Order of Newfoundland and Labrador

Canadian civilian honour for merit

Order of Newfoundland and Labrador
Awarded by the lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador
Type	Provincial order
Founded	24 May 2001
Eligibility	Canadian citizens currently or formerly residents of the province, save for politicians and judges while in office.
Awarded for	Demonstration of excellence and achievement in any field of endeavour benefiting in an outstanding manner the province and its residents.
Status	Currently constituted
Founder	Arthur House
Chancellor	Joan Marie Aylward
Grades	Member
Post-nominals	ONL
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Nova Scotia
Next (lower)	Order of Nunavut
Ribbon of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador (French: Ordre du Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Instituted in 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Arthur Maxwell House granted Royal Assent to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Act,^[1] the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour current or former Newfoundland and Labrador residents for conspicuous achievements in any field,^[2] being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the Newfoundland and Labrador Crown.^[3]^[4]

Structure and appointment

The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador is intended to honour any current or former longtime resident of Newfoundland and Labrador who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, having "demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field of endeavour benefiting in an outstanding manner Newfoundland and Labrador and its residents."^[5] There are no limits on how many can belong to the order, though inductions are limited to eight per year;^[6] Canadian citizenship is a requirement, and those who are elected or appointed members of a governmental body are ineligible as long as they hold office.^[7]

The process of finding qualified individuals begins with submissions from the public to the Secretary of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Advisory Council,^[8] which consists of the Clerk of the Executive Council and five persons appointed by the lieutenant governor: two Members of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and four other individuals.^[9] This committee then meets at least once annually to make its selected recommendations to the Executive Council and works with that body in narrowing down the potential appointees to a list that will be submitted to the lieutenant governor;^[2] 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 Newfoundland and Labrador.^[10] Further, anyone not meeting the requirements of admission may be invested as an honorary Member.^[11] The lieutenant governor, ex officio a Member and the Chancellor of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador,^[12] 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;^[2] thereafter, the new Members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters ONL.^[13]

Insignia

Upon admission into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, usually in a ceremony held at Government House in St. John's, new Members are presented with the order's insignia. The main badge consists of a gold medallion in the form of a stylized sarracenia purpurea (or purple pitcher plant)—the official provincial flower—with the obverse in marbleized green enamel with gold edging, and bearing at its centre the escutcheon of the arms of Newfoundland and Labrador, all surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown symbolizing the Canadian monarch's role as the fount of honour.^[14] The ribbon is patterned with vertical stripes in blue, white, and two shades of green; men wear the medallion suspended from this ribbon at the collar, while women carry theirs on a ribbon bow at the left chest. Members also receive a lapel pin that can be worn during less formal occasions.^[5]

Inductees

The following are some notable appointees of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador:

Michael B. Adam ONL, gold medal Olympian, appointed 2006
Edgar Albert Baird ONL, businessman, appointed 2004
Tom Dawe ONL, writer, appointed 2012
Donald B. Dingwell OC ONL FRS FRSC, scientist, appointed 2021
Jane Green, geneticist, appointed 2013
Gary Graham ONL, musician, appointed 2004
Bradley Raymond Gushue ONL, gold medal Olympian, appointed 2006
Russell W. Howard ONL, gold medal Olympian, appointed 2006
Paul Jolliffe Johnson ONL, businessman and philanthropist, appointed 2004
Jamie A. Korab ONL, gold medal Olympian, appointed 2006
Hazel Newhook, politician, appointed 2009
Mark Nichols ONL, gold medal Olympian, appointed 2006
Paul O'Neill OC ONL, author and producer, appointed 2007
Kaetlyn Osmond ONL, Olympic and World Champion figure skater, appointed 2019.
Lanier W. Phillips, (honorary) for his work opposing discrimination and oppression, appointed 2011. (In 1942 local residents rescued Lanier from a shipwreck on the Newfoundland coast.)^[15]
Christopher Pratt CC ONL, artist, appointed 2018
Philip Riteman ONL, an Auschwitz survivor, appointed 2016
Edward Moxon Roberts CM ONL QC, former Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, appointed 2004
Geoff Stirling, businessman, appointed 2009
James A. Tuck ONL FRSC, archaeologist, appointed 2004
Otto Tucker CM ONL, cultural historian, appointed 2004
Clyde Wells ONL, fifth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, appointed 2016
Tom Cahill ONL, playwright, songwriter and television producer for CBC Television, appointed 2005

References

^ Elizabeth II (24 May 2001), Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Act, St. John's: Queen's Printer for Newfoundland and Labrador, retrieved 25 August 2009
^ ^a ^b ^c Elizabeth II 2001, 11
^ Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, Queen's Printer for Newfoundland and Labrador, retrieved 25 August 2009
^ Marsh, James H. (ed.), "Culture > Awards > Order of Newfoundland and Labrador", The Canadian Encyclopedia, Toronto: Historica Foundation of Canada, retrieved 25 August 2009
^ ^a ^b Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, Order of Newfoundland and Labrador > About the Award, Queen's Printer for Newfoundland and Labrador, retrieved 25 August 2009
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 10
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 8
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 9
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 12.1.a-12.1a-12.1.c
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 8.4
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 8.2
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 5.1
^ Elizabeth II 2001, 7
^ Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Honours and Recognition Programs > Canadian National Honours, Queen's Printer for Canada, archived from the original on 23 March 2009, retrieved 20 May 2009
^ Lanier Phillips