The Polaris Music Prize is an annual music award given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize, which was increased to $30,000 in 2011."2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced" . aux.tv, June 16, 2011. The prize was increased to $50,000 in May 2015 by Slaight Music. Second-place prizes for the nine other acts on the shortlist also increased from $2,000 to $3,000. The prize amount was reduced again to $30,000 in 2025 as various sponsors reduced their contributions.
Polaris officials announced the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006."
The prize, modeled on the United Kingdom and Ireland's Mercury Prize, inspired the Atlantis and Borealis Music Prizes for Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Polaris committee and SOCAN announced the creation of the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize, honouring individual songs in addition to the albums award, in 2025. It replaced the SOCAN Songwriting Prize.Howard Druckman, "Polaris Music Prize announces 2025 Long List". Words & Music, June 11, 2025.
Jury and selection There is no submission process or entry fee for the prize, and jurors select what they consider the five best Canadian albums released in the previous year. Ballots are tabulated with each number-one pick awarded five points and a number-two pick awarded four points. A list of 40 titles is released in mid-June and sent back to the jury, which re-submits five top picks.
Ballots are re-tabulated and the top ten titles are the Polaris short list, which is released in early July. A group of 11 jurors (the "Grand Jury") meets in Toronto in late September to choose the winner. The nominated artists (or bands) perform, and the winner is announced by the previous year's winner. Each shortlisted album has one grand juror to advocate for it; ten jurors are selected for naming a shortlisted album as their top pick in the balloting, and the remaining juror did not vote for any shortlisted albums.Here and Now, September 22, 2014.
The Polaris Music Prize board of directors selects the jurors from a list of over 200 Canadian music journalists, bloggers, and broadcasters. No one with a direct financial relationship with an artist can be a jury member. Enlisting music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers as judges attracts attention to good music in a cluttered commercial landscape and a fractured music scene. Former CBC Q host and first Polaris Gala host Jian Ghomeshi was quietly removed from the juror pool on November 3, 2014.
In 2026, the prize announced that it was dropping the grand jury deliberation process, and opening the voting on the final winner to a full 205-member voting panel.David Friend, "The Polaris Music Prize is reshaping how it picks Canada's best album of the year". Toronto Star, June 29, 2026.
Winners and shortlists Year WinnerShortlisted nominees and albums 2006 Final Fantasy – He Poos CloudsBroken 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 ParadiseArcade 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 Black Mountain – In the Future Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling Kathleen Edwards – Asking for Flowers Holy Fuck – 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 Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life 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 verreThe 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 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 – MetalsCadence Weapon – Hope in Dirt City Cold Specks – I Predict a Graceful Expulsion Drake – Take Care Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur Fucked 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!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 – AnimismArcade 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 (rescinded in 2025)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%Black Mountain, IV Basia Bulat, Good Advice Grimes, Art Angels Carly Rae Jepsen, Emotion 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 PapessaA 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 LintuwakonawaAlvvays, 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 FloorMarie Davidson, Working Class Woman Elisapie, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl FET.NAT, Le Mal Dominique Fils-Aimé, Stay Tuned! Les Louanges, La nuit est une panthère PUP, Morbid Stuff Jessie Reyez, Being Human in Public Shad, A Short Story About a War Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Trapline 2020 Backxwash – God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It Caribou, Suddenly Jessie Reyez, Before Love Came to Kill Us Junia-T, Studio Monk Kaytranada, Bubba Lido Pimienta, Miss Colombia Nêhiyawak, nipiy Pantayo, Pantayo U.S. Girls, Heavy Light Witch Prophet, DNA Activation 2021 Cadence Weapon – Parallel World DijahSB, Head Above the Waters Dominique Fils-Aimé, Three Little Words Klô Pelgag, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Theory of Ice Mustafa, When Smoke Rises The OBGMs, The Ends The Weather Station, Ignorance Tobi, Elements Vol. 1 Zoon, Bleached Wavves "Cadence Weapon wins Polaris Music Prize for Parallel World". The Globe and Mail, September 27, 2021. 2022 Pierre Kwenders – José Louis and the Paradox of LoveShortlist announced in July. Destroyer, Labyrinthitis Lisa Leblanc, Chiac Disco Hubert Lenoir, PICTURA DE IPSE : Musique directe Kelly McMichael, Waves OMBIIGIZI, Sewn Back Together Ouri, Frame of a Fauna Shad, Tao Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Life After Charlotte Day Wilson, Alpha 2023Debby Friday – Good LuckAlvvays, Blue Rev Aysanabee, Watin Begonia, Powder Blue Daniel Caesar, Never Enough Feist, Multitudes Gayance, Mascarade Dan Mangan, Being Somewhere The Sadies, Colder Streams Snotty Nose Rez Kids, I'm Good, HBU? 2024 Jeremy Dutcher – Motewolonuwok Bambii, Infinity Club The Beaches, Blame My Ex Charlotte Cardin, 99 Nights DijahSB, The Flower That Knew Elisapie, Inuktitut Cindy Lee, Diamond Jubilee NOBRO, Set Your Pussy Free Allison Russell, The Returner Tobi, Panic 2025 Yves Jarvis – All CylindersBibi Club, Feu de garde Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Journal d'un Loup-Garou Marie Davidson, City of Clowns Saya Gray, Saya Mustafa, Dunya Nemahsis, Verbathim The OBGMs, Sorry, It's Over Population II, Maintenant Jamais Ribbon Skirt, Bite Down 2026 Angine de Poitrine, Vol. IIAquakultre, 1783 Begonia, Fantasy Life Bibi Club, Amaro Charlotte Cornfield, Hurts Like Hell Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Laughter in Summer Rochelle Jordan, Through the Wall Les Louanges, Alouette! Peaches, No Lube So Rude Tanya Tagaq, SaputjijiDavid Friend, "Charlotte Cornfield and indie icon Peaches among Toronto artists shortlisted for $30,000 Polaris Music Prize". Toronto Star, July 9, 2026.
Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize The Polaris jury introduced the Polaris Heritage Prize (later known as the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize), an annual award program to honour classic Canadian albums released before the creation of the Polaris Prize, in 2015."Polaris Music Prize Announces Heritage Prize Nominees". Exclaim!, September 18, 2015.
Heritage Prizes, selected by public vote from a shortlist of five nominees by a Heritage Prize jury, were awarded in their first year in the 1960s–1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000–2005 categories. In the second year, the shortlists were increased to 10, the categories shifted to 1960–75, 1976–85, 1986–1995 and 1996–2005, and a second prize was awarded by a jury with the winner of the public vote."Arcade Fire, Neil Young and Rush Among Winners of Polaris Heritage Prize". Billboard, October 25, 2016. The jury award ensures that albums which were artistically important but not necessarily commercially popular have a fair chance of winning; the jury does not meet to make its choice until after the popular-vote winner has been determined, in order to ensure that the two awards go to two different albums.
As of 2019, the Heritage Prize has been narrowed to a single shortlist rather than multiple separate by-decade categories. Prior to 2025, the nominees were announced at the Polaris ceremony, with the voting period then opening until the winners were announced about a month later; as of 2025, the nominees are now announced in the summer during the lead-up to the ceremony, with the winners announced at the same ceremony as the main album and song prizes.