Canadian Country Music Association introduces new francophone artist category

Jan Arden and Rick Mercer host the Canadian Country Music Association awards in Edmonton, Alberta on Sunday, Sept 7, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

TORONTO — Canada’s biggest country music awards show will have a little more “je ne sais quoi” starting this year.

Organizers of the Canadian Country Music Association Awards are introducing a new award for francophone artist of the year, a move to celebrate homegrown country talents whose music is primarily sung in French.

They say the category recognizes the “growing influence and contributions” of francophone artists in the Canadian country scene as well as the rapidly growing popularity of the genre in Quebec.

Country music has seen a surge of listeners in the province, driven by a mixture of local French artists and touring English-language Canadian performers.

The CCMA say to qualify for the new category, at least 70 per cent of the Canadian act’s submitted recordings must be sung in French. For groups and duos, at least half of the members must also be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants.

The nominees will be determined through a multi-step process that takes into account radio play, sales and ultimately a panel of industry professionals.

The new CCMA francophone award will be handed out as part of the CCMA Awards, which take place in Kelowna, B.C. on Sept. 13.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2025.

David Friend, The Canadian Press