MONTREAL -- Calgary pop duo Tegan and Sara, Montreal art-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Toronto new-wave band Metric are among the artists who have made the 40-album Polaris Music Prize long list.

The list of contenders was announced Thursday in Montreal.

It will be narrowed to a 10-album short list on July 16, with the winner to be announced at a performance gala Sept. 23 in Toronto.

The diverse long list features a number of artists being recognized by Polaris for the first time.

Among those newcomers are Montreal singer/songwriter Mac DeMarco, indie-R&B act Rhye (which features Toronto-raised vocalist Mike Milosh) and Winnipeg metal outfit KEN Mode.

Other acts on the list include: the Besnard Lakes, Louis-Jean Cormier, Kid Koala, Majical Cloudz and Purity Ring from Montreal; Toronto's Evening Hymns, Lindi Ortega, Hayden, Metz and Daniel Romano; and Hannah Georgas, A.C. Newman and Young Galaxy from Vancouver.

Dan Snaith, the Dundas, Ont.-reared composer who won the 2008 Polaris for Caribou's "Andorra," nabbed a long list spot for his "Jiaolong" project, recorded as Daphni.

Other prior winners of the $30,000 Polaris include Feist, Arcade Fire and Karkwa.