Dr. Allan Wade appointed to the Order of Canada

A note from Dr. Allan Wade regarding his appointment to the Order of Canada:

On December 18, 2024, the Office of the Governor General of Canada announced that I have been appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada, in acknowledgement of my part in developing response-based practice, a specialized approach for addressing violence, broadly defined. 

Response-based practice is an accessible framework that is applied on the personal level (e.g., in therapy with individuals and families), on the community level (e.g. with groups involved in social justice projects), and on the structural level in efforts to improve institutional responses (e.g., in policing, criminal justice, family law, child protection, refuges/shelters, victim/survivor and offender treatment, research, education). 

The ideas and methods that comprise response-based practice were developed from practice and research and from long-term close collaboration between colleagues in diverse communities in Canada and abroad (e.g., Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, England, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, Italy, Finland). Response-based practice is not a manualized approach to be applied as is across social and cultural settings, but an open and evolving framework to be adapted as needed. 

I am profoundly grateful to the Governor General of Canada for this honour and hope it will further our collective effort through the Centre for Response-Based Practice. I would also like to thank everyone who provided information to the office of the Governor General in support of my appointment.

Long term work of this type, involving travel and participation in complex and sometimes unpredictable situations, is possible only with extensive support. I am deeply and eternally grateful to my life-partner, Cathy, whose support and guidance make all things possible and all things better.

Press release:

VICTORIA, BC, Dec. 18, 2024 - Dr. Allan Wade, C.M. has been appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada – one of the country's highest civilian honours – in recognition of his work in developing Response-Based Practice, a specialized approach to addressing violence.

Response-Based Practice evolved from a method of therapy to a framework for improving institutional responses in law enforcement, criminal justice, family law, therapy, child protection, refuges/shelters, victim/survivor and offender treatment, research, and education. 

"Thanks to meeting some extraordinary people – colleagues and clients – I became interested in how people respond to and resist violence, directly and indirectly" said Dr. Wade. "Careful exploration of such responses contests the blaming and pathologizing of victims/survivors, reveals the controlled and deliberate nature of violence, and provides a more reliable basis for working with people who have used violence."

From the outset, Dr. Wade and his Canadian colleagues worked with diverse communities in Canada and abroad – collaborations that were furthered through the Centre for Response-Based Practice, which organized the Dignity Conference series and continues to offer ongoing training for professionals around the world.

The reach of the approach has been illustrated in a number of ways, notably:

  • National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and LGBT2SI+ Persons: Dr. Wade testified at the request of the Liard Aboriginal Women's Society, where he spoke about the power of language and the necessity of honouring the ongoing resistance of Kaska and other Indigenous peoples to colonialism, past and present.  

  • Stockholm Syndrome: Through conversation with Kristin Enmark, the first person said to have Stockholm Syndrome, Dr. Wade showed that the notion of Stockholm Syndrome – the illusion that became fact – was used to suppress criticism of authorities and conceal the determined and courageous responses of the hostages.

  • Youth for Dignity: Developed by the Liard Aboriginal Women's Society (LAWS) and based in Watson Lake, Yukon, Youth for Dignity promotes inclusion, community safety and violence prevention through culturally-based activities led by Kaska women Elders and facilitators who work to address all forms of violence in the colonial context.

Dr. Wade's appointment as a Member of the Order of Canada acknowledges the core principles of Response-Based Practice as a means of upholding the dignity of diverse individuals and communities.

"Allan, and the ideas behind Response-Based Practice, have irrevocably changed the lives of individuals who experience violence, professionals who have the privilege to join this field and stay in it, organizations with leaders who aim to uphold the dignity of all people, and communities whose members are striving to increase safety," said Dr. Shelly Dean, RCC, AAMFT, who initiated the nomination Dr. Wade for the Order of Canada and remains one of his closest colleagues.

Established in 1967, the Order of Canada has recognized more than 7,600 individuals that have been honoured for inspiring innovation, shaping who we are and enriching Canada's fabric.

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About the Centre for Response-Based Practice: The Centre for Response-Based Practice is a pioneering organization dedicated to advancing research, education, and practice in response-based approaches to addressing violence. Founded on the principle that individuals resist violence and oppression in various ways, the Centre works to promoting dignity and respect, working with both victims/survivors and perpetrators of violence. Through innovative training, consultation, and advocacy, the Centre supports professionals across sectors—including law enforcement, criminal justice, family law, therapy, child protection, refuges/shelters, victim/survivor and offender treatment, research, and education—to integrate response-based principles into their work. Response-Based Practice has been developed in the 1990s through the long-term close collaboration of many colleagues, including Nick Todd and Gillian Weaver-Dunlop and colleagues at the Centre for Response-Based Practice, Dr. Cathy Richardson, Dr. Linda Coates, and Dr. Shelly Dean.

SOURCE: Centre for Response-Based Practice

For more information about Dr. Allan Wade's work or Response-Based Practice, please contact:

Media Contact:

Julie Macdonald
Fieldtrip Strategy Inc.
403.830.7221
julie@fieldtripstrategy.com