Governor General's Awards

Successive governors general have followed suit, establishing an award for whichever endeavour they personally found important.

By 1980, the council began to announce the finalists for the awards a month before they were presented, in order to attract more media attention, and, in 2007, the cash prize was increased to $25,000.

[9] Clarkson made an effort to obtain from fairs and second hand shops the missing copies for the governor general's study and, when she left the viceregal office in 2005, the complete collection of winning books to date had been amassed.

They were initiated in 1992 by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn and the first recipients were William Hutt, Gweneth Lloyd, Dominique Michel, Mercedes Palomino, Oscar Peterson, Léopold Simoneau, Norman Jewison, and Gilles Maheu and CARBONE 14.

[13] Initially, the award came with a $15,000 prize from the Canada Council; today's winners receive $25,000 and a medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Six prizes are awarded annually to visual and media artists for distinguished career achievement in fine arts (painting, drawing, photography, print-making and sculpture, including installation and other three-dimensional work), applied arts (architecture and fine crafts), independent film and video, or audio and new media.

Recipients receive a lapel pin and a framed certificate bearing the heraldic shield of the Governor General's Award in Celebration of the Nation's Table.

[18] Administered by the Rideau Hall Foundation (also established by Johnston), six awards are given annually; winners are selected on merit by a two-stage process.

[19] The Governor General's Innovation Awards receive both public and private financial support and are partnered with various organizations across Canada.