Zainub Verjee and Nurjehan Aziz Vassanji appointed to the Order of Canada

December 28, 2023

Zainub Verjee and Nurjehan Aziz Vassanji have been appointed to the Order of Canada by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, the Governor General of Canada.

Verjee’s appointment recognizes her exceptional contributions to advancing representation and equitable policy legislation within Canada’s arts and culture sectors as a distinguished artist, administrator, and critic. Vassanji is acknowledged for her significant role in advancing diversity and inclusion in Canadian literature as a leading publisher and editor.

Among the 78 new appointments announced on December 28, 2023, by the Office of the Governor General of Canada, Verjee and Vassanji are two notable Ismaili community members. Their appointments bring the total number of Ismailis with the Order of Canada to eight.

The Order of Canada is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Canadian state, recognizing individuals for their outstanding talent, service, or exceptional contributions to Canada and humanity. King Charles III, the reigning Canadian monarch, serves as the order’s sovereign, and the Governor General administers the order on his behalf as Chancellor and Principal Companion.

Zainub Verjee a laureate of the 2020 Governor General Visual and Media Arts Award for Outstanding Contribution, is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto, and McLaughlin College, York University. She holds honorary doctorates from several universities and serves as the executive director of Galerie Ontario-Ontario Galleries.

Nurjehan Aziz Vassanji, a publisher and editor at Mawenzi house, co-founded the literary magazine The Toronto South Asian Review in 1981, later renamed The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abroad, which led to the establishment of TSAR Publications alongside M.G. Vassanji.

The Order of Canada serves as a prestigious recognition for those who make extraordinary contributions to the nation, embodying its motto: DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (“They desire a better country”).

Press Release Governor General of Canada
List of appointees