André M. Levesque

Levesque also modernized the regulations of the Memorial Cross, commonly known as the "Silver Cross", which had previously been unchanged since its creation in 1919.

André M. Levesque (born 1959 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a historian, geographer, former public servant and retired Canadian military officer.

He is currently the Chancellor of the Priory of Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and also holds volunteer leadership roles for a number of other organizations including Amicitia France-Canada, Société Nationale d'Entraide de la Médaille Militaire, and Souvenir français au Canada.

Levesque is known for pioneering the field of memorialogy, the study of memorials and commemorative practices.

He was responsible for the repatriation of Canada's Unknown Soldier from Vimy to Ottawa, along with other commemorative projects like the creation of the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.

Levesque was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario.

His early studies were in urban and economic geography, and he completed a bachelor's degree and master's degree at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Levesque was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces Army Reserves for 35 years, from 1974 until 2008.

He initially served with the Governor General’s Foot Guards, before transferring to the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh’s Own).

In his civilian career, he worked in urban planning and economic development with the City of Ottawa from 1986 to 1998.

The operation involved the repatriation of Canada's Unknown Soldier from Vimy, France to Ottawa, Ontario, in May 2000, along with the organization of national commemorative ceremonies at both cities.

He was the project manager responsible for creating Canada’s National Military Cemetery located at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, which was dedicated on June 28, 2001, by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.

He also volunteered as the cemetery's chief historian.

Levesque led a partnership between the Organization of Military Museums of Canada (OMMC), Department of National Defence, Veterans Affairs Canada, as well as schools, youth, and veterans organizations to compile a detailed list of military monuments and plaques across Canada.

After three years of research, this volunteer group created a National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials website that was launched on April 2, 2001.

The website, originally located with OMMC, was later transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Renamed the Canadian Military Memorials Database, it has more than 8,200 memorials listed.

In 2001, at the request of Chief of the Defence Staff General Maurice Baril, Levesque re-established the Canadian Forces Artists Program and served as project manager.

The re-established program included an advisory committee that included representation from various organizations such as the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Gallery of Canada, Library and Archives Canada, and the Canadian War Museum.

Levesque created a pilot project that sent artists to military facilities and training areas throughout Canada and overseas to countries such as Afghanistan.

The project was unveiled on D-Day, June 6, 2001.

In 2001, he joined the Public Service of Canada to become a Senior Communications Advisor managing the Canadian Forces Parliamentary Program within the Department of National Defence.

In 2002, he became Chief of Canadian Forces Honours and Awards, and four years later, he was appointed as the Canadian Armed Forces' first Director of Honours and Recognition.

During his tenure, he helped develop policies that changed the way members of the defence forces were recognized while serving in overseas operations.

Levesque served on many policy and advisory committees, such as the Government Honours Policy Sub-Committee, the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee (Bravery), the National Diamond Jubilee Advisory Committee, and Secretary of the Advisory Committee and Advisory Council for the Order of Military Merit from 2002 to 2013.

He was also chair of the Victoria Cross Production Planning Group which was responsible for manufacturing Canada’s highest decoration for military gallantry in the Canadian Honours System.

Over eleven years, he oversaw the awarding of more than 200,000 awards to Canadians.

With the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and the death of Captain Nichola Goddard in 2006, the regulations required substantive amendments that would reflect the fabric of modern families.

Levesque proposed and received government approvals to increase the number of crosses from two to three and to allow members to designate recipients, instead of determining recipients based on consanguinity.

He retired from the Public Affairs Branch in 2008 at the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

During his service, Levesque met with veterans from conflicts such as World War II and the Korean War, which inspired him to become involved in the preservation of veterans' histories.

While working with the Department of National Defence's Directorate of History and Heritage, he was the project manager responsible for planning and implementing Operation Memoria with Amicitia France-Canada.

As Director General, he organized national and international programs and events marking the 100th anniversary of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War.

Working with the French government, he successfully led a joint effort to award and present the Legion of Honour to more than 1,400 Canadian veterans who liberated France during the Second World War.

He later obtained a PhD in history at University College Cork, National University of Ireland in 2013.

Levesque was a research fellow of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute.

From 2013 to 2016, Levesque was Director General of Commemoration at Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

In 2016, he returned to Ottawa to work as a visiting scholar at the Royal Military College of Canada and retired from public service in 2019.

As of 2020, eight groups of artists had held an exhibition at the Canadian War Museum, with some of the best works being selected to be part of the museum's permanent collection.

On 21 May 2020, Levesque was appointed as a member and designated as chair of the Ontario Honours Advisory Council by the Government of Ontario.