Canada Honours Two North Shore Heroes
Rainbow Camp’s Harry Stewart and Christopher Southin Receive Service Medals in Ottawa
With the opening of 2025’s Rainbow Camp just around the corner, co-founders Chris Southin and Harry Stewart are as busy as they can possibly be. But not so busy they couldn’t squeeze in a quick flight to Ottawa in order to receive the Governor General's Meritorious Service Medal for over a decade of dedicated work providing vital summer camp experience for LGBTQ+ youth at Rainbow Camp®.
The medals will be awarded in a formal ceremony at Rideau Hall on the morning of June 25th, and Harry and Chris will then race to the airport, fly back home, and finish preparations for the first traunch of youth at camp. No word yet on whether they will be wearing their medals over their t-shirts and around the campfire the entire camp season.
Rainbow Camp operates on a tiered fee model, designed to make sure nobody is turned away for financial reasons. Situated in the North Shore wilderness east of Sault Ste. Marie, the camp is run by professional staff, and hosts youth from across Canada for weeklong traditional camp activities mixed with supports for identity and mental wellness. Testimonials from past campers reveal just how impactful and positive the experience can be.
"Since rainbow camp and the amazing things that came with it, I’ve been myself. I’ve been alive. I’ve been happy. I learned it was okay to be different. I’ve improved on so much, met so many amazing people. As someone who came from an abusive home, with a homophobic dad, and as someone who couldn’t even go outside without shaking at the time, I went to rainbow camp. When I was there, I felt safe. I had the confidence to do so much more. It was safe, it was life changing.”
In order to run their annual services, Rainbow Camp depends on donations and year-round fundraising. It is the target for local Tim Horton’s Smile Cookie fundraisers out of Thessalon, theatre and entertainment events in Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto, and the annual Thessalon Community Days Rubber Duck Race. Internationally renowned comedians, Colin Mochrie and Debra McGrath, are principal sponsors of Rainbow Camp and have personally donated time, talent, and money to the cause.
Shore Report will update this story with photos of the medals and their recipients just as soon as Harry and Chris send them to us. In the meantime, if you wish to donate to Rainbow Camp and help youth experience Canada’s spectacular wilderness in a safe place where they can just be themselves for a week, you can do so here.
