For seven seasons Ian played Mick Leary, a homicide detective on Da Vinci's Inquest and later became the coroner in Da Vinci's City Hall. Tracey has been nominated for several Gemini Awards for his work in the Da Vinci series, and won a Gemini Award in 1999 (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role) for his portrayal of David Milgaard in the acclaimed and controversial Milgaard.

On the big screen, Tracey was seen opposite Ian McKellen in the independent feature Emile and opposite Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the critically acclaimed feature Owning Mahowny. Other features include Desolation Sound, Open Range with Kevin Costner and Robert Duval, Rupert's Land, Double Edged, Touched, Icemen, Time Cop, Change of Heart, Home Movie, Stakeout, and The Journey of Natty Gann.

Television credits include; The Tommy Douglas Story, The Life, Mountain of Fear, Murder in My Mind, The War Between Us, Jacks, Conspiracy of Silence, Dreamspeaker, Sweating Bullets, Huckleberry Finn & His Friends, The Commish, The Outer Limits, The X-Files, and Highlander.