Jean Lumb Foundation Announces the 29th Anniversary of the Jean Lumb Awards with 19 Winners from Across Canada

TORONTO, Oct. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From city to city, step by step, the Jean Lumb Awards winners are growing across Canada. This year's winners represent the bright minds and passions of young Canadians across the country. The winners are from communities nationwide, including 9 recipients from Ontario (Markham, Oakville, Ottawa, Windsor, Toronto), 8 recipients from British Columbia (Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Abbotsford, Richmond, Port Moody), 1 recipient from Alberta (Calgary) and 1 recipient from Manitoba (Winnipeg). The winners exemplify the dreams and ambitions of today's youth.

In athletics, we're making history by awarding, for the first time, the sailing prowess of two sisters from Victoria, BC: one from high school, the other in university.

Future healthcare leaders are in no shortage, including Cadence Tam from Calgary, Ryan Ho from Hamilton, and four winners from Toronto: Selina Chow, JJ Mao, Harrison Gao, and Jocelyn Lee.

In music, Verity Leung, a piano virtuoso from Vancouver, and Leon Xiang from Richmond, who champions concerts to foster community, are both from BC.  

Innovating for the future is a common theme, with Hebbe Yuan from Coquitlam, BC, Benjamin Ru from Windsor, and Freddie Zhang from Vancouver, BC, all creating new ideas, applications, and products to build a better society.

Finally, future community voices will be stronger with Selina Ma from Nanaimo, BC, and representing Ontario, Isabel Shang from St. Catharines, Edith Rene from Ottawa, Joshua Han from Toronto, and Winston Lee from Toronto.

The 2026 Jean Lumb Award winners:

2026 AWARD RECIPIENTS – UNIVERSITY

Chinese Canadian Studies Award
Winston Lee

Michael Yu Award - Medicine, University of Toronto
Harrison Gao

E. Ling Kwong Family Award - Medicine, McMaster University
Ryan Ho    

E. Ling Kwong Family Award - Medicine
JJ Mao

E. Ling Kwong Family Award - Medicine, Toronto Metropolitan University
Jocelyn Lee

E. Ling Kwong Family Award - Athletics
Alexis Kuo

E. Ling Kwong Family Award – Family Medicine
Selina Chow

2026 AWARD RECIPIENTS – HIGH SCHOOL

University of Toronto Scarborough Academics Award
Joshua Han TDSB Virtual Secondary School, Toronto, ON

Chung-Kotcheff Family Arts Award
Verity Leung Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology, Vancouver, BC

Murphy & Chung Chartered Accountants Athletics Award
Ayden Kuo Glenlyon Norfolk School, Victoria, BC

Dorothy and Jung Shao Lu Community Services Award
Isabel Shang Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, St. Catharines, ON

AMIwealth Group Dignity of Life Award
Leon Xiang McMath Secondary School, Richmond, BC

Fay and John Wong Defence of the Environment Award
Hebbe Yuan Gleneagle Secondary School, Coquitlam, BC

Kwai Chun Wong Award of Excellence
Carina Wai Rick Hansen Secondary School School of Science, Abbotsford, BC

Choi King and John C. Mah Memorial Innovation Award
Freddie Zhang Prince of Wales Secondary School, Vancouver, BC

Leadership Award in Memory of Jeffrey W. Lem and Susan Chong Lem
Selina Ma Dover Bay Secondary School, Nanaimo, BC

Marilyn Lee Journalism and Communications Award
Edith René École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité, Ottawa, ON

Foon Hay Lum Commemorative Award for Overcoming Adversity
Cadence Tam Ernest Manning High School, Calgary, AB

Ample Ace Holdings Ltd/Playdexk Innovation in Technology Award
Benjamin Ru Vincent Massey High School, Windsor, ON

"I am so honoured to recognize this year's record number of winners and to welcome them as Jean Lumb Award alumni," said Arlene Chan, eldest daughter of Jean Lumb and President of the Jean Lumb Foundation. "Their fresh energy and ideas will serve our communities positively for generations. I would also like to thank our judging panel, who, year after year, invest many hours reviewing hundreds of applications from students across Canada. Finally, I can never say enough thanks to our sponsors who make the awards possible, notably the University of Toronto Scarborough and Murphy & Chung Chartered Accountants, two of our longest-serving sponsors. Among our newest sponsors are Ample Ace Holdings Ltd/Playdexk and AMIwealth Group."

The Jean Lumb Foundation celebrates 29 years of awarding scholarships to recognize excellence in students of Chinese heritage from across Canada. Since the awards' inception in 1998, over 185 award alumni have gone on to work in their chosen fields and make positive contributions to our communities across Canada, as far north as Nunavut, and worldwide.

Jean Lumb was the first Chinese Canadian woman to receive the Order of Canada for her tireless community work as a voice and advocate for Chinese communities across Canada.

The 29th Annual Jean Lumb Awards will be held on Sunday, November 1, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT, at the Great Hall, Hart House, University of Toronto, 7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, Ontario.    

For a list of the winners and their backgrounds, please see attached detailed press release in pdf format.       

For further information, please contact Stephen Wong at (416) 817-5237 or via email at stephen@linkwoodgroup.ca or info@jeanlumbfoundation.ca.

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A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/904cb8c5-5f15-4444-b0bb-b1646d3d889f