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A home for paediatricians. A voice for children and youth.

Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership recognizes individuals who support the mission of the CPS.

Recipients receive complimentary CPS honorary membership (effective the following membership year), complimentary registration to the CPS Annual Conference for life, as well as all other membership benefits enjoyed by CPS associate members.

The award is presented during the CPS Annual Conference.

Current recipient(s): Lisa Wolff

Lisa Wolff

We are pleased to award Lisa Wolff with Honorary CPS  Membership to recognize her decades of tireless work advocating for children and youth. Before retiring very recently as Director of Advocacy and Education at UNICEF Canada, she worked every day to advance the rights and well-being of Canada’s young people to their fullest potential.

Lisa has been a leading contributor to the Canadian Companion to UNICEF’s Annual Report Cards, which are an established and trusted tool supporting evidence-based advocacy in the child health sector in Canada, including by the CPS. She helped to strengthen collaboration between the CPS and UNICEF Canada, and has shared her knowledge and expertise with CPS membership as a speaker at multiple Annual Conferences (including in 2023 on environmental health and in 2019 on federal election advocacy).

Lisa has always collaborated across issues and sectors in the very best interests of children and youth, and she received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Distinguished Advocacy from the Governor-General of Canada in 2012.

Nominations

  • Nominees are individuals who may not normally be eligible for membership, but who have dedicated their time to caring and advocating for children and youth. Candidates must be Canadian residents but need not be CPS members.
  • The Membership Subcommittee will judge candidates based on their contributions to advancing the health of children and youth by nurturing excellence in health care, advocacy, education and research.

Nominations will be held for two consecutive years but must be formally resubmitted following the two year period to be reconsidered. The Membership Subcommittee reserves the right to limit the number of honorary memberships granted each year.

Current voting members of the CPS Board of Directors and Membership Subcommittee members are not eligible.

Submissions

Submissions must include:

  • Letters from both the nominator and seconder, both of whom are CPS members, describing how the nominee meets the above criteria.
  • An updated curriculum vitae for the candidate.

Submit your nominations using the Submit Nomination button.

Past recipients

2022

Dr. James Irvine

2020

Dr. Cindy Blackstock

2019

Mr. Irwin Elman

2018

Dr. Ian Gemmill

2017

Ms. Janet Austin

2017

Dr. Leslie Rourke

2016

The Honorable Margaret McCain

2012

Mr. Ken Dryden

2011

Mr. Sid Stevens

2010

Mr. Raffi Cavoukian

2009

The Honourable Michael Kirby

2008

The Honourable Steven L. Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

2007

Father Emmett Johns

2005

Senator Landon Pearson

1989

William Cochrane, MD

Last updated: May 21, 2025