The following blog article is the first of a 3-part series about WFM-C's 2026 World Peace Award. 

For more than half a century, the World Peace Award has recognized Canadians whose leadership has helped advance a more peaceful, just and rules-based world.

Established in 1972, the World Peace Award is the World Federalist Movement – Canada’s highest honour. Its recipients reflect the many ways that lasting peace is built: through diplomacy and international cooperation, the defence of human rights and the rule of law, humanitarian service, reconciliation, and the strengthening of international institutions.

At its heart, the award recognizes three qualities: leadership for peace, commitment to justice, and lasting impact. It honours Canadians whose work reaches beyond immediate achievements to contribute to a stronger international order...one capable of addressing conflict through cooperation, law and shared responsibility.

Over the decades, World Peace Award recipients have included diplomats, jurists, political leaders, humanitarians and advocates whose contributions demonstrate that peace is more than the absence of conflict. Together, they represent more than 50 years of Canadian contributions to peace and international cooperation.

In Part 2 of this series, we look back at some of the remarkable Canadians who have received the World Peace Award and the contributions that have shaped its legacy.