She debuted on the radio at age eight in St. John, and appeared on television for the first time in London at age 12. She went on to study music at Mount St. Vincent College in Halifax. She even did a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II in Halifax in 1976 while in Canada for the Montreal Olympics. She has also sung with the Saskatoon and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras, and the Hamilton Philharmonic. McKinnon didn't record for about 5 years and finally re-surfaced in 1980 on the Intercan label with an eponymous debut and several well received singles.
Photos are currently unavailable.