Order of Newfoundland and Labrador - Structure and Appointment

Structure and Appointment

The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador is intended to honour any current or former longtime resident of Newfoundland and Labrador who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field, having "demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field of endeavour benefiting in an outstanding manner Newfoundland and Labrador and its residents." There are no limits on how many can belong to the order, though inductions are limited to eight per year; Canadian citizenship is a requirement, and those who are elected or appointed members of a governmental body are ineligible as long as they hold office.

The process of finding qualified individuals begins with submissions from the public to the Secretary of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Advisory Council, which consists of the Clerk of the Executive Council and five persons appointed by the lieutenant governor: two Members of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and four other individuals. This committee then meets at least once annually to make its selected recommendations to the Executive Council and works with that body in narrowing down the potential appointees to a list that will be submitted to the lieutenant governor; posthumous nominations are not accepted, though an individual who dies after his or her name was submitted to the Advisory Council can still be retroactively made a Member of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. Further, anyone not meeting the requirements of admission may be invested as an honorary Member. The lieutenant governor, ex officio a Member and the Chancellor of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, then makes all appointments into the fellowship's single grade of membership by an Order in Council that bears the viceroyal sign-manual and the Great Seal of the province; thereafter, the new Members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters ONL.