[2] He is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame,[3] an officer of the Order of Canada,[4] and has an honorary doctorate from Brandon University.

[5] After meeting at the El Mocambo tavern in Toronto, Cochrane joined the Canadian rock band Red Rider in 1978 and served as their lead singer and main songwriter for more than ten years.

Already a household name in Canada from his time with Red Rider, Cochrane launched his solo career in 1991 with the release of the song "Life Is a Highway".

He spends summers at his cottage/studio on the shores of Georgian Bay in Northern Ontario and winters part-time at his home outside of Austin, Texas.

In 2006, the group Rascal Flatts charted in the top 10 of the Hot 100 with a cover of "Life Is a Highway", which they recorded for the Pixar film Cars.

Cochrane closed the show by performing a medley of his hits and was joined onstage by host Shania Twain for the final song, "Life Is a Highway".

Anne Murray hosted the event which also included the inductions of Kim Cattrall, Raymond Burr, Blue Rodeo, Dsquared2, Howie Mandel, Robert Munsch and Chantal Petitclerc.

In addition, musician James Ehnes, journalist Henry Champ and actress Shirley Douglas received honorary doctorates from the university at the spring convocation held May 28, 2005.

Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame Cochrane was inducted on May 9, 2014, Gil Moore formerly of the band Triumph made the presentation.