Buffy Sainte-Marie's appointment to the Order of Canada — the second-highest honour for merit in the systems of orders, decorations and medals of Canada — has been terminated.
As first reported by the National Post, notice was posted on the government's official publication late yesterday (February 7) that Governor General Mary Simon had stripped the singer-songwriter of the title via an order signed in early January.
No reason was given for the termination of Sainte-Marie's Order of Canada, with the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General explaining in a statement that it doesn't comment on the specifics of cancellation cases, but an advisory council makes recommendations for both appointments and terminations.
In 2023, CBC published an inquest into the integrity of the musician and activist's claims to Indigenous ancestry, reporting that the artist's birth certificate lists both parents and the baby as being white — which the investigation noted is corroborated by Sainte-Marie's marriage certificate, a life insurance policy and the United States Census. She hails from Stoneham, MA.
Despite the artist speaking out against the report, she also removed the Cree ancestry claims from the biography on her website.