For the eighth consecutive year, the SOCAN Foundation has awarded five cash prizes of $5,000 each to five young music creators from across the country who’ve won its Young Canadian Songwriters Award. The awards, sponsored by SiriusXM Canada, celebrate outstanding creators aged 21 and under, who this year represent Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Québec, and Alberta.
“The Young Canadian Songwriters Awards highlight the powerful voices shaping the sounds of tomorrow,” said Rob Keen, Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing and CCD at SiriusXM Canada. “We’re excited to celebrate these remarkable creators and help fuel the next wave of Canadian music.”
The winners are:
- Julie Grace, for “The Haunter and The Hunter”
- Simone Hope, for “In and Out of You”
- Mary Liv, for “In The Ground”
- Neimo, for “Fumer tue”
- Zacary James, for “Change”
In addition, five other songwriters have been recognized in the “Ones to Watch” category, receiving a $1,000 prize to honor the quality of their work and encourage them to continue developing their craft.
- PEI, for “Begging”
- Maeve Zamuner, for “Snow In July”
- Kai Banks, for “222”
- Sully Burrows, for “Think of Me” (co-written by Bradley Hale)
- Ryder James, for “Monsters”
Once again this year, the jury was composed of people from various musical horizons (Kim Temple, Nimkish, Isabelle Ouimet, Myles Castello, Mantisse), who together sifted through hundreds of entries to find the candidates whose writing and composition stood out the most.
SOCAN and SOCAN Foundation congratulate all the winners!
The 2026 SOCAN Foundation competitions will be announced in early 2026 at www.socanfoundation.ca.