Order of Canada for Scott and Tessa? That’s gold!
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Champion ice-dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue are among 114 athletes, artists, scholars and community leaders named to the Order of Canada.
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette’s office announced the new honourees Friday to the Order, one of the country’s highest civilian honours.
Virtue, a Londoner, and Moir, an Ilderton native, are being recognized for their “unparalleled excellence in ice dancing and for inspiring the next generation of Canadian figure skaters.”
The pair formed their partnership as children at the Ilderton Skating Club and skated together for two decades.
They would go on to become the first North American duo to win Olympic ice dance gold in 2010, on home ice at Vancouver.
Virtue and Moir also rose to international acclaim after clinching five Olympic medals in their career and went on to become Canada’s most decorated figure skaters with their stunning performance at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
The Order of Canada is the latest accolade for the pair, who last year also received honorary degrees from Western University.
Originally from London, Lara St. John is also included among the honourees “for pushing the boundaries of classical interpretation as a solo violinist and for supporting diversity in the arts.”
Others in the group include Indigenous writer Thomas King, winemaker John Peller, dancer and choreographer Elizabeth Langley, geriatrician Roger Wong, Cree elder Doreen Spence and ex-politicians Bill Graham and Allan Rock.
With files from The Canadian Press