Boldt, MacKinnon receive Order of Canada

Two Saskatchewan residents have been chosen to receive this country's top honour — the Order of Canada.

Paralympian, Arnold Boldt, and former Saskatchewan Finance Minister, Janice MacKinnon, have been given the title.

"I got a phone call and I was quite awestruck by it," Boldt said. "I mean what an honour to be receiving this award. There are some pretty incredible Canadians to have received this and to be a part of that means a lot."

Boldt is being recognized for his achievements in sport and for his contributions as a role model for people with disabilities.

He lost his leg in a farming accident before his third birthday, but that didn't stop him from becoming an inspirational paralympic athlete.

Between 1976 and 1988, Boldt won five paralympian gold medals in high jump and long jump, breaking several world records along the way.

In 1977 he was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, in Toronto, Ont.

This past summer, Boldt competed in three cycling events at the 2012 London Paralympics.

MacKinnon, on the other hand, is being recognized for her contributions to public policy in Canada.

She is currently a professor of public policy at the University of Saskatchewan, but she said serving as the province's finance minister remains one of her greatest accomplishments.

"I think the thing they probably focused on the most was my time as finance minister in Saskatchewan and the very difficult fiscal situation," MacKinnon said. "Saskatchewan was, in the 1990s, the first province in Canada to balance the budget."

The Order of Canada was established in 1967 by Queen Elizabeth II to recognize a person for their lifetime of achievement, dedication and service to the country.