2016 in Canadian music

Events

• April 3 – Juno Awards of 2016
• April 17 – Final concert by the influential folk-rock band Spirit of the West.
• April – East Coast Music Awards
• May 15 – Prism Prize presented.
• May 24 – The Tragically Hip announce that lead singer Gord Downie has been diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer.
• June 15 – Preliminary longlist for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize is announced.
• July – SOCAN Songwriting Prize is presented.
• July 14 – Shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize is announced.
• July 22 – The Tragically Hip play the first date of their Man Machine Poem Tour in Victoria, British Columbia.
• August 20 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts The Tragically Hip's concert at the K-Rock Centre in their hometown of Kingston, which may be the band's last-ever live concert due to Gord Downie's cancer diagnosis, as a live cross-platform broadcast on CBC Television, CBC Radio One, CBC Radio 2, CBC Music and YouTube.
• September 19 – Kaytranada's album 99.9% is named the winner of the Polaris Music Prize.
• December 3 – 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards

Bands disbanded

• Nomeansno
• Spirit of the West

Albums released

A

• AHI, We Made It Through the Wreckage
• Alaskan Tapes, We All Speak in Poems
• Altameda, Dirty Rain
• Ammoye, Enter the Warrioress
• Amylie, Les Éclats
• Matt Andersen, Honest Man – February 26
• Ancient Shapes, Ancient Shapes
• Tafari Anthony, Die for You
• Anvil, Anvil Is Anvil – February 26

B

• Badbadnotgood, IV – July 8
• Jason Bajada, Volcano – February 12
• Matthew Barber and Jill Barber, The Family Album – April 1
• Alexis Baro, Sugar Rush
• Bobby Bazini, Summer Is Gone
• Bear Mountain, BADU – September 9
• Daniel Bélanger, Paloma - November 25
• Art Bergmann, The Apostate – May 13
• The Besnard Lakes, A Coliseum Complex Museum – January 22
• Black Mountain, TBA
• Blackburn Brothers, Brothers in This World
• Jean-Michel Blais, Il
• Bleu Jeans Bleu, Franchement wow
• Blue Moon Marquee, Gypsy Blues
• Blue Rodeo, 1000 Arms – October 28
• Will Bonness, Halcyon
• Brasstronaut, Brasstronaut – November 11
• Alysha Brilla, Human
• Jim Bryson, Somewhere We Will Find Our Place – February 12
• Basia Bulat, Good Advice – February 12
• The Burning Hell, Public Library – April 1

C

• Brendan Canning, Home Wrecking Years – August 12
• Charlotte Cardin, Big Boy
• Jazz Cartier, Hotel Paranoia
• Tanika Charles, Soul Run – May 10
• Classified, Greatful – January 15
• Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker
• Jason Collett, Song and Dance Man – February 5
• Antoine Corriveau, Cette chose qui cognait au creux de sa poitrine sans vouloir s'arrêter
• Crown Lands, Mantra
• Lori Cullen, ''Sexsmith Swinghammer Songs''

D

• Dead Obies, Gestamtkunstwerk – March 4
• Del Barber & the No Regretzkys, The Puck Drops Here
• Art d'Ecco, Day Fevers
• Devours, Late Bloomers
• Céline Dion, Encore un soir – August 26
• The Dirty Nil, Higher Power – February 26
• Gord Downie, Secret Path – October 18
• Drake, Views – April 29

E

• Earle and Coffin, Live at the Citadel House
• Micah Erenberg, ''Poor Mic's Toe''

F

• The Flatliners, TBA
• Luca Fogale, Safety
• Fond of Tigers, Uninhabit – October 7
• Fresh Snow, ''ONE''

G

• The Garrys, Warm Buds
• Karina Gauvin, Divine Karina – February 12
• Hannah Georgas, For Evelyn
• Matthew Good, I Miss New Wave: Beautiful Midnight Revisited – December 2
• Aaron Goodvin, Aaron Goodvin
• Great Lake Swimmers, ''Swimming Away''

H

• Harrison, Checkpoint Titanium
• Ron Hawkins, Spit Sputter and Sparkle – March 25
• Tim Hecker, TBA
• Angela Hewitt, Domenico Scarlatti Sonatas – February 12
• The Hidden Cameras, Home on Native Land
• Matt Holubowski, Solitudes
• Holy Fuck, TBA

I

• Ice Cream, ''Love, Ice Cream''

J

• Sammy Jackson, Take Me Back
• July Talk, Touch – September 9
• Junior Boys, Big Black Coat – February 5

K

• Kaytranada, 99.9% – May 6
• Aidan Knight, Each Other – January 22
• Koriass, Love Suprême
• Chantal Kreviazuk, Hard Sail – July 17
• Nicholas Krgovich, The Hills
• Patrick Krief, Automanic – September 30

L

• Land of Talk, TBA
• k.d. lang with Neko Case and Laura Veirs, case/lang/veirs
• Salomé Leclerc, Live au Treatment
• Little Scream, TBA
• Les Louanges, ''Le Mercure''

M

• The Maddigans, No Place Like Here – April 4
• Ria Mae, Ria Mae – June 3
• Magic!, Primary Colours – July 1
• Majid Jordan, Majid Jordan – February 5
• Kate Maki, Head in the Sand – May 20
• Dan Mangan, Unmake – June 17
• Carolyn Mark, Come! Back! Special!
• Shawn Mendes, Illuminate
• Dylan Menzie, Adolescent Nature
• Millimetrik, Fog Dreams
• Ryland Moranz, ''Hello New Old World''

N

• Nap Eyes, Thought Rock Fish Scale
• Sarah Neufeld, The Ridge – February 26

O

• The Oot n' Oots, Songs and Tales from the Great Blue Whale
• Karim Ouellet, Trente – March 11

P

• Dorothea Paas, No Loose Ends
• PartyNextDoor, PartyNextDoor 3 – August 12
• Philémon Cimon, Psychanalysez-vous avec Philémon Cimon
• Lido Pimienta, La Papessa
• Plants and Animals, Waltzed in from the Rumbling – April 29
• Protest The Hero, Pacific Myth – November 18

R

• Radio Radio, Light the Sky – February 19
• Allan Rayman, Hotel Allan
• Corin Raymond, Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams
• Amanda Rheaume, Holding Patterns
• River Tiber, Indigo - June 24
• Benjamin Dakota Rogers, Whisky & Pine
• Royal Canoe, Something Got Lost Between Here and the Orbit
• Rum Ragged, Rum Ragged
• Justin Rutledge, East – September 30
• Serena Ryder, ''Utopia''

S

• Sam Roberts Band, Terraform – October 28
• John K. Samson, Winter Wheat – October 21
• SATE, RedBlack&Blue
• Ségala, Plato Hess
• Andy Shauf, The Party – May 20
• Mike Shabb, Sewaside LP
• Crystal Shawanda, Fish Out of Water
• Shotgun Jimmie, Field of Trampolines
• Simple Plan, Taking One for the Team – February 19
• Dallas Smith, Side Effects - September 2
• So Loki, V
• Solids, Else
• Souldia, Sacrifice
• John Southworth, Small Town Water Tower
• Rae Spoon, Armour – February 19
• Frederick Squire, Spooky Action at a Distance – May 27
• The Strumbellas, Hope – February 5
• Sussex, Parade Day
• Suuns, ''Hold/Still''

T

• Tanya Tagaq, Retribution – October 21
• Tasha the Amazon, Die Every Day
• Tegan and Sara, Love You to Death – June 3
• Tory Lanez, I Told You – August 19
• The Tragically Hip, Man Machine Poem – June 17
• A Tribe Called Red, We Are the Halluci Nation
• Tuns, Tuns – August 26

U

• Un Blonde, ''Good Will Come to You''

V

• Mathew V, Sounds
• Rosie Valland, Nord-Est
• Venetian Snares, Traditional Synthesizer Music – February 20
• Lindy Vopnfjörð, Frozen in Time – October 28

W

• Martha Wainwright, Goodnight City
• Frank Walker, Nocturnal
• Dawn Tyler Watson, Jawbreaker!
• Weaves, Weaves
• The Weeknd, Starboy – November 25
• White Lung, Paradise
• WHOOP-Szo, Citizen's Band Radio
• Wild Rivers, Wild Rivers
• Wintersleep, The Great Detachment – March 4
• Woodpigeon, TROUBLE
• Royal Wood, Ghost Light
• Donovan Woods, Hard Settle, Ain't Troubled – February 26
• Roy Woods, Nocturnal – December 23
• Roy Woods, Waking at Dawn – July 1

Y

• Ken Yates, Huntsville
• You Say Party, You Say Party – February 12
• Your Boy Tony Braxton, Adult Contempt – July 15

Z

• The Zolas, Swooner – March 4