Tracy Dahl found out that she was one of the recipients of Manitoba’s highest honours in an inauspicious way.  

“I wasn’t aware when it happened except all of a sudden, my phone started getting a lot of messages,” she laughs. 

The celebrated soprano and University of Manitoba voice teacher was one of twelve Manitobans named to the Order of Manitoba this week by Lieutenant Governor Anita Neville. The list also includes music superstar Chantal Kreviazuk, former premier Brian Pallister, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Joss Reimer, and former Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris. 

 

Recognition from home 

Amidst all of the accolades that Dahl has received in her career (including being invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2018), the Order of Manitoba feels extra special to her because of the connection that it has to her community.  

“To bring it back down and place it at home, that I think is really very special,” she says, “because this is the place I call home. This is where I chose to live through my whole career. And that feels really lovely.”


 

Dahl notes that the placement of herself and Kreviazuk amongst all the other recipients and their accomplishments shows the special value that Manitoba places on the arts. “I think it is well known outside of Manitoba… that we’re kind of a cultural capital here in Canada,” she says. “We cherish [the arts] here and that’s why they thrive. It’s important to the province, it’s important certainly to the city of Winnipeg and each community to find their way of supporting that thriving arts community.”

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Sharing Manitoba around the world 

As Dahl’s career has taken her across Canada and around the world, one thing that she has always taken with her is the power of community. She credits being raised in Manitoba’s supportive music ecosystem for her signature personal touch, with everything from the Winnipeg Music Festival to performances at the Corn & Apple Festival in Morden demonstrating the value that her community has given to her art. Her and her husband Raymond Sokalski have remained here in Winnipeg throughout her career, raising their sons and building relationships with neighbours and friends. That support is something that Dahl thinks has shone through her artistry no matter what stage she finds herself on. 

“It’s about the relationship you have with the other person,” she explains. “Instead of, ‘Oh, my next job is here, here, here,’ you know, ‘How are you doing? Where are you from? What’s your favourite place where you’re from?’ We tend to be more personal, I think.”

 

Three-time Olympic hockey medalist Jocelyne Larocque, orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Peter MacDonald, Mondetta Clothing CEO Ash Modha, Indigenous leader Diane Roussin, former Children’s Advocate of Manitoba Elder Billie Schibler, WOW! Hospitality Group’s Douglas Stephen, and electromagnetic innovator Dr. Lotfollah Shafai round out the 2026 Order of Manitoba recipients. The recipients will be officially invested at a ceremony at the Manitoba Legislative Building.