First presented in 1941, the ACA Gold Medal Award is the Canadian marketing industry’s most prestigious honour. The award is presented to an individual whose outstanding achievements have contributed to the advancement of marketing communications in Canada.

Nomination Criteria

  • Open to all individuals in activities that have an impact on marketing communications in Canada (client marketers, agencies, media, researchers, academics, associations, etc.);
  • Awarded for a single achievement, or for accomplishments over time; and
  • Awarded to a candidate whose contribution represents a measurable, distinctive advancement in the practice of marketing communications in Canada.

Call for Nominations


Nominations are closed

ACA Gold Medal Award Recipients (1941-2023)

W.A. Lydiatt (1941) Wm. J. Harris (1979)
H.R. Cockfield* (1942) Jack N. Milne (1980)
J.E. Sampson (1943) Les McMahon (1981)
B.W. Keightley (1944) Tom Blakely (1982)
J.R. Robertson* (1945) Paul L’Anglais*
Emile Jean (1946) Yves Bourassa*
I.R. Greene (1947) W.D.H. Davis (1983)
G. Alec Phare (1948) Hugh Dow, Michael Kennerley (1984)
L.E. Phenner (1949) Jacques Bouchard, David Hopkins (1985)
John Martin (1950) Robert E. Harris (1986)
Lee Trenholme* (1951) Ross A. McCreath (1987)
N. Roy Perry (1952) Paul Mulvihill*
A.J. Casson (1953) Claude Cossette (1988)
M.M. Shneckenburger, Robert J. Galloway (1989)
J.S. Feggans (1954) Rupert T.R. Brendon (1990)
G. Warren Brown (1955) Ann Boden (1991)
W.J. Campbell (1956) Stuart Eaton (1992)
E.V. Rechnitzer (1957) Lloyd Hodgkinson (1993)
The Hon. William Hamilton (1958) Claude Lessard (1994)
H.H. Rimmer (1959) E. Peter Elwood, Peter G. Swain (1995)
H.H. Rimmer (1960) Maurice Brisebois, John Foss (1996)
William E. Trimble* (1961) Peter Beresford (1997)
William E. Williams (1962) Sunni Boot (1998)
Allan B. Yeates (1963) Hugo Powell (1999)
C. Warren Reynolds (1964) David Harrison (2002)
R.A. Barford (1965) Frank Palmer (2003)
Harry E. Foster (1966) John Cassaday (2004)
Mayor Jean Drapeau (1967) Ed Marra (2005)
W. Harold Poole (1968) Dr. Alan C. Middleton (2012)
Bryan Vaughan (1969) Philip E. Donne (2013)
J.F. Glasier (1970) William A. Moir (2014)
W.D. Byles (1971) Paul Lavoie (2015)
Ralph G. Draper* (1972) Linda Nagel (2016)
Robert A. McAlear (1973) Susan Senecal and Tom Newitt (2018)
Robert E. Oliver (1974) Shannon Hosford (2019)
John M. Gould*, A.Z. Pengelly (1975) Mark Harrison (2022)
Allan E. Ross (1976) Michael Downey (2023)
Madeleine St. Jacques (1977)
Denis Jotcham (1978)
* Awarded posthumously