BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
The winner of the Polaris Music Prize is being revealed tonight in a shortened edition of the usual festivities.
Organizers of the $50,000 award celebrating the best Canadian album of the year say they're planning a show that runs about half an hour and features two performances by last year's winner, Backxwash.
The event will be hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe of CBC Music and stream on CBC Gem and CBC Music's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages at 8 p.m. ET.
It's a significant change from other years when all 10 shortlisted Polaris contenders had the opportunity to showcase their nominated albums, usually with a live performance.
Polaris representatives say "continued uncertainty" around public gatherings led to the decision to forgo an in-person event.
Albums vying for the prize this year include Quebec singer Dominique Fils-Aime's "Three Little Words" and Toronto rapper Tobi's "Elements Vol. 1."
Among the other Polaris-nominated albums are two efforts from Toronto rappers -- Cadence Weapon's "Parallel World" and DijahSB's "Head Above the Waters" -- as well as the debut album of Mustafa, "When Smoke Rises."
The burgeoning Indigenous music scene is also represented by Zoon's "Bleached Waves" and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's "Theory of Ice," while folk act the Weather Station is up for "Ignorance," punk outfit the OBGMs for "The Ends.' and Quebec singer-songwriter Klo Pelgag for "Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs."
The Polaris Music Prize awards the artist or group that created the best Canadian album of the previous year -- irrespective of genre or sales -- as chosen by a team of journalists, broadcasters and bloggers.
Each shortlisted contender receives a $3,000 prize and the winner is narrowed down by an 11-member jury.
Beyond its cash value, the recognition puts the winner's music in the global spotlight. Past recipients have included Jeremy Dutcher, Haviah Mighty and Kaytranada.
Last year, the Polaris organizers took a very different route as the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined the usual Toronto soiree of live performances from nominated artists.
They decided to host a "cinematic event" where a group of filmmakers were enlisted to produce short films set to the music of the 2020 shortlisted contenders.
That year, Backxwash became the first transgender winner of the prize for her goth-metal album "God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2021.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.