Delta MP Carla Qualtrough, a former Paralympic swimming medalist, has been nominated in the builder category and will be inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame in April.
The federal minister of sport and persons with disabilities is among a group of five individuals who will be inducted at a gala dinner April 7 in Ottawa.
Qualtrough said the recognition is a huge honour.
"I'm quite excited that I got nominated in the builder category. I'm super honoured to have won medals as an athlete, but the idea of being recognized as contributing to the system is something pretty special to me," she said. "My life as an athlete was super important, but the work I did after I retired as an athlete is what I am really proud of." Qualtrough competed in the Paralympics in 1988 and 1992 and at the World Championships in 1990, winning seven medals.
After she retired she went to law school and got involved as a volunteer, which led to further involvement in the Paralympic movement.
She has volunteered locally, nationally and internationally, including with the International Paralympic Committee and the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. She has been president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and chair of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada.
She said the Paralympic movement has played a huge role in her life.
"I could never give back to sport what sport gave to me," she said. "I can't explain to people what a pivotal role sport played for me as an awkward teenager with a disability that was searching for something. I ended up being pretty good at swimming and I don't think I would be in this job today or had the success I have had without sport, particularly Para-sport, so to give back and do for others what was done for me has been so important."
