07/17/2026
CRARR LAUNCHES PIONEERS AWARD TO HONOUR THE EXCEPTIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF WOMEN FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS
To mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of Status of Women Canada and the 80th Anniversary of the Canadian Citizenship Act, CRARR has launched the Pioneers Award, an initiative dedicated to recognizing women of diverse backgrounds whose contributions have helped shape Montréal’s history and development and who have yet to receive the public recognition they deserve.
Each year, the Pioneers Award will honour five women who break glass barriers and whose achievements have advanced equality, strengthened communities, and contributed to Montréal’s development and influence both domestically and internationally. The award will recognize five women belonging to the following established categories: Business & Trades, Arts & Culture, Sciences & Health, Community Service and Education.
For its inaugural edition, the Pioneers Award will honour women of Pacific Asian background due to their institutional exclusion and critical underrepresentation in public acknowledgement of their accomplishments at different levels and sectors.
For example, among the recipients of the Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case from 2018 to 2025, only one out of the 34 was identified as having a Pacific Asian background, representing 2.9% of all recipients. Meanwhile, the 2021 Canadian Census data revealed that Pacific Asian communities represented 9.3% of Canada’s population.
Similarly, among the 189 individuals appointed to the Order of Montreal between 2016 and 2026, only four, or 2.1%, were identified as being of Pacific Asian background, and all four were women. According to the 2021 Census, Pacific Asian communities represented 8.1% of the population of the City of Montreal.
Award recipients will be selected by a seven-member jury reflecting Montréal's diverse communities and sectors. Members of the jury will be announced in early August.
Nominations for award candidates open July 12 and must be submitted by August 30, 2026. Online and printable nomination forms are available on the CRARR Facebook, Bluesky and Instagram accounts.
The award ceremony will take place on October 18, 2026, coinciding with the 97th anniversary of the conclusion of the historic Persons Case, wherein the British Privy Council ruled that Canadian women were legally considered “persons”, paving the way for women's increased participation in public and political life.
The CRARR Pioneers Award is an outcome of this year’s Asian Heritage Month, during which CRARR worked with Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Laotian and Vietnamese community groups to create the Alliance of Montreal Asians for Prosperity and Inclusion (AMAPI) and organize activities in response to inadequate official celebrations of the Month.
The CRARR Pioneers Award is made possible with funding from the Canada Summer Jobs Program of Employment and Social Development Canada.
For questions regarding the award, please contact CRARR at [email protected]
To submit nominations: https://forms.gle/fTjcaAEXWpwCDHmq8
