Skating champs Virtue, Moir, prof granted Order of Canada
Four Southwestern Ontarians named to list of 114 recipients of national honour
The University of Windsor is well represented in the latest round of honourees of the Order of Canada.
Former U of W student and figure skating star Tessa Virtue and U of W mechanical engineering professor Hoda Elmaraghy will both be granted the nation's highest honour, it was announced on Friday
Olympic superstars Virtue and Scott Moir are among four Southwestern Ontarians joining the who's-who list of Canadians.
Virtue and Moir, natives of London and Ilderton respectively, were named among Friday's 114 recipients alongside fellow Londoner Lara St. John, an acclaimed violinist, and Elmaraghy.
“Tessa and Scott are so very deserving of this honour. They are international ambassadors, known throughout the world as the best ice-dancing team in the history of the sport,” London Mayor Ed Holder said following the announcement Friday.
The pair formed their partnership as children at the Ilderton Skating Club and skated together for two decades. They would go on to become the first North American duo to win Olympic ice dance gold, in 2010 on home ice at Vancouver.
Virtue and Moir rose to international acclaim after clinching five Olympic medals in their career and went on to become Canada's most decorated figure skaters with their stunning performance at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. In 2019 they were named newsmakers of the year by The London Free Press and Western University awarded them honorary degrees.
Egyptian-canadian professor Elmaraghy is being recognized for her contributions to the field of mechanical engineering, “notably for her work in advancing manufacturing systems in Canada and abroad.”
She is the first woman to obtain a PHD in mechanical engineering.
St. John, a London-born violinist, began playing the violin at age two and has performed with acclaimed orchestras around the world. At 11 she travelled to Europe where she was inspired by the music of Eastern European Gypsies.
A child prodigy — St. John first performed at age of four — she's being honoured for “pushing the boundaries of classical interpretation as a solo violinist and for supporting diversity in the arts.”
The Order of Canada is one of this country's highest civilian honours and recognizes outstanding achievement within their fields. Appointments were made by the Gov. Gen. Julie Payette under recommendation made by an advisory council.
More than 7 000 Canadians from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order.
Others in the group include Indigenous writer Thomas King, winemaker John Peller, dancer and choreographer Elizabeth Langley, geriatrician Roger Wong, Cree elder Doreen Spence and ex-politicians Bill Graham and Allan Rock.