CPHA recognizes three leaders whose work has shaped public health in Canada
Each year, the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) honours individuals or organizations who provide outstanding service to their community and profession. CPHA’s members nominate candidates for the awards and the recipients are selected by CPHA’s Awards Committee and confirmed by the Board of Directors. CPHA is pleased to announce the following recipients of its 2026 Honorary Awards to be presented at its annual conference on Wednesday 11 March 2026:
DR. ROBERT STRANG
R.D. Defries Award
Honorary Life Membership
Dr. Robert Strang has been a Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialist since 1997 and has served as Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health since 2007, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to advancing public health in Canada. Over decades of service, he has provided evidence-informed leadership on tobacco control, substance use, and health equity, helping to strengthen both provincial and national public health systems.
Dr. Strang’s impact extends to countless Nova Scotians and Canadians through sustained efforts to address the social determinants of health, advance health promotion, and build resilient systems that will protect future generations.
ASHLEY WETTLAUFER
Certificate of Merit
Dr. Ashley Wettlaufer is recognized for her outstanding contributions to public health through leadership in alcohol policy research, analysis, and knowledge mobilization. Ms. Wettlaufer played a central role in the Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE), a multi-phase initiative assessing Canadian jurisdictions across eleven alcohol policy domains and examining the alignment between existing policies and research evidence. She led the collection and verification of detailed policy data across provinces and territories, contributed to the weighting and synthesis of findings, and supported the dissemination of results through webinars, publications, and reports. Her work has informed evidence-based advice to government officials, non-governmental organizations, and public health leaders.
A broad network of government, NGO, and community partners continues to benefit from her guidance on a wide range of alcohol policy issues, including pricing and taxation, alcohol advertising and marketing, provincial and territorial strategies, impaired driving countermeasures, and warning labels on alcohol containers.
MANUEL ARANGO, BA, MA, MHA
Ron Draper Health Promotion Award
Manuel Arango has dedicated more than 25 years to advancing public health in Canada through sustained leadership in policy and advocacy at the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada. Over the course of his career, he has played a pivotal role in shaping heart and brain health policy and strengthening prevention-focused public health initiatives nationwide.
A nationally respected advocate, Mr. Arango is particularly recognized for his leadership in nutrition policy. He has been instrumental in major public health achievements, including mandatory front-of-package nutrition labelling, the removal of industrial trans fats from the food supply, and the modernization of Canada’s Food Guide. His work consistently bridges evidence, advocacy, and implementation, translating research into tangible health gains for communities across Canada.
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ABOUT THE AWARDS
The R.D. Defries Award is CPHA’s highest award. Instituted in 1965, the Award is presented annually in the form of a medal and citation to a CPHA member for outstanding contributions in the broad field of public health, preference being given to Canadian contributions and individuals who have substantially supported CPHA's objectives and activities. Robert Davies Defries, CBE, MD, DPH, LLD (Sask), DrPH (Montreal), for whom the award is named, devoted a lifetime to the interest of public health in Canada and particularly to CPHA of which he was an Honorary Life Member. The Defries Award carries with it an Honorary Life Membership.
The Certificate of Merit provides CPHA with an opportunity to give official recognition to an individual, group or organization for noteworthy services to public health and that furthered CPHA in achieving its objectives. Nominees are not required to be a CPHA member.
The Ron Draper Health Promotion Award is presented to an individual, group or organization engaged in community work to acknowledge a significant contribution to health promotion to build healthy public policy, create environments that support health, enable community action, enhance personal skills, and/or re-orient health services. Nominees are not required to be a CPHA member.