Awards
Honouring contributions to the preservation and promotion of Ontario’s heritage
Introduction
In 1967, The Ontario Historical Society established an awards program to honour individuals and organizations who have contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of Ontario’s heritage. The OHS Awards program is intended both to acknowledge the work of outstanding individuals and organizations, and to raise public awareness of Ontario’s history and the people who work to preserve and interpret it.
All interested organizations or individuals are invited to participate in the Awards program by submitting a nomination.
This year, the OHS is launching an updated list of OHS Awards categories. Please read the descriptions and eligibility parameters for more information.
Nominations for the 2024-25 OHS Awards are now open.
The deadline to submit a nomination is August 1, 2025.
Categories
AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
OHS President’s Award ($500 Prize)
- Recognizing an outstanding contribution to the preservation or promotion of Ontario’s history.
- Highlighting excellence in one or more of the Ontario Historical Society’s core programs and objectives, including cemetery preservation, Truth and Reconciliation, conservation, and any grassroots heritage preservation initiatives.
- Eligible nominees: individuals, not-for-profit institutions and organizations, and for-profit entities or municipalities/townships that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to conservation and/or community service.
Criteria that will be considered:
- Innovation: Was a high level of innovative thinking and/or design involved in the achievement?
- Commitment: Were there challenges? How were they overcome? Did it require exceptional and sustained commitment?
- Volunteerism: To what extent was this project delivered by volunteers? Special consideration will be given to nominations made possible by volunteer contributions.
- Engagement: How many people were reached? What has the response been? Were partner organizations/individuals involved?
- Leadership: Has the nominated project inspired others? Did the nominee(s) fulfill an important objective on behalf of the people in their community?
- Testimonials: Letters of support from at least three individuals or organizations should be included with each nomination.
- Contribution: Nominations will also be evaluated based on the significance of contributions made. Significant contributions might include: revision of the historical discourse; engaging young people with history; preservation of a significant historical artefact, collection, or site; engaging equity-deserving communities; contributing to Truth and Reconciliation; or bringing greater provincial/national awareness to a local history story.
How to Nominate:
- Each nomination must be submitted via the submission form on the OHS website (below), including contact information for both the nominee and the nominator.
- The nomination must be accompanied by the supporting material being provided—i.e. letters of support, media coverage, background information, photos, etc.
Go to Nomination Form →
Dorothy Duncan Award for Leadership in Heritage ($250 Prize)
- Presented to an individual or organization that has shown exceptional leadership in public history education or programming in Ontario.
- Eligible nominees include (but not limited to) historical societies, history teachers/professors, community museums, heritage professionals, and volunteers.
Criteria that will be considered:
- Innovation: Has the nominated individual or organization demonstrated creativity in their approach to heritage conservation, programming, or education?
- Commitment: What sort of exceptional projects have they undertaken and completed? How have they gone above and beyond what was expected? Over what period of time have they served the sector and/or their local community?
- Volunteerism: If an individual is nominated, what elements of their contributions were made as s volunteer (i.e. outside the expectations of their compensated roles)?
- Engagement: How has the individual or organization collaborated with the community? To what extent have multiple voices or communities of different backgrounds been engaged? Does the group or individual strive to engage young people with history?
- Leadership: Has the nominee inspired other groups or individuals in their profession? Have they demonstrated boldness and initiative in delivering results? Have their achievements created new opportunities for others in their field?
- Testimonials: Letters of support from at least two individuals or organizations should be included with each nomination.
How to Nominate:
- Each nomination must be submitted via the submission form on the OHS website (below), including contact information for both the nominee and the nominator.
- The nomination must be accompanied by the supporting material being provided—i.e. letters of support, media coverage, background information, photos, etc.
Go to Nomination Form →
Russell K. Cooper Historical Programming Award ($250)
- Recognizing an outstanding programming initiative that has brought greater public awareness to an aspect of Ontario’s history in the past three years.
- Eligible projects include (but not limited to): museum exhibits, speakers’ series, websites, camps, conferences, seminars, workshops, walking tours, podcasts, film and video series, and plaque programs.
- Eligible nominees: individuals and not-for-profit corporations.
Criteria that will be considered:
- Innovation: Does the nominated project demonstrate a high level of innovative thinking and design?
- Commitment: Were there challenges? How were they overcome? Did it require exceptional and sustained commitment?
- Engagement: How many people were reached? What has the response been? Were partner organizations/individuals involved?
- Volunteerism: To what extent was this project delivered by volunteers? Special consideration will be given to nominations made possible by volunteer contributions.
- Leadership: Has the nominee inspired others through this project? Did they demonstrate boldness and initiative in ensuring this project reached its goals?
- Testimonials: Letters of support from at least two individuals or organizations should be included with each nomination.
- Contribution: Nominations will also be evaluated based on the significance of contributions made. Significant contributions might include: revision of the historical discourse, engaging young people with history, engaging equity-deserving communities, or a program that has brought greater provincial or national awareness to a local history story.
How to Nominate:
- Each nomination must be submitted via the submission form on the OHS website (below), including contact information for both the nominee and the nominator.
- The nomination must be accompanied by the supporting material being provided—i.e. letters of support, media coverage, background information, photos, etc.
Go to Nomination Form →
AWARDS FOR AUTHORS
Best Local History Book Award ($250 Prize)
- Recognizing an outstanding book on local history in Ontario.
- Must be published in the last three years.
- Special consideration will be given to projects that have demonstrated an outstanding degree of community collaboration in researching, writing, and funding the publication of their local history.
- Eligible nominees: individuals and not-for-profit corporations. Nominee or nominator must be an OHS member (join here).
Criteria that will be considered:
- Central focus must be on local historical non-fiction in Ontario
- Not published by an academic institution/press
- Enriches the local community’s connection to its history
- Incorporates diverse historical perspectives
- Depth and originality of research
- Overall quality of presentation (e.g. appearance, images, appendices, editing)
- Community collaboration involved in the process (if applicable)
How to Nominate:
- Each nomination must be submitted via the submission form on the OHS website (below), including contact information for both the author and the nominator.
- To relieve not-for-profits and independent publishers of the costs associated with submitting hard copies, a digital copy of the book can be sent to awards@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca with clear indication of to which nomination the materials should be attached.
- A maximum of one 8.5”x11” page of information about the book will be reviewed by the judges. Nominators can include information about how the research was conducted, community partners that were involved, the fundraising required for the production, the community impact of the book, etc.
Go to Nomination Form →
Best Scholarly Book Award ($250 Prize)
- Recognizing an outstanding scholarly book on the history of Ontario.
- Must be published in the last three years.
- Authors may be individual or a collective, and works may be specialized studies or edited collections.
- Consideration will be given to books that focus on any aspect of Ontario’s history, especially those that bring awareness to diverse perspectives and understandings, including Indigenous, gender, disability, and the environment.
Criteria that will be considered:
- Central focus must be on historical non-fiction in Ontario
- Published by a scholarly press (i.e. peer-reviewed; citations; bibliography; index)
- Breadth, depth and originality of research and scope
- Quality and clarity of writing
- Clarity and coherence of argument
- Convincing and compelling argument
- Logically organized
- Sophisticated level of analysis
- Broader relevance
- Overall quality of presentation (e.g. appearance, images, appendices, editing)
How to Nominate:
- Each nomination must be submitted via the submission form on the OHS website (below), including contact information for both the author and the nominator. No supporting documents will be reviewed by the judges for this category.
- Three hard copies of the book must be mailed to the OHS:
OHS Awards Committee
Ontario Historical Society
34 Parkview Avenue
Willowdale, Ontario M2N 3Y2
Go to Nomination Form →
Best Article or Paper Award ($250 Prize)
- Recognizing an outstanding article, cognate paper, or thesis (graduate or undergraduate) on the history of Ontario.
- Must be published/completed in the last three years.
- Special consideration will be given to works by early career researchers/historians (in the first ten years of their career in history).
Criteria that will be considered:
- Central focus must be on historical non-fiction in Ontario
- Depth and originality of research and scope
- Quality and clarity of writing
- Clarity and coherence of argument
- Convincing and compelling argument
- Logically organized
- Sophisticated level of analysis
- Employing new perspectives and research methods
- Contributes to a greater awareness and understanding of Ontario’s diverse history
How to Nominate:
- Each nomination must be submitted via the submission form on the OHS website (below), including contact information for both the author and the nominator. No supporting documents will be reviewed by the judges for this category.
- A digital copy of the article must be submitted via the online submission form.
Go to Nomination Form →
Bursaries for Early Career Historians
Alison Prentice Award for Canadian Women’s History ($1,000 Prize)
- Presented to a student or early career historian for an outstanding project bringing greater awareness to women’s history in Ontario (published/presented in the past three years).
Criteria that will be considered:
- Contributes to a greater awareness and understanding of women’s history in Ontario
- Depth and originality of research and scope
- Quality and clarity of writing/production
- Logically organized and presented
- Sophisticated level of analysis
- Employing new perspectives, research methods, or mediums of storytelling
- Reach and impact of the project
Eligible projects include: scholarly books, research papers/theses, conference papers, seminars, workshops, exhibitions, podcasts, film/video projects, oral history projects, and more.
Eligibility: Nominees should be students or professionals in the first ten years of their career in history (post-graduation or otherwise)
How to Nominate:
- Each nomination must be submitted via the submission form on the OHS website (below), including contact information for both the nominee and the nominator.
- A short letter about the nominee and the nominated project or publication may be included (500-word maximum). Self-nominations are accepted and encouraged.
- Any relevant information about the project/publication will be considered by the committee—e.g. Testimonial letters, media coverage, reviews, photos, etc. This information must be submitted via the online submission form.
Go to Nomination Form →
Nomination Notes
Self-nominations are acceptable.
Books are only eligible for one book award category.
Please feel free to e-mail the OHS with any questions or concerns about nominating at awards@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca.
All nominations are assessed by The Society’s Awards Committee and the respective judging committees.
The Ontario Historical Society Awards program is made possible by:
Alison Prentice Award Fund
Bill Todd Memorial Fund
Dorothy Duncan Award Fund
Huguenot Society of Canada Fund
Ruth Home Memorial Fund
Nomination Form
Note: This online submission form will email a copy to you (the nominator) only, not to the person or organization nominated. If you do not see the email, please check your spam folder.
Any materials that are too large to upload with the nomination (greater than 20 MB) must be sent via email or file transfer to awards@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca with clear indication of to which nomination the materials should be attached.