Polaris Music Prize

The Polaris Music Prize was founded by Steve Jordan in 2006 and is presented by the CBC. It is awarded annually to the Canadian artist or group who creates the best full-length album of the year. All genres of contemporary music are eligible, and albums are judged on artistic merit rather than commercial success. The winner is announced at the Polaris Music Prize Gala held each September in Toronto. The original cash prize of $20,000 was increased to $30,000 in 2011 and to $50,000 in 2015. It was lowered back to $30,000 in 2025, when a new $10,000 SOCAN Polaris Song Prize was introduced to honour individual songs. The Polaris Festival was also launched in 2025, featuring numerous events throughout September. The cash prize is provided by the Slaight Family Foundation (see Allan Slaight). Other sponsors include Sirius XM, the Government of Canada, Music Canada, FACTOR, and SOCAN. Shortlisted artists often perform at the gala, which is broadcast live on CBC Radio 3 and YouTube.

Selection Process

For nearly 20 years, artists and their representatives were not permitted to submit an album for Polaris Prize consideration. But in 2025, the Polaris Submission Portal was introduced. It allows musicians across Canada to submit music directly to the Polaris jury.

Each year, a jury of nearly 200 music journalists, broadcasters, bloggers and academics from across Canada is chosen 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 2025, the prize was lowered back to $30,000, and a new $10,000 SOCAN Polaris Song Prize was introduced to honour individual songs. As of 2025, the prizes were supported by more than 50 sponsors. They included the Government of Canada, FACTOR, Sirius XM, Music Canada, the National Music Centre, the Juno Awards and Steam Whistle Brewing.

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.