Nomination and appointment process

  1. OPENING OF THE FILE
    • Every spring, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) issues a call for nominations to police officers, members of police associations, police boards, elected government officials, civilians and community leaders at all levels across Canada. All submissions must be received by CACP by mid-September of that year.
    • The focus is on exceptional merit, contributions to policing, and community development and/or implementations. The contributions are made over one’s career and not on a single incident or contribution to one program. A nomination form can be found at https://www.cacp.ca/order-of-merit.html?asst_id=276.
       
  2. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
    • The National Advisory Committee reviews nominations recommended by the Regional Committees. It meets at Rideau Hall annually, in early January.
       
  3. APPOINTMENT
    • The Chair of the Advisory Committee writes to the Principal Commander of the Order to advise him of the Advisory Committee's recommendations.
    • The Principal Commander forwards the recommendations to the Governor General.
    • The Governor General signs the Instrument of Appointment. Names are made public on the Governor General's website (www.gg.ca).
       
  4. INVESTITURE
    • Recipients are invited to a ceremony where they are presented with the insignia of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces by the Governor General.
    • Investitures take place at Rideau Hall or la Citadelle.