The CMAOntario is thrilled to be honouring Carroll, said CMAOntario President Steve Kassay. Her presence and career achievements have helped pave the way for country singers in this country. It's about time Carroll's career takes the centre stage spotlight.

Known as Canadas First Lady Of Country Music, Carroll Baker epitomizes every value that has made country music the enduring form that it is: honesty, reality, genuine feeling, hard work, love, family, friendship and respect for others.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, she has achieved more than 20 number one records, 12 of which were consecutive. Carroll was the first Canadian Country music performer to be awarded gold record certification and has since received Gold and Platinum records in certified sales in both Canada and Australia.

Her catalog comprises more than fifty recorded compositions, including, Tonight with Love, Why I Had to Pass This Way, It's My Party, It's Late I Have to Go, Hooked on a Feeling, Love Triangle and Dreamin Ain't Cheatin. Her composition I'm An Old Rock N Roller was a country chart hit in 1984 for Tom Jones.

Carroll is an inductee of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame; recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Province of Nova Scotia and Province of Ontario; multiple winner of JUNO, CCMA and SOCAN/BMI awards; and in 2009, appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. A woman of many firsts, she made the history books in Canada when she became the first Canadian performer to do a television special from Nashville, Tennessee and the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House, followed by her own special on The Nashville Network titled Carroll Baker's New Country, and the first Canadian country singer to perform on the JUNO Awards. She hosted her own TV series for CBC TV along with multiple television specials for CBC and CTV.

The CMAOntario Impact Award recognizes an artist, group, industry personality or company/organization that has left an enduring and indelibly positive footprint on the landscape of country music in Ontario. Previous recipients include The Good Brothers, Michelle Wright, Blue Rodeo, Prairie Oyster, Paula Chopik and Ed Leslie (producers of Havelock Country Jamboree) and Gordon Lightfoot.