2026 Annual Award of Excellence in Nursing: call for nominations
Celebrating the dedication, initiative and distinction of nurses who are helping to improve the health of First Nations and Inuit in Canada.
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The call for nominations for the 2026 Award of Excellence in Nursing is now closed.
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About the award
This award is presented to 3 exceptional nurses who provide care to First Nations and/or Inuit clients. Nominees will have demonstrated that they are committed to excellence in professional nursing practices serving First Nations and Inuit communities in Canada by:
- consistently delivering excellent nursing services to First Nations and Inuit individuals, organizations and communities;
- providing and/or creating culturally appropriate environments to support health and healing;
- advocacy work that ensures access to care, mobilization of resources, addresses health inequities and influences policy and system change; and
- embracing the invitation to participate in community events and engagement with community members
The Award of Excellence in Nursing will be presented in a virtual ceremony during National Nursing Week. A virtual format has been adopted for this national recognition. Recipients will be recognized in an online ceremony hosted by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC).
Who is eligible
The award is open to all front-line registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and licensed practical nurses who:
- have worked a minimum of 2 years in a First Nations or Inuit community;
- who are currently employed by Indigenous Services Canada, a First Nations employer including First Nations communities in the Northwest and Yukon territories, or working in an Inuit community, including all Inuit Land Claim Organizations;
- currently work as frontline nurses in the community;
- have not previously won the award; and
- are in good standing with their professional organization
Deadline
The call for nominations for the 2026 Award of Excellence in Nursing is now open.
All nominators and nominees will be notified in April 2026 of the results. We wish to thank everyone involved in the nomination process for taking the time to nominate an outstanding nurse providing direct front-line care in a First Nations or Inuit community.
How to make a nomination
Nominated candidates will be assessed in 3 areas:
- Excellence in people skills;
- Dedication to leadership, learning, and professional development; and
- Fostering reconciliation
The members of the Nursing Award Advisory/Selection Committee will base their evaluations on specific criteria within anonymized nomination packages. Please review the criteria below and within your nomination assessment form and clearly describe specific examples of how the nominee fulfills them.
The nominator must complete the nomination form (if an issue occurs with the link, open with Adobe) describing why the nominee should receive this award. Clearly legible, hand-written documentation will also be accepted.
The selection committee will evaluate the candidates based on the following mandatory criteria and optional documents. Please complete the form accordingly.
Excellence in people skills (all 4 criteria):
- delivers nursing care with integrity and compassion;
- builds effective relationships with clients, families and community members;
- active involvement in the community, for example, partnership with community members, allied health professionals or health leads; and
- demonstrates an ability to unite team members to achieve team and community goals
Dedication to leadership, learning and professional development (all 5 criteria):
- demonstrates leadership and embraces changing environments;
- proactively coaches or mentors nursing students and other nurses or staff;
- acts as a role model to inspire others to achieve results and obtain goals;
- demonstrates a commitment to life-long learning by continuing to study beyond levels required for their position; and
- demonstrates flexibility/adaptability to the changing needs of the community, such as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Fostering reconciliation (1 criteria):
- Effects change within the Canadian health-care system that establishes and maintains a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in this country
- See Appendix I of the nomination form for more information
Mandatory documents for a complete nomination package submission
- Nominee's current resume; and
- Completed and signed nomination form (if an issue occurs with the link, save to desktop and open with Adobe) by both the nominator as well as signed by the nominee (handwritten or digital signature option available)
Optional documents
- Letters of reference or support. Authors of these letters should include the following information:
- who they are (name, title and organization, if any);
- their connection with the nominee and the dates in which they are affiliated with the nominee;
- the specific skills the nominee has related to the merit criteria listed above; and
- a signature and the date the letter was written
The letters of reference or support would be strengthened by referencing the merit criteria with specific examples, as outlined above. Letters can be provided by, for example: a supervisor, manager, colleague, client, community member or leadership.
Incomplete nomination packages will not be considered. Please complete every field in the nomination form, and include the nominee's full name, title and organization on all documentation.
Nominees will be evaluated by a selection committee only on the information provided within the complete nomination package.
Nominations packages can be submitted by:
- Email: nursingawards-prixensoinsinfirmiers@sac-isc.gc.ca
- Mail: If you wish to submit a nomination package by mail, contact us at the above email for details.
Contact: If you have any issues completing or submitting the nomination, please contact us for assistance: nursingawards-prixensoinsinfirmiers@sac-isc.gc.ca