Winners Announced for the 2022 JUNO Opening Night Awards Presented by Ontario Creates

Charlotte Cardin leads with three awards

24 first-time winners take home a coveted JUNO statuette

 Special honours presented to Inuk singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark (Humanitarian Award Presented by Music Canada), the late Denise Jones (Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award) and Dallas Green (MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award Presented by Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation)

TORONTO – The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) honoured artists and industry leaders at the helm of Canada’s music scene tonight at the 2022 JUNO Opening Night Awards Presented by Ontario Creates, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Co-hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe (CBC Music’s The Block ) and Ann Pornel (The Great Canadian Baking Show), the renowned industry event saw five show-stopping performances and the presentation of 41 JUNO Awards, along with The Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, the Humanitarian Award Presented by Music Canada and the MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award Presented by Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation.

FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS AT THE 2022 JUNO OPENING NIGHT AWARDS PRESENTED BY ONTARIO CREATES INCLUDING BIOGRAPHIES AND IMAGES, GO TO WWW.JUNOAWARDS.CA.

Montreal’s pop-electro sensation, Charlotte Cardin took the lead this year with three awards: Single of the Year Presented by Live Nation Canada, Artist of the Year Presented by SiriusXM Canada and Pop Album of the Year. Chart-topping singer-songwriter The Weeknd followed with two awards for Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year and Songwriter of the Year Presented by SOCAN.  Both Charlotte Cardin and The Weeknd are nominated for this year’s TikTok JUNO Fan Choice Award, which will be presented at the 51st Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast. 

Denise Jones, one of the most influential voices in Canada’s Black entertainment community, was posthumously awarded the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award. Accepting the award on behalf of Denise were her two sons Jesse and Jerimi. Three-time JUNO Award winner, Susan Aglukark, was recognized with the 2022 Humanitarian Award Presented by Music Canada. Aglukark was honoured for her commitment to improving the lives of children and youth in Northern Indigenous communities. Dallas Green was named the MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award Presented by Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation with the award for his dedicated support of MusiCounts and music education. 

The evening’s celebrations put a spotlight on Canada’s emerging and rising talent with 24 first-time winners taking home JUNO awards. The list includes Allison Russell (Contemporary Roots Album of the Year), Afrikana Soul Sister (Global Music Album of the Year), Andrea Jin 金玉琪 (Comedy Album of the Year Presented by SiriusXM Canada), Archspire (Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year), Avataar (Jazz Album of the Year – Group), Caity Gyorgy (Vocal Jazz Album of the Year), Charmaine (Rap Single of the Year Presented by ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective), DJ Shub (Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year Presented by Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada), Emily D’Angelo (Classical Album of the Year – Solo Artist), Fawn Wood( Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year), Garth Prince (Children’s Album of the Year), Hill Kourkoutis (Recording Engineer of the Year), HNTR (Underground Dance Single of the Year), Kairo McLean (Reggae Recording of the Year), MONOWHALES (Breakthrough Group of the Year Presented by FACTOR, The Government of Canada and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters), Maria Dunn (Traditional Roots Album of the Year), Mustafa (Alternative Album of the Year Presented by CBC Music), Olivia Rodrigo (International Album of the Year), TOR (Electronic Album of the Year) and Will Bonness (Jazz Album of the Year – Solo).

Along with Cardin, artists from La Belle Province came out on top in several categories including Andrew Wan and Charles Richard-Hamelin (Classical Album of the Year: Small Ensemble), Coeur de pirate (Francophone Album of the Year), Half Moon Run (Adult Alternative Album of the Year Presented by Sonos), L’Harmonie des saisons, conducted by Eric Milnes, feat. Hélène Brunet (Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble), Keiko Devaux (Classical Composition of the Year), Mykaël Nelson, Nicolas Lemieux and Albert Zablit (Album Artwork of the Year), KAYTRANADA (Dance Recording of the Year) and Xavier Dolan (Music Video of the Year).

Five eclectic performances scored the evening: 2022 Francophone Album of the Year nominee Roxane Bruneau; Alternative Album of the Year Presented by CBC Music nominee Ruby Waters;  2021/2022 Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class short list artist, Jesse Gold; two-time JUNO Award nominees VALLEY and 2022 JUNO Award winner Allison Russell (Contemporary Roots Album of the Year), who moved audiences with her In Memoriam tribute.

The 2022 JUNO Opening Night Awards Presented by Ontario Creates are available to rewatch on-demand via CBC Gem or CBCMusic.ca/junos.

The 51st Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast will be live for the first time from outdoor venue Budweiser Stage in Toronto, broadcast and streamed live across Canada at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC Gem, CBC Listen, and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos, and CBC Music’s Facebook, Twitter and Youtube pages. 

JUNO Opening Night Awards – Award Partners: Adult Alternative Album of the Year Presented by Sonos, Alternative Album of the Year Presented by CBC Music, Artist of the Year Presented by SiriusXM Canada, Breakthrough Group of the Year Presented By FACTOR, The Government of Canada, and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters, Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year Presented by Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, Comedy Album of the Year Presented by SiriusXM Canada, Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Presented by Audio-Technica, Rap Single of the Year Presented by ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Collective, Rock Album of the Year Presented by Long & McQuade Musical Instruments, Single of the Year Presented by Live Nation Canada, Songwriter of the Year Presented by SOCAN.

For promotional graphics, publicity photos, suggested social copy, logos and more, reference our Digital Toolkit.

Links:
Official JUNO Awards website: www.junoawards.ca / Digital Toolkit
CBC Music: www.cbcmusic.ca/junos

JUNO Awards
Twitter: @TheJUNOAwards / Instagram: @TheJUNOAwards / Facebook: @TheJUNOAwards / TikTok: @TheJUNOAwards/ Hashtag: #JUNOS

CBC Music
Twitter: @CBCMusic / Facebook: @CBCMusic / YouTube: @CBCMusic / TikTok: @CBCMusic

Exclusive Broadcast and Content Partner:

CARAS acknowledges the financial support of FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters.

Premier Sponsor: TD Bank Group

Lead Sponsors: SiriusXM Canada, TikTok and Sonos

Funding Partners: The Province of Ontario, The City of Toronto and Radio Starmaker Fund

About CARAS

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music industry and promote higher artistic and industry standards. CARAS’ mandate is comprised of four key pillars: Educate through our music education charity, MusiCounts, programs and initiatives, Develop emerging artists through mentorship and development programs, Celebrate Canadian artists with year-round JUNO Awards showcasing, and Honour music industry icons through the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.  In 2021 The JUNO Awards celebrated its 50th Anniversary, with a national celebration of Canadian music. For more information on the JUNO Awards or The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) please visit www.junoawards.ca.

About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

About CBC Music
CBC Music is the leading curator of emerging and diverse Canadian music talent across platforms, playing the most Canadian artists and genres on radio, CBC Listen and cbcmusic.ca. We prioritize Canadian artists in a wide variety of genres on over 200 playlists available on CBC Listen, and publish daily national music coverage. CBC Music Live features live music recordings from across the country. Our music partnerships and events include The JUNOS, the Polaris Music Prize, Searchlight, the CBC Music Festival, The Canadian Music Class Challenge and Canada Listens.  

For interview requests, image requests or additional information, please contact:
Cherise Williams, rock-it promotions, cherise@rockitpromo.com
Dillon Shaver, rock-it promotions, dillon@rockitpromo.com

For more information about The 2022 JUNO Awards Broadcast on CBC, contact:
Teaghan Hawke, CBC, teaghan.hawke@cbc.ca