The 2026 Polaris Music Prize revealed the 20 nominee Long List for the second edition of the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize. Launched last year as part of Polaris’ 20th and SOCAN’s 100th anniversaries, the Song Prize awards $10,000 for one winning song to be split between the song’s Canadian performers and the song’s credited Canadian songwriter(s).
Similar to the Polaris Album Prize, the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize honours the Canadian song of the year based on artistic merit, without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity.
The winning song will be revealed during the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Tuesday, September 22.
The 2026 SOCAN Polaris Song Prize Long List is:
- Angine de Poitrine – “Fabienk”
- Angine de Poitrine – “Yor Zarad”
- Aquakultre – “Gallows”
- Aquakultre – “Holy”
- Begonia – “My Fantasy Life”
- Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree – “PUT YOUR FEATHERS ON”
- Mariel Buckley – “Vending Machines”
- Cadence Weapon, Junia-T & DijahSB – “Step Out”
- Charlotte Cornfield – “Hurts Like Hell”
- Rochelle Jordan – “The Boy”
- Les Louanges – “Correct”
- Les Louanges – “La journée va être chaude”
- No Joy, Fire-Toolz – ‘Jelly Meadow Bright”
- Ouri – “Paris” (Ft. Oli XL)
- PUP – “Hunger For Death”
- Julianna Riolino – “Seed”
- Sloan – “No Damn Fears”
- Arielle Soucy – “Varieties of Quiet”
- Patrick Watson & Martha Wainwright – “House on Fire”
- Charlotte Day Wilson – “Lean” (feat. Saya Gray)
This is the first set of Song Prize nominations for everyone involved except Saya Gray, who was also nominated last year for their work “Shell (Of A Man).” The Song Prize Long List was created and voted forward by the 205 members of the Canada-wide Polaris Music Prize jury.
The first-ever SOCAN Polaris Song Prize was awarded to Mustafa for “Gaza is Calling,” and was written by Mustafa Ahmed, Emmanuel Hailemariam, Simon Hessman and Nicolas Jaar.
The 10 finalist albums on the Polaris Music Prize Album Short List will be revealed on July 9, and the five nominee Song Prize Short List will be announced on July 29.