In Strange Bedfellows: The State and the Arts in Canada, George Woodcock relates a weekend he spent with Ross, Alex Colville, Dennis Lee, Gratien Gelinas, Pierre Trottier, and R. Murray Schafer as guests of Governor General Jules Leger at Rideau Hall in the autumn of 1976 to discuss and formulate a policy for the arts and culture in Canada.
He was also involved in advising the making of many propaganda films and, therefore, got to know directors such as Joris Ivens who did Action Stations and Corvette Port Arthur for the NFB.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) awarded a special Oscar for the work that the NFB did during World War II.
[3] In 1976, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to numerous educational bodies and for his work as an author and as editor of the New Canadian Library".
[1] Ross received honorary degrees from the following Canadian universities: St. Thomas (1976); Trent (1982); Dalhousie (1983); Queen's (1989); Windsor (1989); Toronto (1990); and Acadia (1991).