2021 in Canadian music

The following musical events and releases that happened in 2021 in Canada.

Events

• April 10 – 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards^[1]
• April 12 - CBC Music launches Canada Listens, a new musical version of the CBC's long-running literature debate show Canada Reads. Kardinal Offishall's album Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 is announced as the winner of the competition at the end of the week.
• June 6 – Juno Awards of 2021^[2]
• June 15 - Initial longlist for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize announced
• July 15 - Shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize announced
• July 26 - Prism Prize winners announced
• July 28 - SOCAN Songwriting Prize winners announced
• September 27 - Cadence Weapon wins the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for his album Parallel World^[3]
• November 7 - 43rd Félix Awards
• November 29 - 2021 Canadian Country Music Awards^[4]

Albums released

0-9

• 347aidan, Chasing Harmony^[5]

A

• Afrikana Soul Sister, Kalasö
• AHI, Prospect
• Alaskan Tapes, For Us Alone
• Jeremie Albino and Cat Clyde, Blue Blue Blue^[6]
• Alee, Feels Like This - July 16^[7]
• All Hands Make Light, All Hands Make Light^[8]
• a l l i e, Tabula Rasa^[9]
• Arkells, Blink Once - September 30
• Tenille Arts, Girl to Girl - October 22^[10]

B

• Backxwash, I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses - May 28^[11]
• BadBadNotGood, Talk Memory - October 8
• James Baley, A Story^[12]
• Ashleigh Ball, Before All the Magic's Gone^[13]
• Gord Bamford, Diamonds in a Whiskey Glass - June 4^[14]
• Barenaked Ladies, Detour de Force - July 16
• Quinton Barnes, As a Motherfucker
• The Beaches, Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album)
• Beatchild, Unselfish Desires - August 13
• Bell Orchestre, House Music - March 19
• Belly, See You Next Wednesday - August 27
• Beppie, Dino-Mite!
• Art Bergmann, Late Stage Empire Dementia - May 21^[15]
• Bernice, Eau de Bonjourno
• The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings - January 29^[16]
• Justin Bieber, Justice - March 19
• Big Brave, Vital
• Big Brave with The Body, Leaving None but Small Birds
• Big Wreck, Big Wreck 7.1 - November 19
• Blue Rodeo, Many a Mile - December 3^[17]
• The Blue Stones, Hidden Gems - March 19
• Born Ruffians, Pulp - April 16
• Boslen, Dusk to Dawn^[18]
• Boy Golden, Church of Better Daze^[19]
• Boys Night Out, Nevermind 2 - July 16
• Jon Bryant, Psychidyllic Salutations - November 26
• Spencer Burton, Coyote^[20]

C

• Cadence Weapon, Parallel World - April 30^[21]
• Alessia Cara, In the Meantime - September 24
• Casey MQ, babycasey: ultra^[22]
• Charlotte Cardin, Phoenix - April 23^[23]
• Casper Skulls, Knows No Kindness - November 12^[24]
• Choses Sauvages, Choses Sauvages II
• Annabelle Chvostek, String of Pearls
• Cœur de pirate, Perséides (April 30); Impossible à aimer (October 15)
• Louis-Jean Cormier, Le ciel est au plancher - April 16^[25]
• Charlotte Cornfield, Highs in the Minuses - October 29^[26]
• Crown Lands, White Buffalo

D

• Death From Above 1979, Is 4 Lovers - March 26
• Art d'Ecco, In Standard Definition
• The Deep Dark Woods, Changing Faces
• Del Barber, Stray Dogs (Collected B-Sides / Vol. 1) - August 20^[27]
• Devours, Escape from Planet Devours
• The Dirty Nil, Fuck Art - January 1
• Julie Doiron, I Thought of You - November 26^[28]
• Drake, Certified Lover Boy - September 3
• Drake, Scary Hours 2 - March 5
• Kevin Drew, Influences - July 16
• Dru, The Rebirth MMXX - May 27
• Ducks Ltd., Modern Fiction
• Willie Dunn, Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies^[29]
• Marc Dupré, Où sera le monde
• Melanie Durrant, Where I'm At - May 7
• Dvsn, Amusing Her Feelings - January 15
• Dvsn and Ty Dolla Sign, Cheers to the Best Memories - August 20

E

• Jade Eagleson, Honkytonk Revival - November 12
• Efajemue, Aesthetics
• Emanuel, Alt Therapy
• Micah Erenberg, For the Ones Who Love Me Now; Frozen in Time
• André Ethier, Further Up Island

F

• Michael Feuerstack, Harmonize The Moon - March 19
• Dominique Fils-Aimé, Three Little Words - February 12^[13]
• Jeremy Fisher, Hello Blue Monday
• The Franklin Electric, This Time I See It - September 24

G

• The Garrys, Get Thee to a Nunnery
• Gayance, No Toning Down
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor, G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! - April 2
• Great Aunt Ida, Unsayable - September 7^[30]
• Great Lake Swimmers, Live at the Redeemer 2007 - May 14^[31]
• Grievous Angels, Summer Before the Storm^[32]
• G. R. Gritt, Ancestors^[11]

H

• Half Moon Run, Inwards & Onwards
• Hillsburn, Slipping Away^[11]
• Home Front, Think of the Lie
• TheHonestGuy, Love Songs for No One
• Hunter Brothers, Been a Minute - June 30^[33]
• Nate Husser, Adult Supervision^[34]
• Andrew Hyatt, The Wanderspace Sessions (February); Wild Flowers (July)

I

• Brandon Isaak, Modern Primitive
• Islands, Islomania - June 11

J

• JayWood, Some Days
• Jazz Cartier, The Fleur Print - September 10
• Sean Jones, Weekend Lover - November 5

K

• Greg Keelor, Share the Love
• Mo Kenney, Covers - February 26^[35]
• Shawnee Kish, Shawnee Kish - June 25^[36]
• Brett Kissel, What Is Life? - April 9^[37]
• Kiwi Jr., Cooler Returns - January 22
• Korea Town Acid, Metamorphosis (April); Cosmos (October)
• Nicholas Krgovich, This Spring^[38]

L

• Land of Talk, Calming Night Partner - November 12
• Daniel Lanois, Heavy Sun - March 19^[13]
• Thierry Larose, Cantalou
• Sook-Yin Lee and Adam Litovitz, jooj two^[21]
• Hubert Lenoir, Pictura de Ipse: Musique directe - September 15^[39]
• Simon Leoza, Albatross
• Loony, Soft Thing; Turf
• Loscil, Clara - May 28
• Russell Louder, Humor
• Love Language, Trying to Reach You
• The Lowest of the Low, Taverns and Palaces - December 10^[40]

M

• Majid Jordan, Wildest Dreams - October 22
• Manila Grey, No Saints on Knight Street
• Martha and the Muffins, Marthology: In and Outtakes - November 5^[41]
• Matt Mays, From Burnside with Love
• Kyle McKearney, Down-Home
• Kairo McLean, Easy Now
• Kelly McMichael, Waves
• Myst Milano, Shapeshyfter^[42]
• Millimetrik, Sun-Drenched
• Ariane Moffatt, Incarnat - March 25^[43]
• Monowhales, Daytona Bleach
• Jess Moskaluke, The Demos - February 19^[44]
• Mother Mother, Inside - June 25
• Mouth Congress, Waiting for Henry - December 10^[45]
• Mustafa, When Smoke Rises - May 28^[11]

N

• N Nao and Joni Void, L’oiseau chante avec ses doigts
• Nimkii and the Niniis, Nang Giizhigoong
• Laura Niquay, Waska Matisiwin
• Safia Nolin, Seum
• Justin Nozuka, Then, Now & Again - April 9

O

• Ocie Elliott, Slow Tide^[46]
• Odonis Odonis, Spectrums^[47]
• Steven Lee Olsen, Relationship Goals - July 30^[48]
• The Oot n' Oots, Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule
• Ouri, Frame of a Fauna^[49]

P

• Dorothea Paas, Anything Can't Happen - May 7^[50]
• Meghan Patrick, Heart on My Glass - June 25^[51]
• Nico Paulo, Live at First Light
• Dany Placard, Astronomie (suite)
• Planet Giza, Don't Throw Rocks at the Moon^[52]
• The Joel Plaskett Emergency, Twenty Years Gone: The Joel Plaskett Emergency Revisits Down at the Khyber^[53]
• Plaza, Nocturnes - October 1
• Postdata, Twin Flames - March 5^[13]
• Garth Prince, Falling in Africa
• Priyanka, Taste Test - July 16^[54]

R

• Raised By Swans, Raised By Swans Is the Name of a Man, Volume 1 - February 9
• Rare Americans, Rare Americans 2 (March); Jamesy Boy & The Screw Loose Zoo (November)
• Rhye, Home - January 22^[13]
• Daniel Romano, Cobra Poems
• Daniel Romano, Fully Plugged In
• Daniel Romano, Kissing the Foe
• Royal Canoe, Sidelining - July 9
• Justin Rutledge, Islands - March 26^[55]
• Ruth B., Moments In Between - June 11
• Serena Ryder, The Art of Falling Apart - March 12

S

• Julien Sagot, Sagot
• Said the Whale, Dandelion - October 22
• SATE, The Fool
• JP Saxe, Dangerous Levels Of Introspection - June 25
• Jay Scøtt, Ses plus grands succès
• Joseph Shabason, The Fellowship - April 30
• Shabason, Krgovich and Harris, Florence^[56]
• Shad, TAO - October 1
• Andy Shauf, Wilds
• Jairus Sharif, Mega Optics
• Tyler Shaw, Tyler Shaw - August 20
• Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Theory of Ice
• Skiifall, Woiiyoie Tapes Vol. 1^[57]
• Small Sins, Volume II - February 12^[13]
• Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Life After^[58]
• Spiritbox, Eternal Blue - September 17
• Arielle Soucy, Unresolved Collection
• Souldia, Dixque d'art
• Status/Non-Status, 1 2 3 4 500 Years^[59]
• Emily Steinwall, Welcome to the Garden^[60]
• Jeffery Straker, Just Before Sunrise
• Stripper's Union, The Undertaking^[61]
• Adrian Sutherland, When the Magic Hits^[62]
• Suuns, The Witness

T

• Talk, Talk to Me
• Tebey, The Good Ones - January 22^[63]
• TEKE::TEKE, Shirushi^[64]
• TiKA, Anywhere But Here^[65]
• Tommy Lefroy, Flight Risk
• Morgan Toney, First Flight
• The Tragically Hip, Saskadelphia (EP) - May 21^[66]
• The Tragically Hip, Road Apples: 30th Anniversary Edition - October 15^[67]
• The Trews, Wanderer - November 19
• Tuns, Duly Noted - March 26^[68]

U

• Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, Einsteins of Consciousness - January 8
• Suzie Ungerleider, My Name Is Suzie Ungerleider - August 13

V

• Mathew V, The Outer Circle
• Jake Vaadeland, No More Pain in My Heart; Retro Man
• Vincent Vallières, Toute beauté n'est pas perdue
• Chad VanGaalen, World's Most Stressed Out Gardener — March 19^[69]
• Jon Vinyl, Lost in You^[70]

W

• Martha Wainwright, Love Will Be Reborn - August 20^[71]
• The Weather Station, Ignorance - February 5^[72]
• Whitehorse, Modern Love
• Whitehorse, Strike Me Down
• The Wilderness of Manitoba, Farewell to Cathedral - October 29
• Charlotte Day Wilson, Alpha - July 9^[73]

Y

• Yoo Doo Right, Don’t Think You Can Escape Your Purpose^[74]

Deaths

• January 12 - Curtis "Shingoose" Jonnie, singer-songwriter (COVID-19)^[75]
• January 28 - Jay W. McGee, R&B, soul and hip hop musician ("Ladies Delight", "Another Love in Your Life")^[76]
• April 4 - Paul Humphrey, lead singer for Blue Peter (multiple system atrophy)^[77]
• April 14 - Michel Louvain, singer (cancer)^[78]
• April 19 - Bob Lanois, record producer and recording engineer^[79]
• June 23 - Ellen McIlwaine, blues singer
• December 18 - Custom, filmmaker and musician (cardiac arrest)^[80]