Folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie has been stripped of her Order of Canada honour following allegations that she misrepresented her Indigenous heritage. However, Peter Dalglish, a former UN diplomat convicted of child sexual abuse, remains listed as an Officer of the Order.
Governor General Mary Simon officially revoked Sainte-Marie’s honour on Feb. 8, 2025, after a CBC investigation raised questions about her claimed Indigenous background. The findings led some critics to label her a “Pretendian” – a term used to describe someone falsely claiming Indigenous ancestry.
As of Feb. 11, 2025, Sainte-Marie is one of only nine individuals to have had their Order of Canada appointments revoked. Past removals include Alan Eagleson, David Ahenakew, and Conrad Black.
These removals are relatively rare, considering more than 7,600 individuals have been appointed to the Order since its establishment in 1967, with cases often involving criminal convictions or severe professional misconduct.
However, not all individuals with criminal records have been stripped of their honours. For instance, Peter Dalglish, a humanitarian and founder of Street Kids International, was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2016.
In 2018, Dalglish was arrested in Nepal and later convicted of sexually abusing minors. As of now, there is no public record indicating that his Order of Canada appointment has been revoked. Daglish’s family and lawyers have alleged the conviction was a miscarriage of justice. He is currently serving a nine-year sentence.
Paragraph 25(c) of the Constitution of the Order of Canada provides for the termination of a person’s appointment to the Order by an ordinance made by the Governor General.
According to the Order of Canada’s “Termination Policy,” the Advisory Council shall consider the termination of a person’s appointment to the Order of Canada if: a person has been convicted of a criminal offence, engaged in personal misconduct conduct, or took a “significant departure from generally-recognized standards of public behaviour.”
An online petition was started in Aug. 2020 to have Dalglish’s Order of Canada designation terminated and currently boasts over 2,000 signatures.