King submitted honours lists, though it was well within their power to do so. Both leaders hesitated on account of the issue’s contentiousness. The prohibition was not complete, however, as Canadians living in other parts of the British Empire were still eligible to be awarded honours. In 1925 Canadian-born Emma Albani, the world-renowned soprano and the first Canadian to attain international stardom as a result of artistic abilities, was honoured with a damehood. Albani was made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire in 1925, the first Canadian woman to be so honoured, but since she resided in the United Kingdom, the Canadian government did not become involved in protesting her appointment.
Another prominent example was that of Dr. Sir George Washington Badgerow, a famous ear, nose, and throat doctor. Badgerow was born and trained in Canada, though he made his home in Britain. In 1926 the British government requested permission from the Canadian government to allow Badgerow to be knighted. Two years later the Canadian government responded that the award could go forward because Badgerow, though born in Canada, was a resident of Britain and was being rewarded for services he performed in Britain. Thus the prohibition was incidental, and Bennett would prove that there was, in fact, no legislative prohibition at all, but rather a series of prime ministers who had no interest in honours lists.
Bennett’s Honours Lists, 1932–1935
Prime Minister R.B. Bennett broke the moratorium on honours that had existed in Canada between 1919 and 1933. In fact, Bennett adhered perfectly to the Nickle Resolution and had eighteen Canadians awarded knighthoods and 189 appointed to the various non-titular levels of the imperial orders of chivalry. Bennett solicited nominations from the various lieutenant governors and other officials and then personally selected each candidate.
Richard Bedford Bennett, PC, ED, KC.
Unlike previous lists, Bennett’s were largely non-partisan and well distributed among the provinces and between both sexes — quite a novelty for the period.
Among others, Bennett’s lists recognized Sir Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin; Sir Ernest Macmillan, the noted composer and conductor; Sir Thomas Chapais, the esteemed historian; and Sir Arthur Doughty, the dominion archivist. At the non-titular level, Lucy Maud Montgomery was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and Lester Pearson was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). For the first time women represented nearly half of those being recognized with honours. Public reaction to these awards was ambivalent.
Bennett himself was offered a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG), though he declined it and offered it to William Lyon Mackenzie King, who also declined it. Bennett was the last Canadian prime minister to make use of all aspects of the imperial honours system, with the final knighthood made on the recommendation of a Canadian ministry being a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG), going to one of Canada’s first diplomats, the Honourable Herbert Meredith Marler, Canada’s minister plenipotentiary to Japan.
The Second World War
When Mackenzie King was returned as prime minister in 1935, the brief revival of imperial honours came to an abrupt end. Thus, Canada entered the Second World War with no policy on honours, other than to allow for the bestowal of gallantry and valour decorations. Even this policy was unclear as to who would approve the awards, from where nominations would emanate, and how many were to be allotted for Canadian service personnel. To deal with these problems a special interdepartmental committee, which would later become the Awards Coordination Committee (ACC), was founded in early 1940. This committee drafted formal honours policies, the first of which set out that Canadians could receive gallantry decorations “in operations against the enemy.”[1] No provisions were made for appointing Canadians to the various imperial orders of chivalry.
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG.
Throughout the Second World War, numerous proposals were devised to create a Canadian order, but none came to fruition, and thus Canada continued to work within the broader imperial honours system. In 1942, Parliament again tackled the issue of honours and awards. In July of that year, the Awards Coordination Committee met and ultimately decided that, in addition to being allowed to receive gallantry and valour decorations, Canadians should be eligible for the non-titular levels of the imperial orders of chivalry (those not conferring knighthood). It also expressed the opinion that the Canadian government should establish a Canadian order of merit. Essentially, the committee adhered to the Nickle Resolution — which allowed for the award of honours only on the advice of the Canadian government — while simultaneously discarding the proposals of the 1919 Special Committee on Honours and Titles, which sought to cease the naming of Canadians to all imperial orders of chivalry.
It was not until 1967 with the founding of the Order of Canada that the Canadian government acted upon the 1942 proposal to create a Canadian honour. In terms of the other proposals, Canadian service personnel and civilians were made eligible for the non-titular levels of the Order of the Bath, the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the Order of the British Empire, and the Imperial Service Order. This came to an end with the conclusion of the war, and Dominion Day 1946 saw the last civil honours list until the establishment of the Order of Canada.
The Korean War
With the beginning of the Korean War, Cabinet was once again faced with making decisions about honours in Canada. It elected merely to institute a policy similar to that used during the Second World War, which allowed for members of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force to accept imperial gallantry decorations and the non-titular levels of the imperial orders of chivalry. However, in contrast to the Second World War, civilians who made an important contribution to the Korean War effort were not permitted to receive any honours.
The 1956 Policy: An Incomplete Solution, 1956–1967
The end of the Korean War saw the flow of imperial honours, aside from long service awards, cease once again. In 1956, however, Cabinet passed a directive that instated a more liberal policy toward honours and awards. Cabinet Directive 30 allowed Canadian civilians to receive the George Cross, George Medal, and Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct for “acts of bravery performed at the risk of death or serious injury.” Thus, for the most part, the Canadian honours system consisted of bravery decorations. Allowances were also made to permit appointments for gallantry to the various levels of the Order of the British Empire, and a handful of appointments to the order were made to both civilians and members of the Canadian Armed Forces for bravery. Members of the military were still eligible for the various imperial gallantry decorations, though there were no such allowances for other recognition (see chapter 5). The 1956 policy also allowed for Canadians to accept foreign honours under certain circumstances. This was the first time since the Second World War that Canadian civilians were permitted to accept foreign honours.
The final Canadian to be awarded an imperial honour on the advice of the Canadian government came in 1968 when Captain (Nursing Sister) Josephine A. Cashin of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) with gallantry emblem. This was in recognition of her bravery in assisting with the rescue effort following the crash of a Czechoslovakian State Airline plane near Gander International Airport in September 1967.
Establishing the Canadian Honours System, 1967
Letters patent constituting the Order of Military Merit, 1972.
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