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Key points
- Has supported Royal Canadian Legion members in Saguenay since 2001
- Managed the Legion's kitchens and served as director of its Poppy Campaign
- Also volunteered with Héma-Québec blood donors and the Fondation Santé Jonquière
- Recipient of the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers
Every November, poppies appear on coats across Canada. Behind each one is a volunteer who counted the boxes, organized the tables and made sure the donations reached the people they are meant to help. In Saguenay, Quebec, one of those people is Jeannine Tremblay-Dubois. For more than two decades she has given her time to the Royal Canadian Legion, and her quiet, steady work was recognized with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. As Remembrance Day approaches, she is a fitting reminder of how remembrance actually gets done.
More than two decades with the Legion
According to her citation from the Governor General of Canada, Tremblay-Dubois has helped deliver services to, and support, members of the Royal Canadian Legion since 2001. Her honours record lists her in Jonquière, part of the city of Saguenay. The letters C.D. after her name stand for the Canadian Forces’ Decoration, which is awarded for twelve years of service with the Canadian Forces.
Tremblay-Dubois has managed the Legion’s kitchens, the kind of behind-the-scenes job that keeps people coming back and keeps the doors open.
Directing the Poppy Campaign
She has also served as director of the Legion’s Poppy Campaign. The poppy has a long history in this country. In 1921, the Great War Veterans Association, which came before the Royal Canadian Legion, adopted it as the official flower of remembrance.
The campaign is more than a symbol. Money raised through the Legion’s Poppy Fund supports currently serving and retired service members, including grants for food, heating, clothing and prescription medication, as well as low-rent housing and meals-on-wheels programs. It also pays for veteran memorials and supports the surviving spouses and families of veterans. Each year the campaign relies on volunteers on the streets and donation boxes in local stores.
Giving beyond the Legion
Her volunteering does not stop at the Legion’s door. Her citation notes that she has also been involved with blood donors for Héma-Québec and has raised funds for the Fondation Santé Jonquière.
The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers
The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers honours living Canadians who have made a “significant, sustained, and unpaid contribution” to their community. It was announced in 2015, replaced the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award, and was first presented at Rideau Hall in 2016. The Governor General’s honours record lists Tremblay-Dubois’s medal with the date October 24, 2025.
How to honour her example
The simplest way to follow her lead is to wear a poppy this November and give to your local Legion branch’s campaign, or offer a few hours of your own time to a cause close to home, the way she has for more than twenty years. You can read her citation on the Governor General of Canada’s website and learn more about the medal from National Defence.
Questions and answers
Who is Jeannine Tremblay-Dubois?
Jeannine Tremblay-Dubois is a volunteer from Saguenay, Quebec, who has supported members of the Royal Canadian Legion since 2001. She has managed the Legion's kitchens and directed its Poppy Campaign.
What honour did she receive?
She received the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers, which recognizes significant, sustained and unpaid contributions to the community. The Governor General's honours record lists the date as October 24, 2025.
What does the Poppy Campaign support?
Donations to the Royal Canadian Legion's Poppy Fund support serving and retired members of the military and their families, with help such as grants for food, heating, clothing and prescription medication, as well as veteran memorials.
