Honours & Awards

Honouring contribution 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. Over the years, new awards have been instituted; fourteen are now offered. The 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 recipients of awards receive recognition in subsequent publicity, and a framed certificate accompanied by a copy of the citation acknowledging their contribution to the heritage community. All interested organizations or individuals are invited to participate in the Awards program by submitting a nomination. Self nominations are acceptable, with some restrictions in the case of the Dorothy Duncan Award. Nominees may be volunteers, professionals, non-profit organizations, businesses or corporations as indicated in the award criteria. Books are only eligible for one book award category. All nominations are assessed by The Ontario Historical Society’s Honours and Awards Committee.

Current Recipients

2024 Honours and Awards Winners

2023-2024 Honours & Awards recipients at John McKenzie House on November 2, 2024 (L to R): Dr. Lianne C. Leddy, Reg Hunt (Thousand Islands River Heritage Society) (TIRHS), Alex McCubbin (The Friends of Hope Mill), Brian Phillips (TIRHS), Barbara Doyle (Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives), Bob Greenhorn (TIRHS), Grace Anyu Sun (Willow Theatre Project), Dr. Susana Miranda, Dr. Franca Iacovetta, Dr. Jon S. Dellandrea, and Hans Bathija (Co-Chair of OHS Honours & Awards Committee)

Awards for Authors

Joseph Brant Award: Dr. Franca Iacovetta, Before Official Multiculturalism: Women’s Pluralism in Toronto, 1950s-1970s

Fred Landon Award: Dr. Lianne C. Leddy, Serpent River Resurgence: Confronting Uranium Mining at Elliot Lake

Alison Prentice Award (co-recipient): Dr. Susana Miranda, Cleaning Up: Portuguese Women’s Fight for Labour Rights in Toronto

Alison Prentice Award (co-recipient): Dr. Franca Iacovetta, Cleaning Up: Portuguese Women’s Fight for Labour Rights in Toronto

J.J. Talman Award: Dr. Jon S. Dellandrea, The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case: The Group of Seven & Tom Thomson Forgeries

Donald Grant Creighton Award: Dr. Dustin Galer, Beryl: The Making of a Disability Activist

Awards for Outstanding Achievement

President’s Award: Thousand Islands River Heritage Society

Dorothy Duncan Public History Award: Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives

Dorothy Duncan Public History Award Honourable Mention: Willow Theatre Project, Youth Committee of the North York Historical Society

Heritage Conservation Award: The Friends of Hope Mill

Nominations for our 2023-2024 Honours and Awards Program have closed. Thank you for your submissions!
The deadline to submit a nomination for 2024-2025 will be announced in Autumn 2024.

Categories

Awards for Authors

Joseph Brant Award Honouring the best book on multicultural history in Ontario published in the past three years.

Fred Landon Award Honouring the best book on local or regional history in Ontario published in the past three years.

Alison Prentice Award Honouring the best book on women’s history in Ontario published in the past three years.

J.J. Talman Award Honouring the best book on Ontario’s social, economic, political or cultural history published in the past three years.

Riddell Award Honouring the best scholarly article on Ontario’s history published in the award year.

Donald Grant Creighton Award Honouring the best book of biography or autobiography highlighting life in Ontario, past or present, published in the last three years.

Huguenot Society of Canada Award Honouring the best book or substantial article published in Ontario in the past three years which has brought public awareness to the principles of freedom of conscience and freedom of thought.

Awards for Outstanding Achievement

President’s Award Recognizing an outstanding contribution to the preservation or promotion of Ontario’s history.

Carnochan Lifetime Achievement Award Recognizing a lifetime of achievement in heritage preservation and public history.

Russell K. Cooper Public Programming Award Recognizing a programming initiative that has brought greater public awareness to an aspect of Ontario’s history in the past three years.

Dorothy Duncan Public History Award Recognizing an outstanding public history project completed or presented in the award year.

Heritage Conservation Award Recognizing an exceptional contribution towards the conservation, preservation, or restoration of a built-heritage or natural-heritage site in Ontario.

Indigenous History Award Recognizing significant contributions towards the promotion or preservation of Indigenous history or heritage in Ontario.

Cemetery Preservation Award Awarded to an individual or a not-for-profit heritage organization for having demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the preservation and protection of cemeteries in Ontario.

Nomination Information

How to Nominate

Each nomination must be accompanied by the Nomination Form and Supporting Material. Please include information about achievements, contributions, or service to Ontario’s heritage by the individual or organization. Support material can include a biography, letters of support, press clippings/book reviews etc.

If you are submitting your nomination online, you can attach electronic copies of supporting materials to your nomination form; hard copies of supporting materials (ie: book copies) should be mailed to the Honours and Awards Committee (see address below), clearly labelled with the name of the nominee and your contact information:

Honours and Awards Committee
Ontario Historical Society
34 Parkview Avenue
Willowdale, Ontario  M2N 3Y2

Please feel free to e-mail the OHS with any questions or concerns about nominating at ddishaw@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca.

Nomination Notes

Nominees may be individuals (either volunteers or professional), non-profit organizations, businesses, or corporations.

Books are eligible for only one book award category; nominators must specify the category they wish to enter. Four copies of each book must be submitted with the nomination.

Nominations are assessed by The Society’s Honours and Awards Committee and members of the Society’s Board of Directors.

Download the 2023 Honours and Awards Nomination Brochure.