Juno Awards set for Hamilton, Ontario March 29

Justin Bieber and Tate McRae both earned six nominations for this year’s Juno Awards, nudging The Weeknd and emerging country star Cameron Whitcomb, who scored five each.

Bieber and McRae will go head-to-head in all six categories, while The Weeknd, with 22 career Junos, could catch legendary singer Anne Murray (24 wins) for most awards ever.

Burlington’s Josh Ross, who earned four nominations, is a finalist for Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year for ‘Later Tonight’ and is also up for Single of the Year for ‘Hate How You Look.’

Josh Ross

Oshawa’s Daniel Caesar is nominated for three awards – including Artist of the Year, where he will be facing Bieber, McRae, The Weeknd and bbno$. Caesar, who won a Juno in 2018, is also up in both the traditional and contemporary R&B categories and was named in the Songwriter of the Year (with Ashton Simmonds) for work on his Son of Spergy album.

Mustafa is also nominated for Songwriter of the Year, in pat for his work on Son of Spergy.

Pickering’s Shawn Mendes, an eight-time winner, will go up against Bieber, McRae, Whitcomb, bbno$ and The Weeknd (as well as James Barker Band, Ross, Karan Aujla and Shubb) in the Fan Choice category, while Oshawa’s Sacha was nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

Sacha

Sacha’s 2025 LP ‘Where to Start’ included hit country songs ‘Mom I Made it’ and ‘Til I Die.’

“This wild. What a start to 2026,” she said on her socials. “Really excited. Very grateful. Very honoured for this opportunity.”

Also nominated from Durham Region is Oshawa-based prog-rock band Crown Lands, for Instrumental Album of the Year for Rituals II and Bowmanville’s Meghan Patrick for Country Album of the Year for Golden Child.

Meghan Patrick

Karen Kosowski is one of five nominees for Producer of the Year, partly for her work on Golden Child.

The Junos will be awarded March 29 at a gala event at Hamilton’s TD Coliseum.