A major Ontario awards show and festival is back in Mississauga

As far as music goes, Mississauga will turn a bit — or perhaps a lot — country this weekend as the Country Music Association of Ontario’s 2026 CMAOntario Festival and Awards come to town.

The 14th annual awards show and festival take place Friday through Sunday at various venues across the city. The weekend concludes with the CMAOntario Awards scheduled for Sunday night at Port Credit Memorial Arena starting at 7 p.m.

Mississauga first hosted the weekend-long country music event in 2024, when the awards show took place at the Living Arts Centre. The festival and awards show were staged in Hamilton last year.

Organizers say larger concerts, smaller live music sessions and a variety of other activities are planned for the 2026 festival and awards weekend in Mississauga, all leading up to the awards show on Sunday night in Port Credit on the banks of the Credit River.

Nominees for the upcoming awards were announced earlier by the CMAO.

Sully Burrows leads the charge with six nominations followed by Nate Haller with five nods, Olivia Mae Graham with four and Jessica Sevier, Owen Riegling, Sacha, James Barker Band and Robyn Ottolini with three nominations each.

The May 31 awards show will be hosted by multiple CMAOntario, Canadian Country Music Association and SOCAN award winner Jason Blaine and Country Nights host Sam McDaid.

“The CMAOntario Awards celebrate the talent and achievements of Ontario’s country music industry, honouring artists and industry professionals across 17 categories, along with special awards,” organizers said in an earlier news release.

For more information on this weekend’s awards show and festival, visit the organizers’ website.

Prior to hosting the 2024 CMAOntario Festival and Awards, City of Mississauga officials said the large-scale event would be a great fit for the city.

“As Canada’s seventh-largest city and 2023 Music City of the Year, we are home to world-class, diverse musicians and a vibrant live music scene that attracts visitors from across Canada,” officials said in November 2023 when Mississauga was announced as the 2024 host.

In striking that deal, Mississauga officials and the CMAO also agreed to a repeat hosting performance in 2026.

In 2023, Mississauga was named Music City of the Year by the Canadian Live Music Association and Canadian Music Week.

The city was recognized for its efforts in establishing its Music Strategy with a goal of positioning Mississauga “as an incubator for top musical talent and a national destination for live music events and festivals.”