Canadian Olympic gold medalist Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, British Columbia and Hockey Hall of Famer Yvan Cournoyer of Drummondville, Quebec are being honoured federally in 2026. Sinclair, who received the Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017, is now receiving the companion of the Order of Canada. Cournoyer is being named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Sinclair won a gold medal for Canada in women’s soccer at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Recognized as one of the greatest women’s soccer players of all-time, Sinclair’s 190 goals are the most international goals scored in soccer by a man or a woman. She also scored 82 goals in 204 games with the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Cournoyer was a right winger for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1979. He was a six-time NHL All-Star (1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1978), and 10-time Stanley Cup champion (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979). In 1982, Cournoyer was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario.
Nicknamed the “Roadrunner”, Cournoyer had 428 goals and 435 assists for 863 points in 968 National Hockey League regular season games. He was a +254 with 233 penalty minutes, 314 power-play points, one shorthanded point, and 2427 shots on goal. Cournoyer led the NHL in power-play goals (20 in 1966-67), and game-winning goals (seven in 1966-67 and 12 in 1975-76).
