Carl Joseph Tracie was born on May 27, 1939 in Sexsmith, Alberta. After completing high school in Valleyview, he attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (1965), a Master of Arts degree in Geography (1967) and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Geography (1970). Tracie completed the first year of his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programme at the University of California, Los Angeles (1967-1968).

Tracie held various positions during his professional career as follows: assistant/associate professor of Geography at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon (1970-1979); executive director of Cope Publications in Arcadia, California (1979-1981); professor of Geography at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia (1981-1984, 1986-2009); and executive director of Dynamic Communications in Pasadena, California (1984-1986). Tracie held various administrative and committee responsibilities during his university teaching career and was the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships. His areas of special interest included: Ethnic settlement, rural cultural landscape, gold rush settlement in California, and western Canadian pioneer agricultural settlement. Tracie's book "Toil and Peaceful Life: Doukhobor Village Settlement in Saskatchewan 1899-1918" was published in 1996. Tracie is currently (2011) retired and lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Tracie and his wife, Darlene, have three children.