Awards

The Vanier Institute of the Family is committed to building capacity and supporting family research in Canada. To this end, we recognize and celebrate valuable contributions to our understanding of families and family wellbeing through our awards program. Our awards recognize those who have made a contribution through their research and knowledge, leadership or action, ideas or innovation. All award winners are determined by a panel of judges from diverse sectors and backgrounds.

Mirabelli-Glossop Award for Distinguished Contribution

The Mirabelli-Glossop Award for Distinguished Contribution is a lifetime achievement award recognizing individuals who have significantly advanced national understanding of families and family wellbeing in Canada. Through outstanding research and/or service, recipients of this award have made enduring contributions to the field of family studies and/or support of families in Canada. Named in honour of former Executive Team members Alan Mirabelli and Robert Glossop, the award celebrates a legacy of excellence and impact.

Colonel Russell Mann Family Research Award

The Colonel Russell Mann Family Research Award recognizes researchers whose work increases understanding of the many families in Canada who are affected by work that is high risk, requires high mobility, and/or involves frequent separations from families and home communities. In the Family Diversities and Wellbeing Framework, these traits are among those recognized as a source of inequalities experienced by families in the Family Work lens. Originally focused on military, veteran, and public safety personnel, this award has since been broadened to include civilian families with members whose employment shares these traits, such as rotating seasonal workers who travel across borders for extended periods and transportation workers.

Early Career Scholars Award

The Early Career Scholars Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the understanding of families and family life in Canada by emerging scholars at the graduate and post-graduate levels. Launched in 2025, this award helps to build capacity by recognizing the achievements of those in the early stages of their career who have demonstrated exceptional potential for research, leadership, or innovation in advancing knowledge about families.