Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: November 19, 2015
• Invested on: February 17, 2017

For her contributions as an important voice in the Canadian labour movement.

Barbara Byers is devoted to making a difference in the lives of Canadian workers. As a social worker in Saskatchewan, she rose through the ranks of the province’s labour movement to lead the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union and the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. With the latter, she founded initiatives to connect youth with the labour movement and to strengthen the leadership skills of union women, notably through the Prairie School for Women. She later served on the governing body of the International Labour Organization and continues to bring meaningful change as secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress.