Event Date: October 23, 2025 - 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Location: FSS 4007 and via Zoom, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Mr. Roche’s remarks are now available as CIPS Policy Brief:

Presented by Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament and the Centre for International Policy Studies

Join us for an award presentation by Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament (CLND) to the Hon. Douglas Roche O.C. for Distinguished Achievement in Nuclear Disarmament. The award presentation will be followed by a lecture given by Mr. Roche titled “Creative Dissent: A Politician’s Struggle for Peace”.  

Mr. Roche will receive his Distinguished Achievement Award from CLND Chairperson Alex Neve, a Senior Fellow with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

Lecture at 4pm followed by a reception.

Please note that this a hybrid event – participation can be in person or online.

Speaker and Award Recipient:

Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C. was a Senator, Member of Parliament, Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament, and Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta. The author of 25 books, his latest is Keep Hope Alive: Essays for a War-Free World (2024).

Award presentation by:

Alex Neve, O.C. is the Chairperson of Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

Douglas Roche, O.C. will receive the Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament (CLND) 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award. He has devoted himself over many decades to the vital cause of nuclear disarmament and, ultimately, the global abolition of nuclear weapons. CLND is a civil society initiative sponsored by the Canadian Pugwash Group. It is endorsed by more than 1,000 recipients of the Order of Canada who have called for Canada to work for comprehensive negotiations for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

“We are immensely proud to give this year’s Award to Doug Roche, honouring his unwavering and inspiring leadership, for more than 50 years, resolutely focused on ridding the world of its catastrophically deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons,” said Alex Neve O.C., CLND Chairperson. “There is no one who has been so steadfast, brought so many others to this vital campaign, and shown all Canadians the moral clarity and pragmatic necessity of the cause. Doug Roche embodies the very epitome of the essence and finest qualities of leadership. And he has ardently and eloquently shown us all just what is at stake: our very survival.”

Douglas Roche has had the rare distinction of serving in the three roles of a Canadian Member of Parliament, Ambassador for Disarmament and Senator. He received appointments from two prime ministers of different parties: Brian Mulroney appointed him ambassador and Jean Chretien named him a senator. In all of those roles he has been a clarion voice for peace, justice and human rights, and has been untiring in his determined effort, in particular, to advance nuclear disarmament.
Roche, who is also a former Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta, has been a lifelong educator, informing Canadians of the risks posed by nuclear weapons and policy options to lessen those risks. He has written 25 books, and multiple articles and speeches. To strengthen disarmament education, he has organized many Parliamentary breakfasts, civil society meetings, roundtables, seminars, and briefings. He holds nine honorary doctorates and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Roche has also been integral to the creation of a wide range of effective nuclear disarmament advocacy groups. He was founding Chairperson of Parliamentarians for Global Action, the Middle Powers Initiative, and the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He was the first international president of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.

“For his integrity, knowledge, dedication and unflagging hard work, he commands an exceptional – in fact unrivalled – level and degree of respect across Canada and globally, including from governments, UN officials, civil society leaders, academics, and peace and human rights activists,” said Neve. “At the age of 96, the determination and energy he continues to bring to this crucial campaign, sets a model that we all must aspire to follow.”

Previous recipients of the CNWC Achievement Award are:
2011 Murray Thomson
2012 Bev Tollefson Delong
2013 Fergus Watt
2014 Adele Buckley
2015 Paul Dewar
2016 Peggy Mason
2017 Metta Spencer
2018 Debbie Grisdale
2019 Dr. Mary-Wynne Ashford and Dr. Jonathan Down
2021 Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons
2022 Paul Meyer
2023 Tariq Rauf
2024 Ernie Regehr