Tonya Williams (Tonya Lee Williams as Olivia-Y&R) is a 2026 recipient of Canada's Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
https://ggpaa.ca/award-recipients/2026/williams,-tonya.aspx
Lifetime Artistic Achievement
Recognizes artists for their outstanding body of work and enduring contribution to the performing arts in Canada. These national awards are presented in the categories of theatre, dance, classical music, broadcasting, popular music and film. Nominations for this category are open to the public.
Tonya Williams
2026 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award (Screens and Voices)
In 2000, driven by the lack of racial diversity she observed in the Canadian screen industries, she founded Reelworld. Through the Reelworld Screen Institute, the organization delivers the annual Reelworld Film Festival, the two-day Reelworld Summit, year-round professional development programs, and the hiring database Access Reelworld. The company has grown into a respected national platform supporting emerging talent and challenging systemic barriers affecting Black, Indigenous, Asian, South Asian, and People of Colour in Canada’s screen sector.
Tonya Williams is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her numerous honours include the Canadian Screen Awards Changemaker Award, ACTRA’s National Award of Excellence, two NAACP Image Awards, and the Legacy Award Visionary Award. She was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2025 and was named one of Afroglobal Television’s 100 Most Influential Black Canadians three years in a row.
By
janea4old ·
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.