The Order of Merit of the Police Forces (French: Ordre du mérite des corps policiers) is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the only such fellowship reserved only for members of Canada's various police forces. Created in 2000, and administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada, appointment to the order recognizes conspicuous merit and exceptional service, the level of which reflected by the organization's three heirarchical grades.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in 1996 approached the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall to propose an order of merit for Canada's police forces, possibly modelled on the Order of Military Merit. This prompted the Solicitor General of Canada at the time, Herb Gray, to contact his provincial counterparts, inquiring of their reactions to the idea. As consent from the provincial governments was unanimous in its approval, the society was set up and officially implemented when, on 3 October 2000, Queen Elizabeth II applied the royal sign-manual to her letters patent constituting the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. The first induction ceremony for the order then took place on 17 May 2002.

The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie and military police are military units charged with civil policing.

Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Some parts of the world may suffer from police corruption.

The Order of Merit (French: Ordre du Mérite) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. While all members receive the ability to use the post-nominal letters OM and a medallion for life, the Order of Merit's precedence amongst other honours differs amongst Commonwealth realms.

Adrienne Louise Clarkson PC CC CMM COM CD FRSC(hon) FRAIC(hon) FRCPSC(hon) (Chinese: 伍冰枝; née Adrienne Louise Poy, February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation.

Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941 as a refugee from Hong Kong and was raised in Ottawa, Ontario. After receiving a number of university degrees, Clarkson worked as a producer and broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and a journalist for various magazines. Her first diplomatic posting came in the early 1980s, when she promoted Ontario culture in France and other European countries. She was in 1999 appointed as governor general by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, to replace Roméo LeBlanc as viceroy, and she occupied the post until succeeded by Michaëlle Jean in 2005. While Clarkson's appointment as the Canadian vicereine was generally welcomed at first, she caused some controversy during her time serving as the Queen's representative, mostly due to costs incurred in the operation of her office, as well as a somewhat anti-monarchist attitude toward the position.