Discovery Channel’s Jay Ingram and OMNI national VP Madeline Ziniak have been named to the Order of Canada following a round of appointments and promotions on Wednesday.

Governor General Michaelle Jean added some 60 names to the order’s ranks on Canada Day, nodding to Canucks in fields as varied as law, engineering, religion and sailboat design.

Ingram, co-host of Discovery’s Daily Planet info series, was noted for ‘making complex science accessible to the public… and for his leadership of future generations of science journalists.’ The GG nodded to Ziniak as a ‘driving force’ of multicultural television.

Both have been made members in the order, its lowest rank. They will be invited to an induction ceremony at a later date.

‘This is a huge surprise,’ said Ingram in a statement, adding that the appointment was ‘unexpected and extraordinary.’

The same announcement saw multi-hyphenate Robert Lepage promoted to a companion in the order, its highest rank, for his ‘international contributions to the performing arts, particularly in film, theater and opera, as an actor, producer and director.’