The Pearson Peace Medal
Every year, the United Nations Association in Canada honours a Canadian for his or her outstanding contributions to peace and prosperity around the world.
Pearson Peace Medal
The Pearson Peace Medal is awarded to a Canadian who has personally contributed, through their working lives and voluntary commitments,
to those causes to which Lester B. Pearson devoted his distinguished career: aid to the developing world, mediation between those confronting,
succour to refugees and others in need, equal rights and justice for all humanity, and peaceful change through
international law and global organizations.
A jury of eminent Canadians selects the Laureate.
The Medal is presented, often by the Governor-General of Canada, on or around
United Nations Day (October 24) or Human Rights Day (December 10).
Nominations for the 2020 UNA-Canada Pearson Peace Medal are now open!
Know a Canadian who you believe has contributed significantly to international peace through their work or other volunteer activities? Nominate them for the Pearson Peace Medal today!
2017 Pearson Peace Medal winner,
Lloyd Axworthy.
Canadians may nominate any individual who is a Canadian citizen and who they believe has contributed significantly to international peace through their work or other volunteer activities.
Nominations packages require the following components:
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A letter outlining the reasons for the nomination
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Two additional letters of support
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The nominee’s curriculum vitae
* Self-nominations not accepted
All nominations and attached information must be received by September 13, 2019 and should be sent to:
The Pearson Peace Medal Jury
United Nations Association in Canada
400-30 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa ON K2P 5L4
Or
The medal was first awarded in 1979 to Paul-Émile Cardinal Léger.
Cardinal Léger resigned in 1967 after years of service as Archbishop of Montréal to work with the poor and handicapped in West Africa.
He built a rehabilitation centre for handicapped children, a refuge for lepers, a clinic for the world poor, a housekeeping school for young women, a home for the elderly and a home for widows. In August of 1979, he returned home to aid in the resettlement of Asian refugees in this country.
The Honourable Flora MacDonald, 2000
Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, 2005
The Honourable Louise Arbour, 2016
Order the "Profile in Humanitarian Courage: Laureates of the Pearson Peace Medal" Book today!
Interested in learning more about history, humanitarian work and the Canadian heroes involved? Patricia Pearson has crafted a collection of warm, uplifting stories to honour our first thirty laureates. The
United Nations Association in Canada is proud to share these stories to acknowledge the great humanitarians who have made Canada and
the world better.
For a donation of $35.00 or more, you will receive this beautiful record of Canadian contributions to Lester B Pearson's lasting legacy.
