Twelve Manitobans receive the Order of Manitoba on Thursday

Manitoba legislative building

WINNIPEG -

A group of Manitobans received the province’s highest honour on Thursday.

The province held the Order of Manitoba investiture ceremony at 4 p.m., where 12 Manitobans received the honour.

The event was closed to the public, but was streamed online. 

The 12 Manitobans who received the order this year include Greg Selinger, who served as Manitoba premier from 2009 to 2016, in addition to being a city councillor and working in social services in Winnipeg.

Steve Bell, a singer-songwriter who has won multiple Juno awards, was also recognized this year, as was Ava Kobrinsky, one of the founding directors of the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

The other names being recognized include:

• Franklin (Lynn) Bishop, a business executive who served as the CEO of Winnipeg International Airport, and played key roles in the establishment of Winnport Logistics and its evolution into Cargojet;
• Elder Ruth Christie, who has dedicated her life to preserving Indigenous history;
• Dr. Michael Eskin, one of the world’s leading food science writers. Eskin was named to the Order of Canada in 2016 for his work on the functional properties of canola oil;
• Gordon Goldsborough, the current president of the Manitoba Historical Society;
• Gregg Hanson, the former president and CEO of Wawanesa Mutual, who now chairs an initiative to assist Winnipeg’s most vulnerable children. Hanson was also named to the Order of Canada;
• Kyle Irving, the co-owner of Eagle Vision, a production company that has produced numerous films and television series;
• Claudette Leclerc, an advocate for provincial arts, culture, and heritage, and the former president and CEO of the Manitoba Museum;
• Doris Mae Oulton, the current chair of the Nellie McClung Foundation and the Canadian Federation of University Women Charitable Trust, and a long-time advocate for women’s rights; and
• Arni Thorsteinson, an entrepreneur who founded Shelter Properties and spearheaded the capital campaign for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The Order of Manitoba was established in 1999 to recognize Manitobans who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field that has benefitted the social, cultural or economic well-being of the province.

-With files from CTV's Charles Lefebvre