Buffy Sainte-Marie lost two jubilee medals as part of Order of Canada cancellation: Rideau Hall

By Canadian Press on March 4, 2025.

TORONTO — The recent termination of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Order of Canada came with the cancellation of two additional Canadian honours.

A representative for Rideau Hall says jubilee medals awarded to the singer-songwriter in 2002 and 2012 were also stripped from her since both were based on her membership to the Order of Canada.

Sainte-Marie’s appointment was cancelled in an ordinance signed by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Jan. 3. Details about the medals were not previously shared.

Rideau Hall says Sainte-Marie also lost the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the queen’s ascension to the throne, as well as the Diamond Jubilee medal presented for the 60th anniversary.

This comes more than a year after a CBC investigative report questioned the musician’s Indigenous heritage and found a birth certificate that indicated she was born in 1941 in Massachusetts.

Sainte-Marie tells The Canadian Press in a statement that she never lied about her identity but has returned her medals “with a good heart.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2025.

David Friend, The Canadian Press