Governor General terminates Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Order of Canada

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OTTAWA — Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Order of Canada has been terminated.

Notice was posted on the government’s official publication late Friday that Governor General Mary Simon had cancelled Sainte-Marie’s Order of Canada through an order she signed in early January.

Friday’s posting was signed by the secretary general of the Order of Canada.

No reason was listed for Sainte-Marie’s termination. In a statement, the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General said it does not comment on the specifics of termination cases.

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The termination comes after a 2023 CBC News investigation raised serious doubts about her claims to Indigenous identity. The singer-songwriter had long made Indigenous identity a central feature of her music and activism.

Sainte-Marie, who accumulated many awards and prestigious honours over her decades as a musician, was appointed to the Order of Canada, long seen as one of the highest honours an individual in Canada could receive, back in 1997.

In 2019, she was honoured with a promotion.

A response from a media representative for Sainte-Marie has not yet been returned.

National Post

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