No one deserves Order of Ontario more than Don Cherry

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Is there anybody more deserving to receive the Order of Ontario than Don Cherry?

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Finally, sources said, he’s about to be bestowed the distinguished honour.

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And Premier Doug Ford said the legendary former NHL coach and star of Coach’s Corner on Hockey Night in Canada is worthy of being on the latest list.

“I love Don,” said Ford in a text message. “He deserves it.”

There had been no formal announcement of Cherry being awarded this high honour, but sources said the decision was finalized in a meeting of the selection committee last month and would be announced on Tuesday.

Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism Graham McGregor said the new recipients list was expected Tuesday. Multiple sources said Cherry is among this year’s recipients.

Premier Ford supported Cherry getting award

“I personally put his name forward,” the premier said.

Others have also indicated they nominated Cherry, who turned 92 on Feb. 5, for this honour several times over the years.

“The Order of Ontario is the province’s highest civilian honour. It is awarded to an Ontarian who has shown the highest level of excellence and achievement in their field, and whose impact has left a legacy in our province, in our country and around the world,” says the description on Ontario.ca. “Members of the order are a collective of Ontario’s finest citizens, whose contributions have shaped — and continue to shape — the province’s history and place in Canada.”

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Deserving of Order of Canada, Hockey Hall of Fame entry

This is a big moment because what it does is open the door for Cherry to receive other much-deserved honours for his incredible life and career. Although in 2025 he was presented with the King’s Coronation Medal, Grapes has for decades been overlooked for the Order of Canada and also to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — both of which he richly deserves.

Long before the Remembrance Day firing by Sportsnet for his Coach’s Corner rant, in which he said “you people” who love our “milk and honey,” the least you can do is “buy a poppy” to support the fallen and veterans who gave us our freedom.

Cherry, with sidekick Ron MacLean at his side, had said the same thing the year before, but this time they decided to buckle to the pressure and end the legend’s TV career. A lot of people know it was wrong to do this to their iconic star, but there was too much pressure. Few stood up for him at a time when he needed support.

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But things have now changed. With the benefit of time and many other things happening, the mood toward Cherry has changed. A few weeks shy of his 92nd birthday, people realize the former Boston Bruins coach, who appeared on hockey broadcasts for almost four decades, was merely being patriotic and not intending to attack anybody.

Many immigrants to the country have also expressed that they agreed with him.

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Cherry has always been a Canadian patriot

Ultra-Canadianism has always been Cherry’s approach. He believed in “Canada First” long before U.S. President Donald Trump talk about “America first.”

Cherry was also one of the first in the media who was supportive of the conservative movement and was not afraid to chirp back at leftist critics — perhaps most famously when he appeared at Rob Ford’s swearing-in ceremony for mayor in 2010. At City Hall, Cherry said, “I am befuddled. I thought I was just doing a good thing, coming down to be with Rob. But being ripped to shreds by the left-wing, pinko newspapers down here is unbelievable. One guy called me a jerk in a pink suit, so I thought I’d wear that for him today.”

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Cherry added: “This is the kind of thing you’re going to be facing, Rob, with these left-wing pinkos. They scrape the bottom of the barrel … put that in your pipe, you left-wing kooks.”

Many laughed and took it in the spirit of showmanship, Cherry style. Many on council, in the left-leaning media and political worlds, however, didn’t find it humourous. Cherry had a target on his back from that moment on. The next few years was one of rampant cancel culture.

But things are different now. People on all sides are starting to remember that in a country with free speech, you can’t cancel free speech.

Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky in Cherry’s corner

Many recipients of the Order of Canada — from Bobby Orr to Wayne Gretzky to Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown — have been pushing behind the scenes for Grapes to be given the honours that he’s earned.

What Cherry said about the poppies (he was 85 years old at that time) is what he felt about them all of his life. Born in 1934, he was a kid during the Second World War and saw his family and his family’s friends either serve or die in that war. Grapes has always supported our men and women in uniform and even went to Afghanistan to support our troops at Christmas.

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He also was a vocal supporter of law enforcement and first responders on and off the show. If Canada lost a soldier or a police officer or young hockey players, he would memorialize them on Hockey Night in Canada. He also has helped raise millions of dollars for charity.

He also has always proudly promoted Ontario — specifically his hometowns of Kingston and Mississauga — and always stood for Canada and not just in good times, but when things were not going so well.

There’s no one more deserving of the Order of Ontario than Cherry. It should have happened a long time ago. Better late than never.

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