Member of the Order of Canada
Awarded on: 2024-04-17
Invested on: 2026-06-25
William Janzen, C.M.
Ottawa, Ontario
For more than 30 years, William Janzen served as director of the Ottawa office of the Mennonite Central Committee Canada. He has influenced government policy development and contributed to refugee resettlement, citizenship, development aid and peace building. He was instrumental in the creation of the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program, which mobilized Canadians to support refugees, notably from Southeast Asia, and marked a turning point in Canada’s immigration policy.