Randy Lennox, Fabienne Colas and Ryan Reynolds are among the 2024 appointees to the Order of Canada.

The Order of Canada, considered one of the country’s highest honours, recognizes people across all sectors of society that have made contributions to the country. Nominations for the Order of Canada are reviewed by the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada who send their recommendations to the governor general.

There are three levels for the Order of Canada: Member, recognizing service in or to a particular community, group or field; Officer, recognizing achievement and merit of a high degree, especially to Canada or humanity at large; and the highest level companion, recognizing outstanding achievement and merit of the highest degree. Officers and members can be elevated to higher levels for continued exceptional or extraordinary service.

Canadian media executive, former president of Bell Media and co-founder and CEO of Loft Entertainment Lennox was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for his elevation of Canadian cultural identity.

Lennox joined Bell Media in 2015 as president of content and broadcasting before being upped to president in 2017. Prior to joining Bell Media, Lennox served as the president and CEO of Universal Music Canada from 1998 to 2015.

Reynolds, a Canadian actor and philanthropist, was also named an officer for both his work on and off-screen. Born in Vancouver, he has been acting since the early 90s and has starred in films such as the Golden Globe-nominated Deadpool & Wolverine. Outside of acting, Reynolds has supported Canadian organizations such as the SickKids Foundation and the Terry Fox Foundation. In 2023 Reynolds was granted the Humanitarian Award by the Canadian Academy for his charitable donations.

Other officer appointees include British-Canadian author Maureen Jennings, writer of the Murdoch Mysteries book series of which the Shaftesbury-produced CBC series of the same name is based on.

Colas was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada. The Haitian-Canadian actor, director and  festival director founded the Fabienne Colas Foundation in 2005, a non-profit dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the arts across Canada and globally. In 2022, Colas was among the Black Academy’s inaugural Legacy Award recipients for her work in showcasing Black Canadian storytellers.

Canadian actor, singer and activist Chloé Sainte-Marie was also appointed as a member. Sainte-Marie, the partner, collaborator and caregiver for Quebec filmmaker Gilles Carle, created the Maison Gilles-Carle Foundation in 2008 to draw attention to the challenges faced by caregivers. Carle died in 2009 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Other Member appointees include Steve Murphy, former CTV Atlantic anchor; CBC radio producer and writer Karen Levine; and Scott Oake, addiction recovery advocate and commentator for CBC Sports, Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada.

Pictured (L-R): Randy Lennox, Fabienne Colas and Ryan Reynolds (photo by George Pimentel Photography)