André M. Levesque
André M. Levesque is a historian, geographer, former public servant and retired Canadian military officer. He is currently the Delegate General of Le Souvenir français au Canada. He was Chancellor of the Priory of Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and also holds honorary and committee roles for a number of other organizations including Amicitia France-Canada, and Société nationale d'Entraide de la Médaille militaire.
Levesque is known for pioneering the field of memorialogy, the study of memorials and commemorative practices. He was responsible for the repatriation of Canada's Unknown Soldier from Vimy to Ottawa, along with other commemorative projects like the creation of the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.
Biography
Early life and education
Levesque was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. His early studies were in urban and economic geography, and he completed a bachelor's degree and master's degree at Carleton University in Ottawa. He later obtained a PhD in history at University College Cork, National University of Ireland in 2013. His PhD thesis, entitled "Redefining military memorials and commemoration and how they have changed since the 19th century with a focus on Anglo-American practice", has been downloaded over 44,500 times as of January 2025.Military career
Levesque was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces Army Reserves for 35 years, from 1974 until 2008. He initially served with the Governor General’s Foot Guards, before transferring to the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. He retired from the Public Affairs Branch in 2008 at the rank of lieutenant-colonel. During his service, Levesque met with veterans from conflicts such as World War II and the Korean War, which inspired him to become involved in the preservation of veterans' histories.While working with the Department of National Defence's Directorate of History and Heritage, he was the project lead responsible for planning and implementing Operation MEMORIA. The operation involved Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces joint national efforts to repatriate Canada's Unknown Soldier from Vimy, France to Ottawa, Ontario, in May 2000, along with the organization of national commemorative ceremonies at both cities.
He was the project manager responsible for creating Canada’s National Military Cemetery located at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, which was dedicated on June 28, 2001, by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. He volunteered as the cemetery's chief historian from December 2016 until September 2025.
Levesque led a partnership between the Organization of Military Museums of Canada, Department of National Defence, Veterans Affairs Canada, as well as schools, youth, and veterans organizations to compile a detailed list of military monuments and plaques across Canada. After three years of research, this volunteer group created a National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials website that was launched on April 2, 2001. The website, originally located with OMMC, was later transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Renamed the Canadian Military Memorials Database and currently called "Memorials," it has more than 9,800 memorials listed in Canada and other countries.
In 2001, at the request of Chief of the Defence Staff General Maurice Baril, Levesque re-established the Canadian Forces Artists Program and served as project manager. The re-established program included an advisory committee that included representation from various organizations such as the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Gallery of Canada, Library and Archives Canada, and the Canadian War Museum. Levesque created a pilot project that sent artists to military facilities and training areas throughout Canada and overseas to countries such as Afghanistan. The project was unveiled on D-Day, June 6, 2001. As of 2020, eight groups of artists had held an exhibition at the Canadian War Museum, with some of the best works being selected to be part of the museum's permanent collection.
Civilian career
In his civilian career, he worked in urban planning and economic development with the City of Ottawa from 1986 to 1998. In 2001, he joined the Public Service of Canada to become a Senior Communications Advisor managing the Canadian Forces Parliamentary Program within the Department of National Defence. In 2002, he became Chief of Canadian Forces Honours and Awards, and four years later, he was appointed as the Canadian Armed Forces' first Director of Honours and Recognition. He led the most significant overhaul of the military honours system since the Second World War, developing policies that changed the way members of the defence forces were recognized while serving in overseas operations. He oversaw the awarding of over 200,000 medals, and created 15 military operational medals, ribbons and bars, including the Bomber Command Bar to the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, the Sacrifice Medal, the South-West Asia Service Medal, the General Campaign Star, the Operational Service Medal, and the General Service Medal, which extended its eligibility to civilians in the Whole of Government effort during the Afghanistan War.Levesque served on many policy and advisory committees, such as the Government Honours Policy Sub-Committee, the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee, the National Diamond Jubilee Advisory Committee, and Secretary of the Advisory Committee and Advisory Council for the Order of Military Merit from 2002 to 2013. He was also chair of the Victoria Cross Production Planning Group which was responsible for manufacturing Canada’s highest decoration for military gallantry in the Canadian Honours System, and ensured the new Victoria Cross contains a piece of the original Victoria Cross gunmetal from England.
Levesque also modernized the regulations of the Memorial Cross, commonly known as the "Silver Cross", which had previously been unchanged since its creation in 1919. With the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and the death of Captain Nichola Goddard in 2006, the regulations required substantive amendments that would reflect the fabric of modern families. Levesque proposed and received government approvals to increase the number of crosses from two to three and to allow members to designate recipients, instead of determining recipients based on consanguinity. Canada's Memorial Cross served as the model for the creation of the British Elizabeth Cross in 2009.
2013-present
From 2013 to 2016, Levesque was Director General of Commemoration at Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. As Director General, he organized national and international programs and events marking the 100th anniversary of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War.As part of an initiative undertaken by French President François Hollande to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, Levesque successfully led a joint effort with the Government of France to identify, award and present the Legion of Honour to all living Commonwealth and Allied forces veterans who took active part in the liberation of France during the Second World War. As a result, approximately 7,300 Commonwealth veterans were recognized with this honour, including 5,500 from Britain, 1,400 from Canada, 338 from Australia, and 38 from New Zealand.
In 2016, he returned to Ottawa to work as a visiting scholar at the Royal Military College of Canada and retired from public service in 2019. On May 21, 2020, Levesque was appointed as a member and designated as chair of the Ontario Honours Advisory Council by the Government of Ontario.
In August 2014, he founded the International Society for Commemoration, Memorials, and other Monuments, a non-profit learning organization composed of academics, professionals, students, and others. In Levesque’s doctoral thesis, he established "memorialogy" as a new interdisciplinary field of study that combines the study of memorials and associated commemorative practices. He has written about the history of war memorials in Canada for publications such as the National Wall of Remembrance Association magazine. He was inducted into the Order of Ontario in 2020 for his work as a "pioneer of memorialogy". In April 2024, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal acknowledged Levesque's contributions in this area during his speech at a ceremony honoring veterans of Canada and France, which had both Attal and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in attendance.
In June 2020, Levesque was elected as Deputy Chancellor of St. John Ambulance in Canada and of the Priory of Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. He was appointed as the Order's Chancellor for the Priory of Canada by its Grand Prior, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and invested by its Prior, Governor General Mary Simon on June 24, 2022 at the Chamber of the Senate of Canada. During his military service, Levesque had served as an instructor with the organization's training programs. On December 14, 2023, on the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of the Battle of Hong Kong, Senator Yonah Martin officially introduced Levesque in the Gallery at the Senate of Canada, as Chancellor of the Order of St. John in Canada.
In 2024, Levesque was granted the Freedom of the City of London. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Royal Military College of Canada in 2024.
Volunteer work
Levesque has volunteered with a number of community, veterans, historical and charitable organizations and initiatives at the local, national, and international level.Levesque is founding president of the Monument Amicitia France-Canada association, a federal non-profit organization that commemorates the historical friendship between France and Canada. He is Delegate General of Souvenir français au Canada, and a founding member and current president of the Canadian delegation of the Société Nationale d'Entraide de la Médaille Militaire, with both organizations headquartered at Paris, France. Levesque is also an advisor with the Crown Society of Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Canada's constitutional monarchy. He is a volunteer historian with the Grays and Blues of Montreal, a historical association formed to preserve the memory of more than 40,000 Canadians who served during the American Civil War. He is an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion and was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association, 201 Confederation Wing in Charlottetown, PEI until the Wing was dissolved in 2025. He is vice-president of the Association des décorés de la Légion d'honneur.
Levesque also volunteered with the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, the Order of St. Lazarus, Grand Priory in Canada, Friends of the Canadian War Museum, Association des anciens combattants français résident en Ontario et au Manitoba, Florida National Cemetery, RED Brigade Volunteer Corps, the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre, Scouts Canada, Veterans Initiatives Network of Prince Edward Island, and Veterans Voices of Canada, Flags of Remembrance. He previously sat on the Committee of Experts on Commemorations for Canada's Capital with the National Capital Commission.
Levesque was a research fellow of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute.
Honours, arms and awards
Levesque has received the following orders and medals.Awards
- 1999: Certified Economic Developer – Fellowship, Economic Developers Association of Canada
- 2000: Head of the Public Service Award, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Project
- 2000: Canadian Armed Forces, Assistant Deputy Minister Commendation
- 2001: Canadian Armed Forces, Assistant Deputy Minister Commendation
- 2003: Canadian Armed Forces, Assistant Deputy Minister Commendation
- 2003: Certified Human Resources Professional, Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations
- 2005: French Senate Medal of Honour
- 2008: Department of National Defence, Deputy Minister’s Commendation
- 2008: Governor General’s certificate of appreciation for “the historic production of Canada’s highest honour, the Victoria Cross”
- 2008: Mayor’s proclamation, André M. Levesque Day in the City of Ottawa
- 2010: Canadian Armed Forces, Commander Land Force Command Commendation
- 2010: The Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service
- 2014: Order of St. John, Priory of Canada, Chair’s Commendation
- 2014: Medallion, Order of Military Merit Advisory Committee
- 2014: Medallion, The Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee
- 2015: Life Member, Organization of Military Museums of Canada
- 2015: Fellow Royal Society of Arts
- 2017: Medal of Honour, Société Nationale d'Entraide de la Médaille Militaire
- 2023: Order of Ottawa
- 2024: Freedom of the City of London
| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
| King Charles III Coronation Medal | 2024 – Canadian version of this medal | |
| Commander's Cross with Swords pro Merito Melitensi | 2024 | |
| Order of Ontario | 2020 | |
| Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour | 2017 | |
| The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem | Knight of Justice 2014 Commander 2011 Member 2000 | |
| Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal | 2012 – Canadian version of this medal | |
| Knight of the National Order of Merit (France) | 2012 | |
| Service Medal of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem | 2006, and bars, 2011, 2016, 2019 | |
| Officer of the Order of Military Merit | 2006 | |
| Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters | 2006 | |
| Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | 2002 – Canadian version of this medal | |
| 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal | 1992 | |
| Canadian Forces' Decoration | 1986, and bars,1996, 2006 |