Media Advisory — Governor General to present Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards

Press Release

June 11, 2025

OTTAWA, Ontario—Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, will present the 2025 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) to seven laureates during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, on Friday, June 13, 2025. She will then honour the laureates the following evening when she delivers remarks at the 2025 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Show at the National Arts Centre (NAC), in Ottawa.

Here are the 2025 laureates of Canada’s highest distinction in the performing arts:

• Bob Ezrin, O.C. – Music and entertainment producer, music education advocate and serial activist (Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Popular Music)
• Denis Gougeon – Composer (Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Classical Music)
• Graham Greene, C.M. – Actor (Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Screens and Voices)
• Patrick Huard – Comedian, film and television actor, host, screenwriter and producer (Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Screens and Voices)
• Sandra Laronde, O.Ont., M.S.C., O.M.C. – Multidisciplinary artist, artistic director, choreographer, producer and author (Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Dance)
• April Hubbard – Performance artist, arts administrator, and Mad Disability advocate (Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts)
• Jeremy Dutcher, M.S.M. – Composer, performer, language carrier, ethnomusicologist and activist (National Arts Centre Award Recipient)

GGPAA Ceremony
Date: Friday, June 13, 2025
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Rideau Hall Ballroom, 1 Sussex Dr., Ottawa

GGPAA Show
Date: Saturday, June 14, 2025
Time: 8 p.m. (red carpet begins at 7 p.m.)
Location: NAC, 1 Elgin St., Ottawa

About the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards
Created in 1992, by the late Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, then-Governor General, and his wife, Gerda, the awards are presented annually to Canadians whose extraordinary achievements have contributed significantly to the enrichment of Canada’s cultural life.
Learn more about the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards.

Notes for Media:

• To guarantee your access to the Rideau Hall ceremony, we ask that you please confirm your attendance with the Rideau Hall Press Office at media@gg.ca.
• Media are asked to arrive at the Princess Anne Entrance no later than 5:45 p.m. on the day of the ceremony.
• Photos of the ceremony taken by the Governor General’s official photographer will be made available upon request.

Media information:
To cover the award presentation at Rideau Hall:
Rideau Hall Press Office
media@gg.ca

For more information on the awards or to arrange interviews with the laureates:
Lucy van Oldenbarneveld
lvanoldenbarneveld@compassrosegroup.org

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