Women In Music Canada has shared the long list of nominees for the Women In Music Canada Honours. The Honours event will take place on March 8 at the Opera House in Toronto, where the recipients will be recognized and celebrated, alongside a reception style dinner and showcase of incredible performances. Tickets are available here, with discounted early bird pricing ending today. Included on the list are artists such as Fefe Dobson, JESSIA, and Charlotte Cardin, as well as other prominent industry figures.

“I have been told often over that last few months that this recognition program has been needed for a long time,” says WIMC Executive Director, Robyn Stewart. “On behalf of the WIM Canada board, we couldn’t be more excited to recognize the long list today, and to bring the Canadian music community together to celebrate March 8^th, on International Women’s Day. Thank you to all jury, all applicants, sponsors and funders for helping us bring this dream to reality. And above all, congratulations today to all of our long list.”

After receiving an overwhelming number of submissions for the inaugural program, the long list was selected by a jury of 22 professional Canadian music industry leaders and creators, appointed by Women in Music Canada, and represents the top submissions (not separated by category). The final honourees will be curated from the long list by a finalist jury.

Remarks one of the jury members who helped define the long list: “It was amazing to read about the incredible work of such a wide range of women — we rarely get opportunities to hand the women in our industry their flowers. This truly was an honour.”

The WIMC Honours program was designed to celebrate and support Canadian innovators and creators who have had outstanding success in their field in the eligibility year (December 2021 through December 2022 for annual based categories). Categories include: Artist of the Year (presented by Amazon Music), Distinguished Leader (presented by TuneCore), Entrepreneur of the Year (presented by Bandzoogle), Excellence in Live Music, International Leader of the Year, Organization of the Year, the Trailblazer Award, and the Women in Music Canada Honour Roll (presented by Spotify), which will honour up to 10 women and gender diverse industry members or artists who are on the rise. 2023 honourees will receive wonderful packages from gifting partners and woman-owned Canadian companies, Tiber River Naturals, Paris Jewellers, and Fielding Wines. 

“WIM Canada thanks everyone who submitted themselves, their colleagues and their inspirations,” adds Stewart. “Our intention is to celebrate as many leaders as possible each year and we encourage all to watch for submissions for the 2024 edition coming this summer.” 

The Honours reception dinner and awards presentation will be hosted by CBC’s Saroja Coelho, and will showcase an incredible group of artists performing throughout the evening. Supported by SiriusXM, performances will include rising country star, Sacha, producer, DJ and performer, Liliane Chlela; JUNO-nominated recording artist, songwriter and producer, Desiree Dawson; Cree and Salish singer and TikTok creator, Tia Wood; breakthrough singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Sofia Camara; and decorated, multi-platinum recording artist, Fefe Dobson.  

A special induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame will also be presented to multi-award winning, GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Loreena McKennitt, during the event. 

For more information and to see the full list of nominees, click here.