Junos 2026: Joni Mitchell, Rush make Junos history, the Beaches take home record-breaking win

hasten opens the Juno Awards with a surprisal public presentation

Cameron Whitcomb on 2026 Junos country album of the year win

Mustafa talks about his ‘brotherhood’ with Daniel Caesar

TOBi on winning rap single of the year with Jully Black, Saukrates

Nelly Furtado recounts her first Junos appearance

Canada is the 3rd largest exporter of music, Carney says

Music teachers walk orange carpet at Junos

A deep dive into the 2026 Juno Award nominees

2026 Juno Awards host Mae Martin shares their ultimate Canadian playlist

Junos puts Latin music centre stage with new award category

The Beaches on why Junos are 'the highlight of our year'

Junos CEO talks about Hamilton's history with the awards

2027 Junos coming to Manitoba

There you have it; the 55th Juno Awards have wrapped. As is typical for the second day of the ceremonies, only four music trophies were given out after over 40 were awarded Saturday. 

Also typical of Canadian awards shows for the past few years, Sunday's show was peppered with mostly strong performances, mostly safe jokes and emphatic celebrations of Canadian identity.

Here are some of the biggest moments:

To celebrate Joni Mitchell's Lifetime Achievement Award, Joni Jam collaborators Allison Russell and Sarah McLachlan joined forces to perform A Case of You and Both Sides Now, with a backing band that included Whitehorse's Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland and a backdrop filled will copies of Mitchell's paintings.

Mitchell herself joined Russell and McLachlan onstage for a performance of the night's final song, Big Yellow Taxi. 

"Come on, Mama!" Jully Black said to Mitchell as she joined in, and host Mae Martin, the Beaches, Mico, Sofia Camara, Shawn Desman, William Prince, Arkells' Max Kerman and Mike DeAngelis, and Grouplove all came onstage for a group hug of a performance to end the night.

Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced Joni Mitchell by describing her first-ever live performance at a Saskatchewan coffee house.

"Through 19 studio albums, a career spanning more than six decades, Joni drew a map of Canada, oh Canada," he said, eliciting cheers from the crowd with the reference to A Case of You.

Carney listed Bob Dylan, Sarah McLachlan and Annie Lennox as only some of the artists who covered her songs.

Mitchell took the stage, as the crowd erupted in applause. 

"Good evening Hamilton, I haven't been here in many, many years, but I'm so glad to be here tonight with our wonderful prime minister," Mitchell said, before giving a slight dig to the U.S. And again expressing her happiness to be in Hamilton.

"We are so lucky," she said.

"I want to thank the Junos for this great honour. I’m so glad to be back in Canada."

Joni Mitchell gets inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame

In 1981, Joni Mitchell was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at The Juno Awards. This year, Mitchell will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her trailblazing, decades-long career.

A lot of people are really excited for the Joni Mitchell tribute, especially if it's anything like the Joni Jams that have taken place over the past few years. Sarah McLachlan and Allison Russell have participated in Joni Jams in the past, and they're both here as part of the tribute tonight. 

We still don't know if Mitchell herself will be part of the performance or just watch from the audience. 

Mitchell is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, a prize that's rarely given out. She's only the third recipient in Juno history, the others being Anne Murray (2025) and broadcaster Pierre Juneau (1989), who the Junos are named after. 

Seeing Mitchell at the Junos is even more rare. She's been nominated 19 times, but this will mark only her second appearance. The 82-year-old hasn't been on the Junos stage since 1981, when she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

The fan votes are in and bbno$ has won the TD Juno Fan Choice award for a second year in a row. Toronto R&B duo Majid Jordan were on hand to give out the trophy, but the Canadian rapper was not in attendance tonight. 

Justin Bieber, who was also nominated this year, holds the record for most wins in this category with five. 

William Prince took the stage to perform a beautiful rendition of his recent release, For the First Time, in front of a backdrop of the Milky Way. Prince debuted the live version of the song, about grief and the moment it starts to let you go, at the Grand Ole Opry late last year, 10 years after the death of his father.

The artist from Peguis First Nation was up for contemporary roots album this year, and lost to fellow Prairie artist Mariel Buckley, whom Prince cheered on enthusiastically from the crowd. Prince has won in that category twice before, in 2017 and 2024.

Cameron Whitcomb on 2026 Junos country album of the year win

'My parents are proud, my grandparents are happy,' five-time Juno nominee Cameron Whitcomb said. Whitcomb's The Hard Way took home country album of the year at the 2026 Junos.

Cameron Whitcomb went into this Junos with five nominations (just behind Tate McRae and Justin Bieber) and won country album of the year last night. He just picked up his second award for breakthrough artist of the year, beating out Goldie Boutilier, Jutes, Jade LeMac, Saya Gray and more.

The Nanaimo, B.C., singer got his start after competing on American Idol in 2022, and has grown a huge fan base who relate to his vulnerable take on country.

"I'm still trying to catch my breath," he said as he ran on stage after doing a flip during his performance.  

"Thank you guys so much. I've been asking myself why I get to do this, why I've been blessed with this opportunity and honestly I still don’t know. But what I do know is that I will not squander this opportunity."

Country star Cameron Whitcomb belted out his hit Options for his Junos debut, sitting in a set of a house before picking up an acoustic guitar and moving to the stage catwalk.

Wearing Converse sneakers and jeans, Whitcomb belted out the song before doing a backflip.

"I love you Canada!" he shouted at the end of the song.

Whitcomb won the Juno for country album of the year last night for his record The Hard Way.

Raquel McIntosh from Hamilton's Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School won the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year award. This award celebrates the impact, innovation and passion demonstrated by music educators across the country.

Arkells' Max Herman and Mike DeAngelis handed the award to McIntosh, who thanked her family, including her mother who "made sure I didn't quit piano lessons." She also praised MusiCounts, an organization that has given her and her colleagues an "opportunity to dismantle systematic barriers that try to decide who is worthy of holding an instrument."

She continued: "Every child regardless of where they are from, what they look like or how they identify is worthy to experience that transformative power. Music is a thriving career and the kids deserve to know that."

Back in the media room, Kardinal Offishall continued to spread the love for Nelly Furtado.

"When they gave me the call, I changed everything for Nelly," he said. 

"Even though she's the biggest artist, she's the same person I remember meeting in the 2000s. For her I'd do anything."

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