2023 recipients of the Order of New Brunswick announced

Press Release

08 November 2023

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The names of the five new recipients who will be invested into the Order of New Brunswick were announced today.

“It is a great honour to have the opportunity each year to announce the names of the new recipients of the Order of New Brunswick,” said Premier Blaine Higgs. “These exceptional and extraordinarily generous individuals all share a desire to improve people’s lives in their community, their region and their province. It is with the greatest admiration that I congratulate and thank each of these individuals who, later this month, will be awarded our province’s highest civilian honour.”

The 2023 inductees are:

• Catherine Akagi, from Saint Andrews, for her outstanding commitment to education, her advocacy for First Nations and her extraordinary community engagement.
• J.W. Bud Bird, from Fredericton, for his lifetime of business, political and charitable activities, which have contributed meaningfully to New Brunswick and to Canada.
• Isabelle McKee-Allain, from Dieppe, for her profound commitment and exceptional career as a professional dedicated to the advancement of women’s equality, social justice and francophone and Acadian culture in New Brunswick.
• Joanne E. McLeod, from Fredericton, for her lifelong dedication to improving conditions for people with paraplegia or other mobility impairments. For more than 60 years she has been an advocate and pioneer in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities within her community, throughout the province and across the country.
• Bernard Poirier, from Dieppe, for his enthusiasm, dedication and exceptional support of a dynamic francophone cultural and community life and his role in protecting the rights of the province’s francophones.

The Order of New Brunswick was established in 2000 to recognize individuals who have demonstrated a high level of excellence and achievement in their field. Since 2002, more than 200 accomplished individuals have been invested with the order for their dedication and service to the province, its people and communities.

This year’s recipients will be invested with the Order of New Brunswick during a ceremony at Government House in Fredericton on Nov. 23.

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