Polaris Music Prize

The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award. In May 2015, the Polaris Music Prize was increased to $50,000, an additional $20,000, sponsored by Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes for the nine other acts on the Short List increased from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed. The Polaris Music Prize is modeled after the United Kingdom/Ireland's Mercury Prize and in turn, inspired the Atlantis Music Prize/Borealis Music Prize for Newfoundland and Labrador.

There is no submission process or entry fee for the Polaris Music Prize. Polaris Music Prize board of directors selects the jurors. Notable jurors have included former MuchMusic VJs Hannah Sung and Hannah Simone, and Toronto Star music columnist Ben Rayner. Some of the 2018 judges include Lana Gay (Indie88), Mike Bell (YYSCENE), Stuart Derdeyn (Vancouver Province), Stephen Cooke (The Chronicle Herald), Brad Wheeler (The Globe and Mail), Alan Ranta (Exclaim! ), Alan Cross (102.1 the edge), CBC Radio personalities Sandra Sperounes, Melody Lau, Lisa Christiansen and Raina Douris and Mitch Pollock, Voir music journalists Patrick Baillargeon and Olivier Boisvert Magnen, Kimberly Cleave (APTN/Digital Drum) and Carl Wilson. On November 3, 2014, Jian Ghomeshi, the disgraced former CBC Q host and host of the first Polaris Gala, was removed from the Polaris juror pool. Polaris officials made no official announcement on the subject.