Miriam Toews, Novelist

Miriam Toews is one of Canada’s most beloved novelists. Throughout her career, her novels have consistently found a place on both the bestseller lists, and the shortlists of our nation’s most prestigious literary prizes. Her breakout book, A Complicated Kindness, won the 2004 Governor General’s Award for Fiction, and the 2006 edition of CBC’s Canada Reads. It also received great international acclaim, with the character of Nomi Nickel invoking comparisons to J.D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield. Her next novel, The Flying Troutmans, won the 2008 Rogers Writers Trust Award, a prize Toews won for a second time, in 2014, with her novel, All My Puny Sorrows. All My Puny Sorrows also won Italy’s 2015 Sinbad Prize for Foreign Fiction, and appeared on shortlists for the Folio Prize and the Wellcome Book Prize in the UK. Recognized for her deft turn of phrase, and her ability to infuse tragic circumstances with humour, her books have been translated into more than twenty languages.  

Born and raised in Steinbach, Manitoba to Mennonite parents, and a direct descendent of Steinbach’s first Mennonite settlers, Toews’ work explores the struggle of the individual to find freedom within closed systems of thought. Toews left Steinbach at 18, spending time in Montreal and London, England, before settling in Winnipeg, where she earned a B.A. in Film Studies from the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of King’s College, Halifax. Since then, she has received five honorary doctorates, and has been inducted into the Order of Manitoba.  

Toews’ novels often feature road trips and itinerant characters who are trying to escape from some obdurate authority, or who must survive a personal trauma. Toews’ third book, Swing Low, published in 2000, is a memoir in her father’s voice, written shortly after her father—an elementary school teacher who suffered from bipolar disorder for much of his life—died by suicide. The book was greeted as an instant classic in the modern literature on mental illness, and it won the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction and the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. Toews’ older sister and only sibling, Marjorie, died by suicide twelve years later. All My Puny Sorrows, which draws heavily on events leading up to her sister’s death, describes the tumultuous relationship of two sisters—one wanting to die, and the other wanting her sister to stay alive. It was adapted into a feature film by Michael McGowan in 2021.  

Toews has appeared on the big screen herself. She had a leading role in the feature film Silent Light, written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas, winner of the 2007 Cannes Jury Prize, an experience that informed her fifth novel, Irma Voth. She was nominated for Best Actress at Mexico’s Ariel Awards for her performance. In 2022, Toews was at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles to see the film adaptation of her novel, Women Talking, by Sarah Polley, nominated for Best Picture.  

She has just published her tenth book, a memoir entitled A Truce That Is Not Peace. 

The Honourable Dr. Philippe Couillard PC, 31st premier of Quebec 

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Dr. Philippe Couillard served as Chief Surgeon in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Hôpital Saint-Luc in Montreal, later co-founding the Dhahran Department of Neurosurgery in Saudi Arabia. Upon his return to Canada, he served as professor at Université de Sherbrooke from 1996 to 2003 and chairman of surgery at the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke from 2000 to 2003. First elected to the Quebec National Assembly in 2003, Philippe Couillard has served as Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services and, in 2013, became the 31st Premier of Quebec. 

Joseph Handley, 10th premier of the Northwest Territories 

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 Following a career as an educator, Joseph “Joe” Handley worked as deputy minister for several departments within the government of the Northwest Territories, leaving in 1999 to run successfully for election to the NWT Legislative Assembly. He held several cabinet portfolios, including Finance and Transportation. In 2003, he ran unopposed for the territories’ premiership. Joe has also been the recipient of a number of awards including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (2008).  

The Honourable Frank McKenna PC OC ONB KC F.ICD, 27th premier of New Brunswick, 20th Canadian Ambassador to the United States of America  

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Frank McKenna is one of Canada’s most respected political and business leaders. He was elected Premier of New Brunswick in 1987, where he served for 10 years. In 2005 he was named Canadian Ambassador to the United States. Since 2006, he has worked as an executive with TD Bank Group, and in 2020 joined TD Securities. 

Rosemary Barton is an award-winning journalist and the first woman to hold the position of CBC’s chief political correspondent. Barton guides viewers with daily political coverage on CBC News and leads political specials for CBC News. She hosts The National’s At Issue panel; co-hosts the weekly CBC Podcast Party Lines; and delivers a weekly dose of political news affecting Canadians on Sunday mornings as the host of Rosemary Barton Live. In 2016 she received the Canadian Screen Award for best host of a news or information program for CBC News Network’s Power & Politics.

Christy Clark, 35th premier of British Columbia 

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Christy Clark is the longest-serving female premier in Canadian history, and the only woman in Canada ever to be re-elected as premier, making an indelible mark on the Canadian political landscape. Her legacy is marked by a deep commitment to planning for future generations, and leaving behind a province with a diversified economy, expanded market opportunities, a visionary clean energy plan, billions of dollars invested in infrastructure, and a significant reduction in the public debt burden to be carried by future generations of British Columbians.

Confederation Centre of the Arts was pleased to award the 2023 Symons Medal to Michael Ignatieff. He is the twenty-second recipient of this prestigious honour.

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Ignatieff is a writer, historian, and former politician. Born in Toronto, educated at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto, he earned a PhD in history at Harvard in 1975. He taught history at the University of British Columbia and then was elected to a Senior Research Fellowship at King’s College Cambridge. Between 1984 and 2000, he worked as a freelance journalist for the BBC, The Observer, and other outlets in London. Between 2000 and 2005 he was director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

He was elected to the House of Commons in 2006, serving as Deputy Leader and Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada between 2009 and 2011. He returned to academic life in 2011 and taught at the University of Toronto and Harvard’s Kennedy School until 2016. Between 2016 and 2021, he was Rector and President of Central European University (CEU) in Budapest and Vienna. He now teaches history at CEU in Vienna. He is the author of eighteen books and holds honorary degrees from fourteen universities as well as the Order of Canada.

Confederation Centre of the Arts was pleased to award the 2022 Symons Medal to Shelagh Rogers. Rogers is the twenty-second recipient of this prestigious honour.

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Shelagh Rogers is a veteran broadcast-journalist at CBC, most recently as the host and producer of The Next Chapter, an award-winning program devoted to writing in Canada. Over her illustrious career, she has hosted other national radio programs such as This Morning, The Arts Tonight, and Sounds Like Canada.

Rogers is a vocal advocate for mental healthcare, adult literacy, and for a reckoning with the truth of Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples. In 2011, she was inducted as an Honorary Witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a life-changing honour. In the same year, she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for elevating the cause of adult literacy, fighting against the stigma of mental illness by sharing the story of her own depression, and for promoting Canadian culture. In 2016, she received the inaugural Margaret Trudeau Award for Mental Health Advocacy.

She co-edited three books in the Aboriginal Healing Foundation’s Speaking My Truth series and, in 2019, was named an inaugural Library and Archives Canada Scholar in recognition of her dedication to the promotion of the country’s literary and historical heritage. She holds eight honorary doctorates from Canadian universities and is Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Victoria. Rogers is a member of the Métis Nation of Greater Victoria.

The Honourable Louise Arbour, CC, GOQ was awarded the 2021 Symons Medal  on Friday, October 29 at Confederation Centre of the Arts.

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A high-profile Canadian lawyer, prosecutor, and jurist, Madame Arbour was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1987 and the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1990.

In 1996, the Security Council of the United Nations appointed Madame Arbour Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In this role, she secured the first conviction for genocide (Rwanda) since the 1948 Genocide Convention and the first indictment for war crimes by a sitting European head of state (Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic).

Madame Arbour was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1999 and in 2004 she was appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations, and later the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on International Migration.

Madame Arbour, Senior Counsel at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, was recently appointed to lead an independent review into sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Madame Arbour has received numerous honorary doctorates and awards. She is a Companion of the Order of Canada and a Grand Officer of the Ordre national du Québec. She follows a formidable line of Symons Medallists, including the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Dr. David Suzuki, and the Honourable Bob Rae.

On Friday, October 2020, Confederation Centre of the Arts awarded the Symons Medal to the Honourable Bob Rae, PC, CC, OOnt, QC

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Hon. Rae’s lecture was entitled: Learning from The Past, Imagining the Future: Reflections from a Political Life. “I am delighted to be following so many distinguished Canadians as this year’s Symons Medal recipient,” stated Hon. Rae. “I have long admired Tom Symons’ vision and leadership and it is also wonderful to be associated with Confederation Centre of the Arts and my many friends in Charlottetown and Prince Edward Island.”

Throughout the video address, Hon. Rae explores themes around: Canada’s improbable origins as a nation; post-war emergence onto the global stage; active membership within the United Nations (U.N.); and the significance of the ever-evolving Canadian constitution—a “living tree document”.

Hon. Rae is the 2020 recipient in part for his many years of work on humanitarian issues, most recently the Rohingya Refugee crisis, as well as his time focusing on indigenous issues with Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, and his decades of public service and teaching. He has always been deeply involved in the political life of Canada including as MP, former premier of Ontario, and interim leader of the federal Liberal Party. While premier, he was involved in many of the initiatives for constitutional reform.

In July, Hon. Rae was appointed Canada’s ambassador to the U.N. by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Humanitarian and Refugee Issues.

Confederation Centre of the Arts was pleased to present the 2019 Symons Medal to Senator Murray Sinclair on November 1, 2019 at the Centre. Senator Sinclair’s Symons Medal Lecture was entitled Confederation: We Could Have Done Better and took place in the Homburg Theatre¹.

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Senator Murray Sinclair served the justice system in Manitoba for over 25 years and was the second Indigenous Judge to be appointed in Canada and the first Indigenous Judge in Manitoba. He also served as Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in Manitoba and as Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Canada. In that role he participated in hundreds of hearings across the country, culminating in the issuance of the TRC’s report in 2015. He then oversaw an active multi-million-dollar fundraising program to support various TRC events and activities, and to allow survivors to travel to attend TRC events.

¹ In 2022, The Homburg Theatre was renamed the Sobey Family Theatre in recognition of an outstanding gift of support.

Confederation Centre of the Arts was pleased to award the 2018 Symons Medal to internationally-acclaimed historian and author Professor Margaret MacMillan, on November 23, 2018

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Professor of history at the University of Oxford and former Provost of Trinity College at the University of Toronto, Dr. MacMillan is one of the world’s most distinguished specialists in modern international history. Her research focus is British imperial history, international history of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the causes of war, specifically World War One. She is known as a historian whose published work is engaging for both experts and general audiences. Her many publications include Paris, 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914, and History’s People: Personalities and the Past. Among her many awards and accolades, Dr. MacMillan is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and holds seven honourary degrees; she was the first woman to win the Samuel Johnson Prize (now The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction). Also known for her insightful contributions to public discourse, she is a sought-after commentator on pressing international issues of our time.

The BBC announced Professor MacMillan as the 2018 BBC Reith Lecturer, an internationally renowned series now celebrating its 70th year. She will deliver five lectures in June 2018 exploring the relationship between humanity and war in London, York, Beirut, Belfast and Toronto, which will then be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service.

Dr. MacMillan was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford.  She was a member of Ryerson University’s History Department for 25 years, Provost of Trinity College at the University of Toronto from 2002 to 2007, and Warden of St Antony’s College and Professor of International History at the University of Oxford from 2007 to 2017. She is an Emeritus Professor of International History at the University of Oxford, Professor of History at the University of Toronto, the Xerox Foundation Distinguished Scholar at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a Distinguished Fellow of the Munk School of Global Affairs.

Confederation Centre of the Arts was pleased to award the 2017 Symons Medal to the Right Honourable Justin P.J. Trudeau, the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada. The Symons Medal was presented to Trudeau at the Centre on November 23, 2017.

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On October 19, 2015,  Trudeau led his party to a majority government winning 184 seats, and ridings in every province and territory. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on November 4, 2015 and two years into his mandate, Trudeau led a government focused on creating new jobs, fostering strength out of Canada’s rich diversity, fighting climate change, and achieving reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. A proud feminist, Trudeau also appointed Canada’s first gender-balanced Cabinet in 2015.

The eldest of three boys,  Trudeau was born in 1971 in Ottawa and grew up with the profound influence of his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and his mother, Margaret Trudeau. He was raised speaking both French and English and has family roots in both eastern and western Canada.

Trudeau graduated from McGill University in 1994 and completed the Education program at the University of British Columbia in 1998. As well as teaching for several years in Vancouver, Trudeau served as the National Chair of Katimavik, on the board for the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, and as an advocate for young people and the environment.

Renowned Acadian novelist, playwright, broadcaster, and scholar, Antonine Maillet, C.C. was awarded the 2016 Symons Medal, on November 4, 2016  in the Homburg Theatre¹ at Confederation Centre of the Arts.

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Born in 1929 in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Maillet is one of the most celebrated writers in Canadian literature. Her play La Sagouine (1971), which celebrates the rich, colourful, and distinctive culture of Canada’s Acadian people, has become a classic of French-language theatre in this country. Her 1979 novel Pélagie-la-Charette was the first work by a non-European to win the Prix Goncourt, France’s greatest literary prize. This story charts the triumphant return home of the Acadian people after the 1755 Expulsion, and made Maillet an overnight success in France, where it sold over a million copies.

Since the breakthroughs of La Sagouine and Pélagie-la-Charette, Maillet has been one of the most respected figures in French-language literature in Canada, publishing over 20 novels, numerous plays, and several translations (including French translations of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Bernard Shaw). Her remarkable body of writing, translated into numerous languages, is an immense contribution to literature in Canada and throughout the world, and makes her an unofficial but much-beloved, world-wide ambassador for the Acadian people.

In 1999, composer and lyricist Vincent de Tourdonnet brought Maillet’s Pélagie to Confederation Centre where the developing musical was workshopped. Pélagie-la-Charette became a successful musical produced in both French and English that toured several venues in Canada.

Maillet is a Companion of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the French Légion d’Honneur, a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres de France, a member of the Order of New Brunswick, and an Officer of the Order of Quebec. She has received over 20 literary awards and prizes, including the Governor General’s Award for Literature, and the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. In 1992, she was appointed a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. From 1989 to 2001 she served as Chancellor of the Université de Moncton.

Photo Cutline: A Companion of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the French Légion d’Honneur, Canadian writer, broadcaster, and scholar Antonine Maillet was the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Symons Medal (submitted image).

1. In 2022, the Homburg Theatre was renamed the Sobey Family Theatre in recognition of an outstanding gift of support.

On November 9, 2015, Confederation Centre of the Arts awarded the Symons Medal to Canadian actor, writer, director, and champion for the arts, Paul Gross.

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Gross is one of Canada’s most celebrated actors, known internationally for his role on the multi award-winning television drama due South. For this series, he was honoured with two Gemini Awards for Best Actor, and one for his writing on the final season. He also received two Gemini Awards for the critically acclaimed series Slings & Arrows and in 2008 released his own feature film, Passchendaele, a movie based on the famous Battle of Ypres in Belgium during the First World War. Gross wrote and directed the screenplay and starred as a character based on his own Grandfather. In addition to opening TIFF in 2008, Passchendaele was the highest grossing Canadian film of the year and won five Genie Awards, including Best Picture.

Gross’ many acting credits also include major roles at Stratford and on Broadway as well as starring in TV movies such as Murder Most Likely, Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Tales of the City, and Chasing Rainbows. Gross also performed in the Oscar-winning film Barney’s Version, as well as feature films Aspen Extreme, Cold Comfort, Paint Cans, and Whale Music. He was recently appointed to the Order of Canada, was selected for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and the Pierre Berton Award and was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Photo Cutline: Celebrated Canadian artist Paul Gross (submitted photo).

On May 20, 2014, Charles, Prince of Wales, visited Prince Edward Island as part of a four-day Royal Visit to Canada alongside his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. At Confederation Centre’s Memorial Hall, Charles, Prince of Wales was presented with an honorary Symons Medal from Professor Thomas H.B. Symons.

After thanking his hosts for the award, the Duke of Cornwall offered remarks, cautioning the assembled guests of the “huge challenges” facing the world, including the growing gap between rich and poor, the need to grow opportunities for women, climate change, the dangers of over-fishing and deforestation, and the need to support fledgling pro-democracy movements where they exist.

Confederation Centre of the Arts, awarded the prestigious Symons Medal to Canadian human rights activist, Stephen Lewis on November 21, 2014 in the Homburg Theatre¹.

Lewis’ life is one of exemplary service to Canadians whether in elected office or positions of leadership representing the nation or the United Nations. A member of the Order of Canada, Lewis is a Professor of Practice in Global Governance at the Institute for the Study of International Development at McGill University and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University. He is the board chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which is dedicated to turning the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and he is co-founder and co-director of AIDS-Free World, an international advocacy organization.

Lewis is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and Emeritus Board Member of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. He served as a Commissioner on the Global Commission on HIV and the Law; the Commission\’s landmark report was released in July 2012.

Lewis’ work with the United Nations spanned more than two decades. He was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa from June 2001 until 2006. From 1995-99, Lewis was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF at the organization’s global headquarters in New York.

Photo Credit: Farhang Ghajar, courtesy of CBC.

1. In 2022, the Homburg Theatre was renamed the Sobey Family Theatre in recognition of an outstanding gift of support.

Click here to watch the 2014 Lecture

Former Canadian Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Paul Martin, was selected to receive Confederation Centre of the Arts’ Symons Medal and give the 11th National Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation. Martin’s lecture, later published and distributed in Canada, was entitled Confederation Today and Aboriginal Canada and took place on Thursday, October 10, 2013.

A Companion of the Order of Canada, Martin was Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006 and Minister of Finance from 1993 to 2002.  Martin also chaired the British-Norwegian poverty alleviation and sustainable development fund for the Congo Basin Rainforest. He also sat on the Advisory Council of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa, sponsored by the African Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the African Development Bank.

Domestically, he leads the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, concentrating on improving the elementary and secondary school education of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. Before entering politics,  Martin had a distinguished career in the private sector as a business executive at Power Corporation of Canada and as Chairman and CEO of The CSL Group Inc.

“In its reports on Human Development, the United Nations consistently acknowledges Canada as a global leader,” offered Martin. “At the same time however, it notes the ongoing struggle of Aboriginal Canadians in their pursuit of achieving equity regarding economic, social, and cultural rights. It is time for Canada to give life to the constitutionally protected inherent right to self-government, ensuring Aboriginal Canada is given a seat at the national table.”

Photo Credit: Kent Kallberg photo.

Click here to watch the 2013 Symons Medal Lecture(requires download)

Award-winning Canadian broadcaster, environmentalist, author and icon, Dr. David Suzuki, was chosen to receive the 2012 Symons Medal and give the 10th National Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation. Dr. Suzuki’s lecture was entitled Humankind as a Geological Force and took place on Friday, November 16, 2012 in Confederation Centre of the Arts Homburg Theatre¹.

Dr. Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is renowned for his more than 30 years of work in broadcasting and is recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology. He is Companion to the Order of Canada and a recipient of UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for science, the United Nations Environment Program medal, the 2009 Right Livelihood Award, and numerous other awards and accolades.

Dr. Suzuki is very familiar to audiences as host of the long-running CBC TV program The Nature of Things, and as the original host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks, as well as the acclaimed series It’s a Matter of Survival and From Naked Ape to Superspecies. Dr. Suzuki’s written work also includes more than 52 books, 19 of them for children.

“It is a true honour to have Dr. Suzuki present the 10th annual Symons Lecture and share with us his experience and wisdom on the topics of human development and sustainability,” says  H. Wayne Hambly, Chairman of the Fathers of Confederation Buildings Trust. “He is an internationally celebrated Canadian and his insights will be of great interest to our lecture audience.”

Photo Credit: Kent Kallberg photo.

 1. In 2022, the Homburg Theatre was renamed the Sobey Family Theatre in recognition of an outstanding gift of support.

Canada’s Chief Statistician Emeritus, Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi, was awarded the 2011 Symons Medal and gave the 9th national Symons Lecture entitled: Statistics, public confidence and lessons from the 2011 Canadian Census.

Dr. Fellegi was Chief Statistician of Canada from 1985 to 2008, capping a 51-year career with Statistics Canada, widely regarded as one of the best statistical agencies in the world. Prime Minister Harper appointed him Chief Statistician Emeritus in 2008.

Dr. Fellegi was chair of the Conference of European Statisticians of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe from 1993 to 1997. He is Past President of the International Statistical Institute, the International Association of Survey Statisticians, and the Statistical Society of Canada; and past chair of the Board of Governors, Carleton University (1995-97).

Dr. Fellegi’s many awards and accolades include: Officer, Order of Canada; recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada; the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic; the Career Achievement Award of the Canadian Policy Research Initiative; La Médaille de la ville de Paris; Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Gold Medal from the Statistical Society of Canada, and the Robert Schuman medal of the European Community.

He has published extensively on statistical methods, on the social and economic applications of statistics and on the successful management of statistical agencies.

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, was awarded the 2010  Symons Medal and gave the 8th National Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation. The lecture took place on Monday, November 8, 2010 in the Centre’s Homburg Theatre¹.

He was joined by the Premier of Prince Edward Island, the Honourable Robert Ghiz, and George Kitching, co-chair of the Symons Medal and Lecture.

“We are honoured to have His Excellency deliver the 2010 Symons Lecture during his first official visit to our province. Confederation Centre of the Arts is a national historic site, and Canada’s only memorial to the Fathers of Confederation. Hosting the Governor General at this time is most appropriate,” said Mr. H. Wayne Hambly, Chairman of the Fathers of Confederation Buildings Trust.

1. In 2022, the Homburg Theatre was renamed the Sobey Family Theatre in recognition of an outstanding gift of support.

Click here to watch the 2010 Lecture (Requires download)

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Mary Simon, O.C., O.Q., LL.D., President of the national Inuit organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, was chosen to receive the Confederation Centre of the Arts’ Symons Medal and give the 7th national Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation. The lecture took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, in the Centre’s Homburg Theatre¹.

Simon has devoted her life’s work to gaining further recognition of Aboriginal rights and to achieving social justice for Inuit and other Indigenous peoples nationally and internationally. Her leadership was key in securing international cooperation in forming the Arctic Council made up of eight Arctic nations and in creating the University of the Arctic. She has received many honours for her leadership in developing strategies for Aboriginal and Northern affairs and was a founding Chairperson of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation, among many other achievements.

1. In 2022, the Homburg Theatre was renamed the Sobey Family Theatre in recognition of an outstanding gift of support.

The sixth annual Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation took place at the Confederation Centre of the Arts on October 21, 2008. The 2008 Symons Medal was presented to The Right Honourable Beverly McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada and to Ian E. Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada.

Chief Justice McLachlin was born in Pincher Creek, Alberta, and attended the University of Alberta at Edmonton. She articled in Edmonton and practiced law in Edmonton, Fort St. John and Vancouver from 1968 to 1971. She taught at the Faculty of Law of the University of British Columbia from 1975 to 1981. In 1981 Chief Justice McLachlin was appointed to the County Court of Vancouver and elevated to the Supreme Court of British Columbia later that year and to the Court of Appeal of British Columbia in 1986. In 1988 she became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, where she served until her appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1989. On January 7, 2000, she became Chief Justice of Canada. Chief Justice McLachlin has authored numerous publications.

Ian Wilson served as National Archivist of Canada, 1999 to 2004, and then as head of the newly amalgamated Library and Archives Canada. He retired in 2009 and received the unusual honour of being named Librarian and Archivist of Canada Emeritus.

Wilson began his career as an archivist at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. His MA thesis was an analytical study of Canadian cultural policy as exemplified through the history of the national archives of Canada. He has served as University Archivist of Queen’s University (1970-76), Provincial Archivist of Saskatchewan (1976-86) and Provincial Archivist of Ontario (1986-99), with responsibility for the Ontario public library system for four years. In 1999 he was appointed as the 7th National Archivist of Canada. With the then National Librarian, Roch Carrier, he planned and led the amalgamation of the two institutions as Library and Archives Canada.

Wilson’s career spans many areas, including archival and information management, university teaching and government service. He has worked diligently to make archives accessible and interesting to a wide range of audiences. While helping to safeguard the integrity of archival records and library services, he has encouraged public involvement and outreach. He has published extensively on history, archives, heritage, and information management and has lectured nationally and internationally.

Newfoundland & Labrador’s political heavy hitter the Honourable John Crosbie responded to Alberta’s political icon the Honourable Peter Lougheed at the 2007 Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation. The two engaged in a lively and interactive discussion that varied from the format of previous events in the lecture series.

Speaking from his home in Calgary, Lougheed recorded an abbreviated version of his presentation on video to initiate the discussion. Crosbie then took up the challenge from Lougheed and presented his response on the state of the nation.

Sitting Premier Robert Ghiz introduced the discourse and set the stage. “The objective of the Symons Lecture is to encourage Canadians to think and talk about their country, and here we have two eminent Canadian political legends doing just that,” offered H. Wayne Hambly, Chair of the Fathers of Confederation Building Trust. “Crosbie is always ready for discussion and debate, and along with the opening comments of Premier Ghiz, we anticipate a dynamic afternoon from these three distinguished speakers.”

The 2006 Symons Medal was awarded to Mark Starowicz. He presented his Symons lecture, called “Whose Story? Storytelling as Nationbuilding,” in Homburg Theatre¹ at Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Under Starowicz’s leadership, the CBC documentary production unit produced influential current affairs programs and documentaries, including Hockey: A People’s History, a series about hockey in Canada now being broadcast on CBC-TV, and Canada: A People’s History, which first aired on CBC-TV from October 2000 to November 2001.

For his contribution to the performing arts in Canada, Starowicz received a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award during the 2006 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards on November 3. Spanning radio and television, Starowicz’s career includes the CBC Radio programs As It Happens and Sunday Morning, and CBC TV’s The Journal. He was also head of CBC TV’s documentary programming unit responsible for the prime-time series Witness, which won a Gemini Award for Best Documentary Series, and Life & Times. His six-hour history of television news, The Dawn of the Eye (1996), co-produced with the BBC, the American History Channel and A&E, was lauded by critics worldwide and is used in many journalism schools.

In print media, Starowicz was co-editor of the journalistic magazine The Last Post, and a reporter for The Montreal Gazette and The Toronto Star. He has published articles in The New York Times Magazine, The Globe and Mail, and TIME, and he lectures and writes internationally on television and public policy.

1. In 2022, the Homburg Theatre was renamed the Sobey Family Theatre in recognition of an outstanding gift of support.

WATCH THE 2005 SYMONS MEDAL PRESENTATION AND LECTURE    

ENGLISH – Video

Confederation Centre of the Arts was pleased to award the second annual Symons Medal to Hon. Roy McMurtry, Chief Justice of Ontario.

The Symons Medal is one of Canada’s most prestigious honours and recognizes a distinguished individual who has made an exceptional contribution to Canadian life.

McMurtry was called to the bar in 1958 and practiced law as a trial counsel for 17 years before being elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1975. Upon election, he was immediately appointed to the cabinet of Premier William G. Davis as the Attorney General for Ontario and served in that position until 1985. He was deeply involved in the patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. During that period, he also served four years as the Solicitor General for Ontario.

In 1985, he was appointed Canada’s High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Great Britain, a post he held until late 1988. In 1991, he was appointed Associate Chief Justice of the Superior Court and then Chief Justice of that Court in 1994. In February 1996, he was appointed Chief Justice of Ontario, a position in which he served until May 30, 2007.

He also served as Chancellor of York University from 2008 to 2014.

WATCH THE 2004 SYMONS MEDAL PRESENTATION AND LECTURE    

ENGLISH – Video

Confederation Centre of the Arts was pleased to award the inaugural Symons Medal to The Honourable Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec.The Symons Medal is one of Canada’s most prestigious honours and recognizes a distinguished individual who has made an exceptional contribution to Canadian life.

With a public service career spanning almost 30 years, Jean Charest is one of Canada’s best known political figures. Charest was first elected to the House of Commons in 1984 and, at age 28, became Canada’s youngest cabinet minister as Minister of State for Youth.

In 1991, he was named Minister of the Environment and, a year later, he led Canada’s delegation at the 1992 Earth Summit on the economy and the environment in Rio. At the summit he was praised for his leadership role among G7 countries on climate change and biodiversity.

In 1993,  Charest was named Minister of Industry and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada.

In 1994, Jean Charest was chosen Leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party, becoming the party’s first French Canadian leader. He held that post until 1998 when he became the Leader of the Québec Liberal Party. Charest then broke a 50-year provincial record by winning three consecutive election campaigns in 2003, 2007 and 2008.