Tate McRae claimed four top honors at the Juno Awards Gala in Hamilton, Ontario, on March 28, including single of the year for 'Sports Car' and album of the year for So Close To What. Several high-profile winners, including McRae, Justin Bieber and The Weeknd, were absent from the Hamilton Convention Centre event. The gala handed out most awards ahead of the televised broadcast the following night.
The gala, streamed on CBC online channels during a music industry dinner, saw McRae dominate alongside nominees like Bieber and The Weeknd, both of whom skipped the ceremony. Daniel Caesar took songwriter of the year but was absent; he is set to perform on the Sunday broadcast. Cameron Whitcomb won country album of the year for The Hard Way and will also perform Sunday, while Aysanabee secured alternative album of the year for Edge Of The Earth and contemporary Indigenous artist or group of the year. In his acceptance for the latter, Aysanabee said he would not submit again to make space for others, adding, 'But I will still be coming for the white people awards,' drawing laughter and applause from the crowd. Alex Cuba made history as the first winner of the new Latin music recording of the year category for Índole, building on his prior Juno wins and four Latin Grammys. Karan Aujla and Ikky won South Asian music recording of the year for P-Pop Culture; Aujla was touring in India. Other highlights included Debby Friday's dance recording win for Bet On Me, where she described the Junos as 'Canadian royalty' acknowledging artists, and a rare tie in adult alternative album between Bahamas and Begonia. Special achievement awards went to Vinny Cinquemani, Sandy Pandya and the late Al Mair. Cinquemani criticized ticket scalping, while Pandya called for mental health support for musicians. Billy Talent received the humanitarian award, with frontman Ben Kowalewicz noting their long history of charity work. Sarah McLachlan won adult contemporary album for Better Broken.
