page_title: Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada
section_title: Canadian honours
hierarchical_section_title: Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada / History / Canadian honours
caption_attribution_description: Rt. Hon. Richard Bedford Bennett - Prime Minister of Canada (1930 - 1935)
context_page_description: The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.
  The monarch is regarded as the fount of all honours—as he or she is the only person who may create new national honours—and acts as the Sovereign of all of Canada's orders; she, or other members of the Canadian Royal Family, will conduct inductions or present medals.
context_section_description: Governor General the Viscount Monck had originally pushed for a distinct Canadian order of knighthood in 1867, to be called the Order of St. Lawrence. The idea was revived by Vincent Massey in 1935 and again in 1951, in between which he also suggested in 1940 a Royal Order of Canada. The Canadian Cabinet, however, never accepted these proposals, generally wishing instead to steer clear of the controversial topic of orders. Still, the beginnings of a distinct Canadian honours system came in March 1934, with the creation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Long Service Medal by royal warrant of King George V, issued on the advice of the Cabinet of R. B. Bennett; this was the first time an honour specific to Canada and for service in Canada had been established by the monarch of Canada (as opposed to earlier campaign and service medals that had been issued to Canadians and British personnel alike by the British monarch). There was uncertainty amongst officials in Canada and Britain alike around how to go about creating such an honour, and delays were incurred not only as Canadian bureaucrats interpreted the Nickle Resolution as applying to medals, but also because the King himself was widening the project to consider all the Commonwealth and Empire police forces.
  This process was refined through the Second World War and Korean War, though the pool of available honours became smaller and smaller as the decades progressed; non-titular British honours continued to be granted until 1946 and, from 1950 and 1953, only British military decorations were permitted. In 1942, the Canada Medal was created by royal warrant of King George VI, though none was ever struck, and the Canadian Forces Decoration was founded in 1947. Though the Letters Patent of 1947 issued by the King permitted the governor general to exercise most of the monarch's Royal Prerogative on his behalf, it was agreed between George VI and his Canadian prime minister at the time, William Lyon Mackenzie King, that the sovereign alone would retain the prerogative to create new honours. In 1951, the first distinctly Canadian campaign medal, the Korea Medal, was created, when other Commonwealth countries used the British version.
  The centennial of Canadian Confederation in 1967 provided the right opportunity and circumstances in which to establish Canada's first order: the Order of Canada. The system was officially established in 1972 and has since expanded, mostly through the 1990s, and generally attracted little criticism; indeed, the orders, decorations, and medals of Canada inspired other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zealand, to adopt similar approaches in their respective jurisdictions, as did each of Canada's provinces. However, some experts in the field, such as Christopher McCreery, have pointed out what they see as deficiencies in the construct: At the 2006 conference on Commonwealth Honours, the concern was raised that Canada does not have a way to recognize the nation's very best; the three grades of the Order of Canada being insufficient to do so. It was suggested that either two more levels be added to the Order of Canada, equivalent to knighthoods in Australian and British orders, or create a new single class but limited-membership order, similar to the Order of New Zealand. The order of precedence also came under scrutiny, particularly the anomaly that all three grades of the Order of Canada supersede the top levels of each of the other orders, contrary to international practice. McCreery echoed these comments in 2010 and added that the Canadian honours system was lacking a polar medal, such as those issued in other northern nations, as well as a public service order, akin to the Imperial Service Order, and honours to specifically recognise protective services other than the police forces.
  In June 2010, McCreery highlighted inconsistency in honouring those in Canada's royal family. For example, the Queen Mother was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada on only an honorary basis, though the Canadian Forces Decoration awarded to her 
caption: Prime Minister of Canada R. B. Bennett, who advised King George V to create the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Long Service Medal
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