In Memoriam
We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Sandra Pyke. A trailblazing feminist psychologist with a respected and admired professional career, Dr. Pyke served as President of the CPA (1981-82) and later received the CPA’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Canadian Psychology (1996) and the CPA’s Distinguished Lifetime Service Award (2008). She was a CPA Fellow and a co-founder of both the CPA’s Section for Women and Psychology (SWAP) and the Section for Psychologists and Retirement (SPAR). She will be deeply missed by all who knew her and all who followed in her enormous footsteps.
The CPA was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Cannie Stark, CPA Past President (1991-1992) and Fellow (Dr. Cannie STARK Obituary | Regina Leader Post Remembering.
Dr. Stark was a Professor Emerita at the University of Regina, where she was a former head of the department. (She later retired to Montreal.)
She was a passionate and charismatic scholar, teacher, and pioneer in the field of the Psychology of Women, having published extensively in all these areas. A co-founder and long-standing member of the CPA’s Section for Women and Psychology (SWAP), she was recognized with the SWAP Distinguished Member Award in 1995. Among her many distinctions, Dr. Stark was also the longest-serving member of the CPA’s Committee on Ethics, joining the committee at its inception in 1983 and serving until her passing.
Dr. Stark has left a strong legacy in the fields of psychology, ethics, and social justice for her colleagues to embrace and build upon. She will be deeply missed.
The CPA was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Carole Sinclair on February 28, 2026 (https://www.catholic-cemeteries.ca/obituary/dr-carole-sinclair/). Dr. Sinclair was a clinical psychologist who served as Director of Treatment Services at the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre.
A visionary and influential leader in professional ethics, she was a primary architect of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists and the Companion Manual to the Code of Ethics. She also served for many years as Chair of the CPA’s Committee on Ethics and was an instructor for the CPA’s online course on being an ethical psychologist. Dr. Sinclair made significant contributions to the CPA in many capacities, including as a Director on the CPA’s Board and through her work with CPA Sections. While serving on the Board as Chair of the Committee on Sections, she developed the first iteration of the Section Operations Manual in May 1993. A Fellow of the CPA, Dr. Sinclair was also a past recipient of the CPA’s Member of the Year Award. In 2016, her lifelong commitment to the field was recognized with the CPA’s Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions—the highest honour bestowed by her peers.
The CPA extends its deep sympathy to Dr. Sinclair’s family, friends, students, and colleagues. Her legacy will live on through the generations of colleagues, students, and interns whose ethical understanding and skills she helped shape.
The CPA Board of Directors is sorry to announce the passing of one of its past-Presidents (2004), Dr. Patrick (Pat) O’Neill. In addition to his role as President of the CPA, Dr. O’Neill was a longstanding and impactful member of the CPA’s Committee on Ethics and remained an active and engaged member of the association until his passing. To quote Pat’s colleague, Dr. Doug Symons, “The discipline and the profession of Psychology, as well as of academia more broadly defined, are built on the contributions of exceptional leaders. Dr. Pat O’Neill was one.” The CPA extends its condolences to his family, colleagues and friends whose lives he touched and in whose memories he lives on.