OTTAWA -- Filmmaker Xavier Dolan, actor Marcel Sabourin and the cofounders of the Montreal Jazz Festival (MJF), Andre Menard and Alain Simard are among the most recent cohort of appointees to the Order of Canada, revealed on Friday.
The Order of Canada honours heroes of the cultural scene and political personalities or scientists as well as community leaders, among others.
On Friday, 120 names were revealed as new entries or promotions to the Order of Canada, including five who were promoted to the highest rank: companions, including former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and former ambassador Raymond Chretien.
From Quebec's artistic scene, Andre Menard and Alain Simard were designated as officers of the Order of Canada, Menard for his contribution to Montreal's events scene, notably as artistic director of the MJF, Simard for his key role in positioning Montreal as a city of festivals and for his leadership at the head of Equipe Spectra, an event management company.
Cofounder of Equipe Spectra with Menard and Simard, Denyse McCann, was also appointed as a member of the Order of Canada. The same honour was delivered to Xavier Dolan for "his acclaimed work as an internationally renowned actor, screenwriter and director," and to Gilles Ste-Croix, for "his creativity and imagination as cofounder and artistic director of Cirque du Soleil."
Caroline Ouellette and former Quebec minister Raymond Bachand are also among the officers appointed to the Order.
