Don Cherry named to the Order of Ontario. Could an Order of Canada be next?
Don Cherry is among the list of 30 new appointees to the Order of Ontario for 2025. The list was announced yesterday by Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Chancellor of the Order of Ontario.
Cherry, who turned 92 this month, is best known for Coach’s Corner, a commentary segment that aired for almost 30 years during Hockey Night in Canada, and for the Rock’Em Sock’Em hockey highlight videos released over roughly the same period.
His right-of-centre politics, and sometimes politically incorrect views, have made him a polarizing figure, beloved and criticized in equal measure.
A search of social media can find many calls for Cherry to be given the Order of Canada, with posts often going up when the list of new inductees is announced at the end of each year and on Canada Day. A petition with more than 12,000 signatures can be found on the conservative website StrongandProud.ca .
When the Order of Ontario recipients were announced, Cherry’s X feed shared the news, with one of the first replies saying: “Congrats Grapes (Cherry’s nickname) … next up, the Order of Canada.”
Congrats #Grapes ????????????
— Colonel Ronald G. Potter (@CanadaColonel) February 17, 2026
…next up, the #OrderOfCanada ???????? pic.twitter.com/VgeSL8b7t7
In 2004, Cherry placed seventh in CBC TV’s The Greatest Canadian , behind Tommy Douglas, Terry Fox, Pierre Trudeau, Frederick Banting, Suzuki and Lester B. Pearson. All those on the list ahead of him (except Banting, who died before the award was created) already had received an Order of Canada, as have fellow broadcasters Scott Oake, Colleen Jones, Foster Hewitt and Brian McFarlane.
In 2011 Cherry turned down an honorary degree from the Royal Military College of Canada after RMCC French professor Catherine Lord sent an open letter to local media decrying the decision and stating: “On many occasions he publicly expressed his contempt for many groups of the Canadian population, notably for the French-speaking Canadians, for the [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] community and for the immigrants.”
More recently, Cherry was one of 30,000 recipients of King Charles III’s Coronation Medal , an honour whose eligibility includes having “made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or (having) made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.”
The Ontario government notes that appointments to its Order are made on the recommendation of an independent advisory council based on the merit of accomplishments of nominees put forward by members of the public. The latest crop of nominees brings the total number of those appointed to 933 since the Order was established in 1986.
“The 2025 Order of Ontario appointees represent the very best of our province,” said Dumont in making the announcement. “Through their exceptional dedication and achievements, they have made profound contributions that have touched lives across Ontario and beyond. May their remarkable examples continue to inspire us all to work together for the greater good.”
Others on the list include Ahmad Attia, Cameron Bailey, Arron Barberian, Major-General (Retd) Jean-Robert Bernier, OMM, CD, John B.W. Carmichael, Jamaica Cass, Donette Chin-Loy Chang, Robert James Cusimano, Philip J. Devereaux, Morris Freedman, Jacques Frémont, Kathleen Gartke, Amanda Grzyb, Zabeen Hirji, MSM, Shirley Horn, Bernard Lawless, Nathan Leipciger, CM, David MacNaughton, Joe Mancinelli, Claudette McGowan, CM, Tracy Moore, Edward Roger, Richard Rooney, John L. Semple, Nancy Mei Chun Siew, Stephen J. R. Smith, The Honourable George Strathy, J. David Wake, KC, and Mary Wells.
The 2025 Order of Ontario appointees will be invested at a ceremony in Toronto later this year.
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