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Selection Process
Artists and their representatives are not permitted to submit an album for consideration. A jury of nearly 200 music journalists, broadcasters, bloggers and academics from across Canada is chosen each year by the Polaris Music Prize’s board of directors to select the nominees. Each jury member recommends five Canadian albums released during the previous year. Album sales are not taken into consideration, unlike the Juno Awards, where the nominees in eight categories are determined at least in part by sales figures.
A long list of 40 nominees, released in June, is reduced by the same jury to a short list of 10 nominees, which is made public in July. (The short list has been made public from the prize’s inception, but the long list was not available to the public until 2008.) A second 11-member jury — the grand jury — then meets in private during the three-hour-long gala in September to select the winner. The grand jury reduces the short list from ten albums to five, then three, then one. The winner is then announced at the gala.
Cash Prizes and Sponsors
The cash amount of the Polaris Prize was originally $20,000. This was increased to $30,000 in 2011 and $50,000 in 2015. Also in 2015, the cash prize awarded to short list finalists was increased from $2,000 to $3,000. In 2018, the award was sponsored by Sirius Satellite Radio, the Government of Canada, FACTOR, Slaight Music, the Radio Starmaker Fund, MuchMusic, Steam Whistle Brewing and the Drake Hotel.
Other Initiatives
Compilation albums featuring tracks from shortlisted albums were released by Warner Music Canada in 2006 and 2007. In 2009, the prize’s board of directors announced a partnership with the charity MusiCounts to support music education in Canada. In 2015, the prize launched the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize. Essentially a hall of fame award, it will “annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006.”
Impact and Critical Response
The Polaris Music Prize has been credited with raising the profile of Canadian independent music both nationally and internationally. While the short list has been criticized for featuring primarily anglophone albums and for excluding genres such as classical and jazz, it has been praised for attracting attention to many of its nominated artists.
Nominees and Winners
| 2006 |
Final Fantasy, He Poos Clouds (winner)
Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene Cadence Weapon, Breaking Kayfabe The Deadly Snakes, Porcella Sarah Harmer, I’m a Mountain K’naan, The Dusty Foot Philosopher Malajube, Trompe-l'oeil Metric, Live It Out The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary |
| 2007 |
Patrick Watson, Close to Paradise (winner)
Arcade Fire, Neon Bible The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse The Dears, Gang of Losers Julie Doiron, Woke Myself Up Feist, The Reminder Junior Boys, So This Is Goodbye Miracle Fortress, Five Roses Joel Plaskett Emergency, Ashtray Rock Chad VanGaalen, Skelliconnection |
| 2008 |
Caribou, Andorra (winner)
Black Mountain, In the Future Basia Bulat, Oh, My Darling Kathleen Edwards, Asking for Flowers Holy F—k, LP Plants and Animals, Parc Avenue Shad, The Old Prince Stars, In Our Bedroom After the War Two Hours Traffic, Little Jabs The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour |
| 2009 |
F—ked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life (winner)
Elliott Brood, Mountain Meadows Great Lake Swimmers, Lost Channels Hey Rosetta!, Into Your Lungs K’naan, Troubadour Malajube, Labyrinthes Metric, Fantasies Joel Plaskett, Three Chad VanGaalen, Soft Airplane Patrick Watson, Wooden Arms |
| 2010 |
Karkwa, Les Chemins de verre (winner)
The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record Caribou, Swim Dan Mangan, Nice, Nice, Very Nice Owen Pallett, Heartland Radio Radio, Belmundo Regal The Sadies, Darker Circles Shad, TSOL Tegan and Sara, Sainthood |
| 2011 |
Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (winner)
Austra, Feel It Break Braids, Native Speaker Destroyer, Kaputt Galaxie, Tigre et diésel Hey Rosetta!, Seeds Ron Sexsmith, Long Player Late Bloomer Colin Stetson, New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges Timber Timbre, Creep On Creepin’ On The Weeknd, House of Balloons |
| 2012 |
Feist, Metals (winner)
Cadence Weapon, Hope in Dirt City Cold Specks, I Predict a Graceful Expulsion Drake, Take Care Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur F—ked Up, David Comes to Life Grimes, Visions Handsome Furs, Sound Kapital Japandroids, Celebration Rock Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, YT//ST |
| 2013 |
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (winner)
Zaki Ibrahim, Every Opposite Metric, Synthetica METZ, METZ Purity Ring, Shrines Colin Stetson, New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light Tegan and Sara, Heartthrob A Tribe Called Red, Nation II Nation Whitehorse, The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss Young Galaxy, Ultramarine |
| 2014 |
Tanya Tagaq, Animism (winner)
Arcade Fire, Reflektor Basia Bulat, Tall Tall Shadow Mac DeMarco, Salad Days Drake, Nothing Was the Same Jessy Lanza, Pull My Hair Back Owen Pallett, In Conflict Shad, Flying Colours Timber Timbre, Hot Dreams Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, UZU |
| 2015 |
Buffy Sainte-Marie, Power in the Blood (winner)
Alvvays, Alvvays BadBadNotGood & Ghostface Killah, Sour Soul Braids, Deep in the Iris Caribou, Our Love Jennifer Castle, Pink City Drake, If You're Reading This It's Too Late Tobias Jesso Jr., Goon The New Pornographers, Brill Bruisers Viet Cong, Viet Cong |
| 2016 |
Kaytranada, 99.9% (winner)
Black Mountain, IV Basia Bulat, Good Advice Grimes, Art Angels Carly Rae Jepsen, E•MO•TION Jessy Lanza, Oh No PUP, The Dream Is Over Andy Shauf, The Party U.S. Girls, Half Free White Lung, Paradise |
| 2017 |
Lido Pimienta, La Papessa (winner)
A Tribe Called Red, We Are the Halluci Nation BADBADNOTGOOD, IV Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker Gord Downie, Secret Path Feist, Pleasure Lisa LeBlanc, Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen? Tanya Tagaq, Retribution Leif Vollebekk, Twin Solitude Weaves, Weaves |
| 2018 |
Jeremy Dutcher, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (winner)
Alvvays, Antisocialites Jean-Michel Blais, Dans ma main Daniel Caesar, Freudian Pierre Kwenders, MAKANDA at the End of Space, the Beginning of Time Hubert Lenoir, Darlène Partner, In Search of Lost Time Snotty Nose Rez Kids, The Average Savage U.S. Girls, In a Poem Unlimited Weaves, Wide Open |
| 2019 |
Haviah Mighty, 13th Floor (winner)
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| 2020 | Backxwash, God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It (winner)
Caribou, Suddenly Jessie Reyez, Before Love Came To Kill Us Junia-T, Studio Monk Kaytranada, Bubba Lido Pimienta, MIss Colombia nehiyawak, nipiy Pantayo, Pantayo U.S. Girls, Heavy Light Witch Prophet, DNA Activation |
| 2021 |
Cadence Weapon, Parallel World (winner)
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| 2022 | Pierre Kwenders, José Louis and the Paradox of Love (winner) Charlotte Day Wilson, Alpha Destroyer, Labyrinthitis Hubert Lenoir, Pictura de ipse : musique direct Kelly McMichael, Waves Lisa Leblanc, Chiac Disco Ombiigizi, Sewn Back Together Ouri, Frame of a Fauna Shad, TAO Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Life After |
| 2023 | Debby Friday, Good Luck (winner) Alvvays, Blue Rev Aysanabee, Watin Begonia, Powder Blue Dan Mangan, Being Somewhere Daniel Caesar, Never Enough Feist, Multitudes Gayance, Mascarade Snotty Nose Rez Kids, I'm Good, HBU? The Sadies, Colder Streams |
