Governor General's Performing Arts Award


The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards are an annual Canadian award, presented to honour distinguished achievements in Canadian performing arts and culture. Administered by the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation in association with the National Arts Centre, they present lifetime achievement awards for work in all performing arts domains, including theatre, dance, film, television and radio broadcasting and both popular and classical music; the awards are, however, not necessarily presented exclusively to performers, and may also honour people who have had distinguished careers in the business side of cultural industries, such as film, television and theatre directors and producers.
The awards were created in 1992 under the patronage of then Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn and his wife Gerda Hnatyshyn.
From 1992 to 2014, they typically honoured six figures per year; since 2015 they have honoured five. In addition to the lifetime awards, they also present the National Arts Centre Award to honour a figure who has had significant career achievements within the past year but is not yet considered to be at the "lifetime achievement" stage of their career, and the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts to honour people who have been active in voluntary service to the arts.
Recipients of the lifetime achievement and NAC awards receive $25,000 and a commemorative medallion; recipients of the RJH award receive a medallion, but are not given money. The awards are presented at a live gala at the National Arts Centre, and are typically recorded for broadcast by CBC Television at a later date.
Once inducted into one of the main "lifetime achievement" categories, a recipient is not honoured again in future years; however, a recipient of the NAC or RJH awards may be later named as a lifetime achievement recipient.
In 2025, the program also introduced a program which will see an emerging talent receive a year-long mentorship by a past award recipient.

Controversies

In 1994, Paul Gessell of the Ottawa Citizen criticized the foundation for honouring Neil Young, on the grounds that he had lived in the United States for many years and had, according to Gessell, "turned his back" on Canada, and Gilles Vigneault due to his support of the Quebec sovereignty movement. He further predicted, correctly, that Joni Mitchell would be an honoree in the near future, but opined that she was an inappropriate choice for the same reason as Young. In 2001 he criticized the awards for paying lip service to diversity in Canadian arts despite the fact that only two people of colour, pianists Oscar Peterson and Jon Kimura Parker, had ever been named as honorees as of that time.
One named honoree in 2005, singer-songwriter and poet Raymond Lévesque, declined the honour due to his support of the Quebec sovereignty movement. The awards proceeded that year with five lifetime honorees instead of six.
In 2018, Governor General Julie Payette faced controversy when she announced that she would not be presiding over the ceremony, the first time in the history of the awards that the sitting governor general did not attend. Payette offered little clarification of her reasons for not attending, but had faced some criticism since the beginning of her term around her apparently limited workload.
One past recipient, singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, has had her honour rescinded.

Recipients

2000s

Due to a change in the award's scheduling from fall to spring, the awards were not presented in 2007.

2010s

Jazz singer Michael Bublé was named as the recipient of the National Arts Centre award in 2016; however, as he was unable to attend the gala due to vocal cord surgery, he received the award at the 2017 gala instead.
YearRecipientDisciplineRef
2010Bryan AdamsPopular music
2010Françoise FaucherTheatre
2010Walter HomburgerClassical music
2010Édouard LockDance
2010Robin PhillipsTheatre
2010Buffy Sainte-Marie Popular music
2010Mohammad Faris, Yulanda FarisHnatyshyn Award
2010Yannick Nézet-SéguinNational Arts Centre Award
2011Yvon DeschampsTheatre
2011Margie GillisDance
2011William ShatnerBroadcasting
2011Howard ShoreFilm
2011Leslee SilvermanTheatre
2011Paul ThompsonTheatre
2011Jean-André ÉlieHnatyshyn Award
2011Denis VilleneuveNational Arts Centre Award
2012Janina FialkowskaClassical music
2012Paul-André FortierDance
2012Denis MarleauTheatre
2012Deepa MehtaFilm
2012RushPopular music
2012Mary WalshBroadcasting
2012Earlaine CollinsHnatyshyn Award
2012Des McAnuffNational Arts Centre Award
2013Andrew DawesClassical music
2013Daniel LanoisPopular music
2013Jean Pierre LefebvreFilm
2013Viola LégerTheatre
2013Eric PetersonTheatre
2013Menaka ThakkarDance
2013Jean-Pierre DesrosiersHnatyshyn Award
2013Sarah PolleyNational Arts Centre Award
2014Anik BissonnetteDance
2014Blue RodeoPopular music
2014Brent CarverTheatre
2014Tom JacksonBroadcasting
2014Louise LecavalierDance
2014Janine SuttoTheatre
2014Jean GiguèreHnatyshyn Award
2014Albert SchultzNational Arts Centre Award
2015Walter BoudreauClassical music
2015Atom EgoyanFilm
2015Diana LeblancTheatre
2015Sarah McLachlanPopular music
2015R. H. ThomsonTheatre
2015Michael M. KoernerHnatyshyn Award
2015Jean-Marc ValléeNational Arts Centre Award
2016Susan AglukarkPopular music
2016Marie ChouinardDance
2016Ben HeppnerClassical music
2016Robert LantosFilm
2016Suzanne LebeauTheatre
2016John D. McKellarHnatyshyn Award
2016Michael Bublé National Arts Centre Award
2017Jean BeaudinFilm
2017Michael J. FoxBroadcasting
2017Brigitte HaentjensTheatre
2017Martin ShortBroadcasting
2017Yves Sioui DurandTheatre
2017William H. LoewenHnatyshyn Award
2017Michael Bublé National Arts Centre Award
2018Andrew AlexanderBroadcasting
2018Geneviève BujoldFilm
2018Angela HewittClassical music
2018Ginette LaurinDance
2018Murray McLauchlanPopular music
2018Peter HerrndorfSpecial Award
2018Florence Junca AdenotHnatyshyn Award
2018Tegan and SaraNational Arts Centre Award
2019Louise BessetteClassical music
2019Colm FeoreFilm
2019Rick MercerBroadcasting
2019Lorraine PintalTheatre
2019Mavis StainesDance
2019E. Noël SpinelliHnatyshyn Award
2019Sandra OhNational Arts Centre Award

2020s

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the 2020 gala was cancelled; however, as that year's recipients had already been announced in February before COVID-related lockdowns came into effect, they were honoured at a 2021 gala, with no new honorees named for 2021 itself.
YearRecipientDisciplineRef
2020-21Tantoo CardinalBroadcasting and film
2020-21Alexina LouieClassical music
2020-21Zab MaboungouDance
2020-21Catherine O'HaraBroadcasting and film
2020-21Florent VollantPopular music
2020-21Lynda HamiltonHnatyshyn Award
2020-21Ryan ReynoldsNational Arts Centre Award
2022Fernand DansereauBroadcasting and film
2022David FosterPopular music
2022Rita DeverellBroadcasting and film
2022Tomson HighwayTheatre
2022Linda RabinDance
2022Michelle SmithHnatyshyn Award
2022Crystal PiteNational Arts Centre Award
2023Michel Marc BouchardTheatre
2023Molly JohnsonPopular music
2023James KudelkaDance
2023Rosemarie LandryClassical music
2023k.d. langPopular music
2023John Kim BellHnatyshyn Award
2023Paul Sun-Hyung LeeNational Arts Centre Award
2024Measha Brueggergosman-LeeClassical music
2024Ronnie BurkettStage
2024Diane JusterPopular music
2024Andrea MartinScreens and voices
2024Wes Williams (Maestro Fresh Wes)Popular music
2024Jenny BelzbergHnatyshyn Award
2024Mélanie DemersNational Arts Centre Award
2025Bob EzrinPopular music
2025Denis GougeonClassical music
2025Graham GreeneFilm
2025Patrick HuardFilm
2025Sandra LarondeTheatre
2025April HubbardHnatyshyn Award
2025Jeremy DutcherNational Arts Centre Award
2025Joshua OdjickMentorship