The League is honoured to recognize the contribution of member volunteers through the Colleen Thibaudeau Outstanding Contribution Award. Established in 2012, the award is offered annually to a League member in recognition of a substantial volunteer project or series of projects that nurture and support poets and poetry across Canada. This award was established in memory of Colleen Thibaudeau (1925 – 2012), an Honorary Member and lifelong supporter of the League of Canadian poets, to show her support for the League, which was a source of friendship and recognition for her in her lifetime.

Nominations are now open!

Nominations accepted January 20 – February 10 annually. The Winner will be announced during National Volunteer Week in April.

Nomination Guidelines

• E-mail a nomination letter (500 – 1,000 words) to nicole@poets.ca by 11:59pm EST on February 10, 2023 to nominate a poet for this award.
• Please obtain permission from the person you’re nominating prior to sending your nomination.
• Please also include an email by which we can contact your nominee, should they be selected as the winner.
• Nomination letters should demonstrate the nominee’s ongoing commitment to supporting poets and poetry in Canada through volunteer contributions, such as operating a reading series, publishing chapbooks, or providing free editing or mentorship, etc.
• Nominees must be current members of the League of Canadian Poets.
• Nominations will be reviewed by the LCP Board of Directors.

Previous Recipients of the Colleen Thibaudeau Outstanding Contribution Award

This Award was on hiatus from 2018-2021.

2017: The Art Bar Poetry Series, Canada’s longest running weekly poetry-only reading series.

2016: Bruce Rice, for his invaluable efforts in establishing the now-annual Poetry City program and his longtime volunteer record with the League.

2015: Glen Sorestad, for his contribution to our annual Anne Szumigalski Lecture program and anthology, Measures of Astonishment, as well as his longtime volunteer record with the League.

2014: Allan Briesmaster, for his work in developing and executing the Poetry in Transit initiative, and his longtime volunteer record with the League.

2013: D.C. Reid, for his work in establishing the League Planned Giving and Bequests initiative, as well as his devotion to the League during his time as President.

2012: Wendy Morton, for her work in establishing Random Acts of Poetry, WestJet’s Poet of the Skies, and Chrysler’s Poet of the Road.