This weekend was the 2026 Junos, the annual awards presented by the Canadian Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences. Tonight, Saskatoon's own Joni Mitchell was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Juno, along with a tribute performance from fellow Canadian singer-songwriters Sarah McLachlan and Allison Russell.
“I’m so glad to be back in Canada," said the legendary singer/songwriter onstage at TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. (She currently lives in Los Angeles.) Referring to Canadian Prime Mister Mark Carney who presented the award, Mitchell said, "This man is a blessing. You guys are so fortunate."
Mitchell is the second artist to receive the Lifetime Achievement Juno, following last year's recipient Anne Murray. (It was only given out one other time, to the awards' namesake Pierre Juneau in 1989.) Mitchell last appeared at the Junos in 1981 when she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame.
McLachlan sang "A Case Of You" and Russell took on "Both Sides Now," with McLachlan adding harmonies. Then they did "Big Yellow Taxi" and brought out Mitchell to sing along.
In addition to honoring Mitchell this year, the Junos staged a tribute to Victoria-born pop star Nelly Furtado, who is this year's Hall Of Fame inductee. Drake, who brought Furtado onstage a few years ago, spoke in a pre-taped video, and Lido Pimienta, Tanya Tagaq, Shawn Desman, Jully Black, Kardinal Offishall, and Alessia Cara covered her songs in a medley. “I’m just really proud to be Canadian," Furtado said. "I live in Canada. I make my music in Canada and I work with Canadian musicians, songwriters and producers because I totally believe in the Canadian dream."
Other performers included Daniel Caesar (who won Contemporary R&B Recording Of The Year, Songwriter Of The Year, and the International Achievement Award), Cameron Whitcomb (Country Album Of The Year and Breakthrough Artist), and the Beaches (Rock Album Of The Year and Group Of The Year). The Beaches are the first all-women group to win Group Of The Year in three consecutive years.
There are 47 competitive Juno categories, but most of those — including the brand new category Latin Music Recording Of The Year — were given out last night, with only four given during the main broadcast. At that pre-ceremony gala, the Weeknd could've broke the aforementioned Anne Murray's record for most Juno wins; she has 24 and he went into the weekend with 22 wins and five nominations. However, he lost them all, so he remains second most winningest. Like fellow high-profile Canadian nominees Justin Bieber and Tate McRae, the Weeknd was not there. Last night McRae won four major awards: Single, Album, Artist, and Pop Album Of The Year. She was at the Paul McCartney show in LA instead of attending, however you y'all know she's Canada down.
The show opened with a surprise performance by prog icons Rush. It marked the debut of their new live drummer in advance of a reunion tour.
Watch McLachlan, Russell, and Mitchell perform, and Mitchell's speech, below.
Here are the Furtado tributes and her speech.
The 55th Junos were hosted by comedian and musican Mae Martin, and here's their monologue:
