One of Manitoba’s most famous musicians will be immortalized in a stretch of highway between Lynn Lake and Thompson, Man.

A 322-kilometre section of Provincial Road 391 will be renamed “Tom Cochrane’s Life Is A Highway” in honour of the eight-time Juno Award winner.

Cochrane joined Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, Infrastructure Minister Blaine Pedersen and Lynn Lake Mayor James Lindsay as they made the announcement earlier today at the Legislative Building.

Cochrane was born in Lynn Lake and lived there until he was five-years-old, before moving to Ontario.

Despite leaving at a young age, he credits the Northern Manitoba community and his parents for his success.

“This is an incredible honour,” said Cochrane. “I’m really happy to have a lot of people feel that I’ve done Manitoba proud.”

“I was always brought up to feel like this (Lynn Lake) was my home even though I left,” he continued. “I’ve always come back and spent a lot of summers up here and I just love it. I love the people; it’s etched into my soul.”

Cochrane says Lynn Lake is a blue collar town with hardworking people, two traits he took into his career.  

“I’ve taken some of that strong community spirit with me and incorporated it into my music,” he said.

Pallister noted during his remarks that many musicians and artist have created metaphors for life.

He says, however, Cochrane did it best.

“Life is a highway,” said Pallister, with a laugh. “It’s got its on-ramps; it’s got its off-ramps, it’s got its ditches and side roads, its ups, its downs and it’s got its adventure.”

Mayor Lindsay, meanwhile, says Lynn Lake is proud to have a representative like Cochrane.

“We feel a tremendous amount of pride in what he’s achieved over his career and in speaking to Tom, I know Lynn Lake is never far from his heart,” said Lindsay.

Cochrane also announced he will be going on a cross-Canada tour in 2017 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his album, Mad Mad World.

The tour will include a stop in Winnipeg on Aug. 13, 2017 and a special stop in Lynn Lake on Aug. 20. The town is approximately 12 hours north of Winnipeg and Mayor Lindsay is hopeful people will come from across the province to attend the show and see what Lynn Lake has to offer.

Along with his eight Juno Awards, Cochrane received a Grammy nomination for “Life is a Highway” in 1993. The song reached No. 1 in Canada and No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2005.

Former mayor Sam Katz gave Cochrane a key to the city of Winnipeg in June 2012 and most recently, he performed during the NHL Heritage Classic alumni game at Investors Group Field.

Cochrane is also known for his charity work, including working with the Make Poverty History campaign. He also served as a spokesperson with the World Society for the Protection of Animals and is an honorary chairperson for the Canadian Parkinson’s Society.