Canadian sprint star Andre De Grasse honoured with Order of Canada

It was surprising for Andre De Grasse at first.

The seven-time Olympic medallist from Markham, Ont., got a call in late October from the Governor General’s office informing him he would receive the Order of Canada on Wednesday.

De Grasse, who turned 31 on Nov. 10, didn’t expect to be recognized while still active in his track career.

“Usually you don’t receive this award until you’re older — you’re in the second phase of your life or third phase of your life, I would say like 50s, 60s, around there,” he said.

“It was pretty cool to receive that so early in my life and just show, I guess, all the good work I’ve been doing, not just on the track, but off the track. So it was a huge honour, to be honest, and yeah, still obviously a shocked feeling.”

The Order of Canada is the country’s highest civilian honour, with appointments at three levels — Companion, Officer and Member. De Grasse was named a Member.

De Grasse was the first Canadian to medal in all three sprint events in his Olympic debut in Rio in 2016. He has won two gold, two silver and three bronze medals across three Olympic appearances in the 100 metres, 200 and 4×100 relay.

He also has six world championship medals — one gold, two silver and three bronze — with the latest a silver anchoring the men’s relay team in September.

Away from the track, he supports young athletes through the Andre De Grasse Future Champions Scholarship Program.

The program provides access to mentor and coach Tony Sharpe, a former Canadian relay medallist, along with an annual grant, a local club membership through Athletics Canada, dietitian support and a student-athlete consultant.

Since its inception in 2018, the program has supported 57 recipients across five provinces, awarding $170,000 in funding. Five of those athletes have gone on to the Canadian national athletics team. Collectively, recipients have earned more than $2 million in NCAA scholarships.

De Grasse also recently held the inaugural Andre De Grasse Holiday Sprint Festival in Whitby, Ont. Elite high school athletes, para athletes and Special Olympians competed in the 60-, 200- and 300-metre events on Dec. 20.

Despite his efforts, the recognition for his work off the track was never something that crossed his mind.

“You’re not thinking about that because that’s probably what you’re thinking later down the line as you get older because … you just focus on right now — your career, your family and all the other stuff that’s important or taking up all the bandwidth,” De Grasse said.

He received the Order of Ontario in 2023 in recognition of his outstanding athletic achievements and significant contributions to youth empowerment through sports and education through his foundation.

“I’m just proud of all the stuff I’ve done,” he said. “And hopefully I can just continue that for years to come.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2025.