Joni Mitchell, centre, performs with Sarah McLachlan, second right, and Allison Russell, right, as Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and host Mae Martin look on at the 2026 Juno Awards in Hamilton, on March 29, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
The Juno awards remind us that cultural institutions have the power to reinforce national pride, and also invite critical reflection, dissent and re-imagination.
An important reason for underrepresentation in cultural industries is the citizenship-based approach to defining what classifies as Canadian content.
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Today, a new generation of artists and online creators are less likely to see their markets or identities confined by national boundaries.
Canadian decision-makers must understand the arts ‘have a vital role to play as part of the solution’ as we navigate uncertain times, wrote the director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts, Michelle Chawla, in a recent open letter. Chawla at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Now is the moment to equitably invest in the Canadian music industry, to ensure we continue telling bold, complex and uniquely Canadian stories well into the future.
