (October 2, 1930 – February 2, 2018) was a Canadian politician and social worker in British Columbia. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BCNDP), he was the 26th premier of British Columbia from 1972 to 1 ...

, BC's first NDP Premier, appointed 2012 * Brigadier Henry Pybus Bell-Irving , Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, appointed 1990 *

Leon Bibb Leon Douglas Bibb (born October 5, 1944 in Butler, Alabama) is an American news anchor and commentator for WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a member of the BGSU Board of Trustees. Leon Bibb was the first African American primetime news anchor ...

, 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 The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

, 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 Lance Sydney George Finch, (June 16, 1938August 30, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and jurist. He was President of the Vancouver Bar Association and a bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia. He was appointed as a judge in 1983 and went on ...

, former Chief Justice of British Columbia, appointed 2017 *

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...

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 Paul Clifton Anthony George (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of the ...

, Environmentalist, appointed 2020 * Gordon Gibson , politician, columnist, and author, appointed 2008 * Gurdev Singh Gill, , Physician, appointed 1990 * Nancy Catherine Greene ,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

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 Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Chinese people, Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of ...

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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player, appointed 2006 *

Wally Oppal Wallace Taroo "Wally" Oppal, (born 1940) is a Canadian lawyer, former judge and provincial politician. Between 2005 and 2009, he served as British Columbia's Attorney General and Minister responsible for Multiculturalism, as well as Member of ...

, former Attorney General of British Columbia and Justice of

British Columbia Court of Appeal The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act. Jurisdiction The ...

, 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 Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...

, 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 The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, appointed 2002 * Michael Smith , UBC scientist and BC's first Nobel Prize winner, appointed 1994 * Arran Stephens , co-founder of

Nature's Path Nature's Path Foods, commonly known as Nature's Path, is a Canadian privately held, family-owned producer of certified organic foods. Originally known for its breakfast cereals, it now has a portfolio of more than 150 products. Founded in 1985 by ...

and philanthropist, appointed 2022 * Ratana Stephens , co-founder of

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 The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

and

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, wi ...

, appointed 2016

Rescinded

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

Notes

References

External links

* {{Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada British Columbia awards