Petitclerc is one of the most successful athletes ever in Paralympic sport having competed at five Paralympic Games and won 21 medals, including 14 golds.

In 2008, she won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's athlete of the year and was named the Canadian Press' female athlete of the year.

Petitclerc is a public speaker, broadcaster and athlete mentor, currently serving as Team Canada's Chef de Mission for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Joining her in the athlete category is Marni Abbott-Peter, who led Canada's national women's wheelchair basketball team to three gold medals and a bronze in her four Paralympic Games appearances.

She was the cornerstone of one of the most dominant teams in the history of Canadian amateur sport, which also won three consecutive world titles and produced a 43-game winning streak in World Championship and Paralympic Games play.

Lauren Woolstencroft completes the trio of athlete inductees as the winner of eight gold medals, one silver, and one bronze across three Paralympic Games during her Alpine-skiing career.

At Vancouver 2010, Woolstencroft became the first Canadian winter Paralympian to win five gold medals at a single Games and was named Canada's flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony.

In the coach category is the late Wilf Strom, who as the Canadian Blind Sports Association (CBSA) national swim coach in the 1980s, coached a successful group of swimmers, including Tim McIsaac, Mike Edgson and Carla Qualtrough.

Among his many innovations, Strom developed the tapping system, marking a significant breakthrough in the sport.

People called "tappers" stand at the end of the pool and use a pole to tap the swimmers when they approach the wall, indicating when they should turn or end the race.

Strom’s wife Audrey is one of three inductees in the builder category, along with Dr Donald Royer, who served as Canada’s team manager or team leader at 13 Paralympic Games, and former President of the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, the late Gary McPherson.

As the first chairperson of swimming for the CBSA, as well as the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) in the early 1980s, Audrey Strom worked to ensure that rule changes for blind swimmers such as tapping were instilled in the ISBA and later the International Paralympic Committee swimming rules.

"Whether athlete, coach, or builder, this group of inductees are all innovators and trailblazers for Paralympic sport," said Gaétan Tardif, President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC).

"They contributed to building the very foundation of the Paralympic Movement in Canada and around the world.

"We are in a better place today because of their amazing contributions."

Initiated in 2000, the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame recognises and celebrates those who have made a significant contribution to the growth and development of the Paralympic Movement in Canada.

The seven inductees for 2015 will be acknowledged within the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame Honoured Members section located in the Olympic and Paralympic Gallery at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary.

The CPC holds an induction process every two years, during non-Paralympic Games years.

This year's induction ceremony and celebration dinner is set to take place on November 27 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.

Tickets are available for purchase by clicking here.



Related stories
June 2015: Petitclerc receives honorary degree from University of Toronto
September 2014: Five-time Paralympian Petitclerc revealed as Canada's Rio 2016 Chef de Mission
October 2014: First Paralympic coach inducted into Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
May 2013: Petitclerc to be inducted into Athletics Canada's Hall of Fame
September 2012: Paralympic legend chosen as Chef de Mission for Team Canada at Glasgow 2014