Figure Skater Kurt Browning and Indigenous Advocate Dominique Rankin Among 2019 Order of Canada Honourees

World figure skating champion Kurt Browning and Indigenous preservationist and advocate Dominique Rankin were among 29 Canadians invested into the Order of Canada at a ceremony in the Citadelle in Quebec on Thursday.

The new members list includes one Companion, seven Officers and 21 Members who are said to exemplify the order’s Latin motto, “desiderantes meliorem patriam,” meaning “they desire a better country.

According a press release from the Governor General of Canada Julie Payette, who invested the new members, “the order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.” The release adds that, “those who bear the Order’s iconic snowflake insignia have changed our nation’s measure of success and, through the sum of their accomplishments, have helped us build a better Canada.”

One of the most recognizable Canadians invested as a Member of the Order of Canada today was four-time world champion Kurt Browning, 53, who, in addition to his excellence on the ice, was recognized for his work as a role model for younger skaters and for embodying the ideals of Canadian amateur sport.

Dominique Rankin (or Grandfather T8aminik, as it’s spelled in Algonquin), known for his work as one of the last guardians of his ancestors’ nomadic way of life, was also invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. At the age of 7, Rankin was designated to take over from his father as hereditary chief, a role that required he become both a spiritual leader and medicine man.

Despite having experienced the horrors of the residential school system for six years, Rankin strongly advocates for peace as a path to forgiveness and reconciliation between indigenous communities and the Canadian government.

“As a speaker and educator, he has dedicated his life to bringing people together by overcoming barriers linked to origins, languages or belief systems,” a press release from the Governor General of Canada says of Rankin.

Click here for a full list of recipients from the ceremony on Thursday.