A former senator who championed soil conservation and a renowned Regina folk artist are two of the Canadians to be honoured with the country's highest civilian award.

On Tuesday, Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean announced 60 new appointments to the Order of Canada, including Herb Sparrow and David Thauberger, who will be made members of the order.

Sparrow, 78, of North Battleford, was the country's longest serving senator when he retired three years ago. The former president of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party was appointed to the Senate in 1968.

During the '80s, he was responsible for a Senate committee report on soil erosion titled Soil at Risk: Canada's Eroding Future.

Thauberger, 60, is one of Saskatchewan's most beloved painters, whose works are eagerly snapped up by collectors and galleries.

In the Order of Canada announcement, he was cited for or his contributions to "the promotion and preservation of Canadian heritage and folk art in the province of Saskatchewan, in addition to his work as a painter, sculptor and educator."

A third person named to the Order on Tuesday also has a Saskatchewan connection.

Ottawa's Barry Strayer, a long-serving federal judge who was born in Moose Jaw, is being made an officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to the Canadian legal profession, especially in the field of constitutional law, and for his role in bringing about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Those named to the Order of Canada will be formally honoured at a ceremony to be held later in Ottawa.