Governor's General Award 1995

The first Governor General's International Award for Canadian Studies was presented to Professor Alan C. Cairns, Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia by His Excellency the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, Patron of the International Council for Canadian Studies, on Wednesday, May 31, 1995 at a banquet held on the occasion of the ICCS annual meeting.

In his presentation speech the Governor General commended Professor Cairns' "prolific work on Canadian political institutions and constitutional trends," his "notable contribution to public life ... through numerous presentations to legislative committees and as one of the Directors or Research for the Macdonald Royal Commission on the Economic Union" and his "distinguished service in the cause of the international understanding of Canada and the Canadian experience."

A political scientist of international esteem, Alan Cairns' writings and teaching are pivotal to Canadian political thought. The September 1987 issue of the Canadian Journal of Political Science noted that his paper of the late 1960s, "The Electoral System and the Party System in Canada, 1925-1965," was the journal's most cited article. His book, Charter versus Federalism: The Dilemmas of Constitutional Reform (1992), ranks as one of the most insightful analyses of the Canadian constitutional debate. More recently McClelland & Stewart have published, Reconfigurations: Canadian Citizenship and Constitutional Change (1995), a collection of selected essays edited by Douglas Wiliams.

Governor General's International Award for Canadian Studies: 1995 - Alan C. Cairns

		Alan C. Cairns shown here receiving award from His Excellency the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc. Photo credit: Sgt. Michel Roy, Rideau Hall
	The first Governor General's International Award for Canadian Studies was presented to Professor Alan C. Cairns, Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia by His Excellency the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, Patron of the International Council for Canadian Studies, on Wednesday, May 31, 1995 at a banquet held on the occasion of the ICCS annual meeting. In his presentation speech the Governor General commended Professor Cairns' "prolific work on Canadian political institutions and constitutional trends," his "notable contribution to public life ... through numerous presentations to legislative committees and as one of the Directors or Research for the Macdonald Royal Commission on the Economic Union" and his "distinguished service in the cause of the international understanding of Canada and the Canadian experience." A political scientist of international esteem, Alan Cairns' writings and teaching are pivotal to Canadian political thought. The September 1987 issue of the Canadian Journal of Political Science noted that his paper of the late 1960s, "The Electoral System and the Party System in Canada, 1925-1965," was the journal's most cited article. His book, Charter versus Federalism: The Dilemmas of Constitutional Reform (1992), ranks as one of the most insightful analyses of the Canadian constitutional debate. More recently McClelland & Stewart have published, Reconfigurations: Canadian Citizenship and Constitutional Change (1995), a collection of selected essays edited by Douglas Wiliams. Close this window