An accomplished researcher, educator, and activist, Dr. Guylaine Demers has become a driving force for gender equity in sports across Canada and around the world.

Often working as a volunteer, she has served as Chair of the Gender Equity Task Force for the Sports Ministry of Canada, has been a dedicated contributor to the Women in Coaching program with the Coaching Association of Canada for over two decades, and is the founder of the seminal 2015 Conversation Women and Sport Conference.

A professor at Laval University, Guylaine also helped to establish Lab PROFEMS in Québec, dedicated to advancing women in sport. Recipient of the International Olympic Committee’s Women and Sport Award for the Americas in 2020, her achievements as a global catalyst for change include a ground-breaking program to develop female coaches and administrators for the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee.

Fueled by decades of dedicated advocacy and scholarship, she continues to make sports a more equitable, safe and welcoming place for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

The Honourable Chantal Petitclerc is one of Canada’s most celebrated track athletes and one of the fastest women on wheels. After losing the use of her legs in a barn door accident at age thirteen, she began swimming to stay active and later discovered wheelchair racing at eighteen. She made her Paralympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games, winning two Bronze Medals, and went on to earn multiple medals at the 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney, 2002 Manchester Commonwealth, 2004 Athens, and 2008 Beijing Games, including five Gold Medals, two world records, and a Paralympic record in 2008.

Chantal is the only Canadian to have won Gold Medals at the Olympics, Paralympics, and Commonwealth Games, tying the Canadian record for most Gold Medals at a single Summer or Winter Games and accumulating 21 Paralympic medals. In 2012, she received an honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Alberta and served as coach for the United Kingdom athletics program at the London Paralympic Games. After the 2012 Games, she returned to Canada and was named Chef de Mission for Team Canada at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

An ambassador for Right to Play and the Défi Sportif AlterGo, Chantal has been recognized as Canada’s Athlete of the Year and with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, cementing her legacy as one of Canada’s most accomplished athletes. Chantal Petitclerc has served as an Independent Senator in the Senate of Canada since 2016.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Michelle Stilwell was active in sports from a young age until a spinal cord injury at 17 left her a quadriplegic. During rehabilitation, she discovered wheelchair basketball, training with national team members under Hall of Famer Tim Frick, and won Gold at the 1998 World Championships and the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games—the first quadriplegic to compete internationally in the sport.

After stepping away from basketball due to injury, Michelle embraced motherhood and later took up wheelchair racing under coach Peter Lawless. Within two years, she became a world champion, earning Gold Medals in the 100m and 200m at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games and becoming the first Canadian Paralympian to win Gold in two summer sports. Over four Paralympic Games (2000, 2008, 2012, 2016), she amassed six Gold and one Silver Medal, along with eight Gold and two Silver Medals at World Championships.

Elected to British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly in 2013, Michelle served two terms as MLA for Parksville-Qualicum and as Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation, becoming the only female Paralympian globally known to compete while holding elected office. She championed accessibility, inclusive employment, and disability-focused policies, while continuing to mentor athletes and serve as an ambassador for the Rick Hansen Foundation and ActNow BC.

The Honourable Marnie McBean, alongside long-time rowing partner Kathleen Heddle, transformed Canadian rowing in the 1990s, becoming the first Canadians to win three Summer Olympic Gold Medals. Together, they captured Gold in the eights and pairs at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Gold in the double scull at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and Bronze in the quadruple scull, making them some of Canada’s most successful Olympians. 

After retiring, Marnie became an athlete mentor, corporate speaker, and Team Canada’s Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, leading the team to one of its best results. Appointed to the Senate of Canada in December 2023 representing Ontario, she continues to champion sport, youth health, and social justice, supporting organizations such as You Can Play, PFLAG, and Special Olympics Canada. An Officer of the Order of Canada and recipient of numerous honours—including the Thomas Keller Medal, Bonham Centre Award, and Bruce Kidd Leadership Award—she is also an inductee of the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Row Ontario Hall of Fame, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.