Bruce Poulin of Stittsville is honoured to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship

(Bruce Poulin, CD, OMC, of Stittsville received the Elizabeth II Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship from the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, on March 10, 2025 at The Carlu in Toronto. Photos: Office of the Lieutenant Governor.)

On March 10, 2025, Ontario honoured 11 outstanding volunteers, including Bruce Poulin, CD, OMC, of Stittsville during a presentation with the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Bruce received the Queen Elizabeth II Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship with pride from the Honourable Edith Dumont.

The medal represents the second highest honour awarded by the province and is included in the Canadian Order of Precedence and has been awarded to 586 remarkable individuals. Established in 1973, during the Queen’s Royal Visit to Ontario, the medal recognizes individuals whose exceptional volunteerism has helped drive positive change and made a lasting impact in their communities and across the province. Those awarded have devoted their lives to causes such as protecting Ontario’s natural heritage; promoting the arts, culture and sports; advocating for safer communities; and, assisting those in need.

“The Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship shines a light on those who put others first. I am happy to celebrate these outstanding Ontarians and the real difference they have made in communities across the province,” said the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Bruce was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship joining 10 other Ontario inductees:

• Ernest Bies, OMC
• Samuel Billich, OMC
• David Douglas, OMC
• Lois Emond, OMC
• Roger Harris, OMC
• Janice Hobbs Martell, OMC
• Raj Khanuja, OMC
• Lucille Levinski, OMC
• Gerrard Nudds, CD, OMC
• Brian Weckwerth, OMC

Over the past 30 years, Bruce Poulin has pushed for gender equality, youth development and communal well-being by volunteering with organizations like the Knights of Columbus, St. John Ambulance and Scouts Canada. He has also served as a minor league hockey coach.

Stittsville Central caught up with Bruce who is currently in Panama, representing the Knights of Columbus, and is again giving back by distributing some 280 wheelchairs to people for whom a wheelchair is essential to their quality of life.

Bruce is a resident of Stittsville with his wife Zoye. He said, “My wife and I moved to Stittsville in April 2014, after we got engaged – and then married in August 2015. So, Stittsville has been very kind to me.”

Born and raised in the Vanier neighbourhood of Ottawa, he was educated in French public schools until his graduation and admission to the Canadian Military at age 16. There, he received academic prizes in History and Political Science in English, graduating with First Class Honors from the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston. Subsequently, he received a full academic scholarship and earned his Master of Arts degree from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC., in International Relations majoring in finance, conflict management, and Canadian studies.

Bruce is a disabled veteran who spent half of his adult life as an Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and NATO. He left the military because he felt he was losing touch with the message he was trying to deliver through his military service.

In 2007, his life changed when he joined the not-for-profit organization, the Knights of Columbus, as a committed member. In 2015, he was elected to the Knights of Columbus State Council Executive. As well, he was elected as the Grand Knight in his parish, then appointed as the District Deputy in his region, and more recently, acclaimed as the State Deputy (CEO) for the province of Ontario, overseeing some 56,000 volunteers. As State Deputy for the Knights of Columbus since 2023, he has led the following initiatives:

• Last year, volunteer hours amounted to 1,136,000 hours (estimated value $30 million).
• Last year, donations by the Knights of Columbus in Ontario amounted to more than $4.5 million.
• Led a new record of coats donated to kids. Since he was elected the number of coats for kids has doubled to almost 19,000 coats (estimated value $525,000). This means 19,000 children in Ontario have coats so they can go to school in the cold winter months.
• Led a new initiative to erect a cenotaph at Veterans’ House Canada in Ottawa to accommodate the spiritual needs of Veterans staying at the facility (estimated value $75,000).
• Secured only the third ultrasound machine to be donated to the province in the history of the Knights of Columbus in Ontario (estimated cost of more than $50,000 each).
• Led the first trip to Puerto Rico to donate 110 wheelchairs (estimated value $33,000). Through this effort, members of the Puerto Rican Knights of Columbus have embarked on an initiative to create their own wheelchair fundraising program for their own citizens.
• Led a new initiative to donate coats to homeless Veterans (100 coats with an estimated value of $3,000).
• Led a trip to Panama where he, on behalf of the Knights of Columbus donated 280 wheelchairs (estimated value $84,000).

From 2002 to 2017, Captain Bruce S. Poulin (Ret’d) devoted himself to helping hundreds of Veterans with their disability claims as an employee at Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Among his other achievements, Bruce played a leading role in allowing young girls to play in the previously exclusive boys’ minor house league and competitive hockey association levels between 1996 and 2001. For his volunteerism, Bruce has also been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers (2016) for his significant contributions to Canadians living in Ontario.

Bruce shared with us, “There is a motto with the Knights of Columbus: “Tempest Fugit, Memento Mori” (time flies remember death).” These words took on new meaning for Bruce on March 9, 2022, when he suffered a heart attack and underwent emergency quadruple bypass open-heart surgery on March 15, 2022. A video of his heart attack and recovery may be found on YouTube or Rumble: Bruce S. Poulin, “His Story of Faith.”

His miraculous recovery without any sequelae has only inspired him to double down on his efforts to help his community and make society a better place for families to live more freely in a healthier and more prosperous tomorrow – one charitable act at a time.

Bruce has proven time and again that volunteering in the community significantly contributes to the lives of ordinary Canadians living in Ontario and across the world. He is honoured and humbled to receive Queen Elizabeth II Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship.