Tina Jones, C.M., O.M.; Photo by Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, MB, October 02, 2026 – Health Sciences Centre Foundation (HSC Foundation) is celebrating today as their Past Chair, Tina Jones, C.M., O.M., is being officially invested into the Order of Canada this morning at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
As Past Chair of the HSC Foundation and a passionate community builder, Jones has championed philanthropy as a means of advancing innovation in health care for Manitobans.
“We can draw a straight line from Tina’s leadership with the Foundation to lives saved at HSC,” says Jonathon Lyon, President & CEO of the HSC Foundation. “She’s a leader like no other and her impact on health care in this province will be felt for generations.”
Jones is one of more than 7,600 Canadians named to the Order since 1967, when the designation was established to honour people who make extraordinary contributions to the country. As Past Chair of the Foundation, her impact on Manitoba as a leader and philanthropist has indeed been extraordinary.
Under Jones’s leadership the HSC Foundation successfully raised close to $200 million for a variety of initiatives to improve and modernize patient care at Health Sciences Centre. These include the Transplant Wellness Centre, the Paul Albrechtsen Interventional Radiology Suites, the redeveloped Plastic Surgery Clinic, and the Wilf Taillieu Thoracic Surgery Clinic and Endoscopy Unit, to name a few.
Jones was also at the helm of the Foundation’s Operation Excellence campaign to support surgical innovation at HSC—an objective about which she is exceptionally passionate.
“Serving the Foundation has been one of the great joys of my life, and was a remarkable learning experience,” says Jones. “I was able to work with and connect with inspiring people who share that same passion. In that way I truly feel that the Order of Canada recognition belongs to all of us. There are so many deserving and wonderful people in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba doing important things for the community, so it feels a bit surreal to be honoured in this way.”
Jones is the daughter of the late Lucille Tolaini and Louie Tolaini. Louie immigrated to Canada from Italy in 1956. Jones was born in Virden and moved to Brandon at a young age. As a proud second-generation Canadian, Jones adopted her father’s work ethic and spirit of entrepreneurship. She also came to understand that true success includes giving back to the community through volunteerism and philanthropy.
As she reflects on her appointment to the Order of Canada, Jones is most grateful for her husband Mike and their two adult children, Julia and Adam. Her family, says Jones, has lovingly encouraged and supported her entrepreneurship and community service.
Membership in the Order of Canada is not the first honour for Tina Jones. In 2020 she was named to the Order of Manitoba, Manitoba’s highest honour; and in 2021 she was named as one of the Nellie McClung Manitoba 150 Women Trailblazer award recipients. She has also been recognized by the Manitoba Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals as Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year (2017); she is the recipient of the University of Manitoba Distinguished Alumni Award (2018); and, also in 2018, she earned a Women’s Executive Network (WXN) Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada Award, recognized in the Trailblazers and Trendsetters category.
