TORONTO, ON – September 22, 2026

CBC presents the Polaris Music Prize has announced that Angine de Poitrine have won the 2026 Polaris Album Prize for Vol. 2, and SOCAN Polaris Song Prize for “Fabienk.”

The two Prizes, which were presented by CBC, were handed out to cap off the 2026 Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony powered by FACTOR on September 22 at Massey Hall in Toronto.

Also honoured during the evening were The Watchmen and the late Willie Dunn, whose respective landmark albums McLaren Furnace Room and Willie Dunn (1971) were honoured with 2026 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize designations meant to celebrate exceptional Canadian albums from the past.

Polaris honours Canadian music based solely on artistic merit, without regard to genre, sales history or label affiliation.

“That all this attention is being directed toward music this rock-driven and this complex is unexpected, yet entirely deserved,” said Angine de Poitrine’s manager Sébastien Collin on their behalf. “This artistic project is the result of a lifetime of refinement, collaboration, a drive to push beyond one’s limits, and a refusal to be confined by any established framework. Beyond the innovation and the extreme level of difficulty, the band has managed to create music that is incredibly catchy and accessible, which makes it all the more impressive.

“Congratulations to Angine de Poitrine, congratulations to the other nominees for innovating in their own ways, and thank you to Polaris for this tremendous recognition.”

Angine de Poitrine’s album victory came with a $30,000 monetary reward courtesy of the Slaight Family Foundation. They received an additional $10,000 courtesy of SOCAN for their song victory.

The 2026 Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony was recorded by CBC for a future episode of the CBC Music Presents: Live At Massey Hall series. Individual performance videos, standout moments, and winner reveals will be available at cbcmusic.ca/polaris.

The Polaris Album and Song Prizes were determined by the 205 member Polaris jury, a pool of music media and experts from across the country. The jury determined these results through multiple rounds of voting to create nominee Long and Short Lists followed by a series of Grand Jury presentations and debate sessions.

The 2026 Polaris Music Prize Album Short List was:

Angine de Poitrine – Vol. II
Aquakultre – 1783
Begonia – Fantasy Life
Bibi Club – Amaro
Charlotte Cornfield – Hurts Like Hell
Beverly Glenn-Copeland – Laughter In Summer
Rochelle Jordan – Through The Wall
Les Louanges – Alouette!
Peaches – No Lube So Rude
Tanya Tagaq – Saputjiji

The 2026 SOCAN Polaris Song Prize Short List was:

 * Angine de Poitrine — “Fabienk,” written by Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine (Third Side Music)

* Charlotte Cornfield — “Hurts Like Hell,” written by Charlotte Cornfield (Terrorbird Publishing, LLC)

* PUP — “Hunger For Death,” written by Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula and Steve Sladkowski (Warner-Chappell Music Canada)

* Patrick Watson & Martha Wainwright  — “House on Fire,” written by Martha Wainwright, Patrick Watson, Olivier Sebastien Fairfield, Mikhail Stein, Xu Bin Kim, Xavier Brault, Jeremie Cloutier and Robert Margaryan (Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. Canada, Secret City Publishing Inc)

* Charlotte Day Wilson, Saya Gray  — “Lean,” written by Charlotte Day Wilson, Saya Gray, Siala Kemy and Jack Emblem (Stone Woman Publishing, Secretly Publishing, Sony Music Publishing)

 The Album and Song Prize wins were announced by two-time Polaris Album winner Jeremy Dutcher and Tanya Van Luven of SOCAN immediately following Angine de Poitrine’s live performance of “Fabienk.”

Angine de Poitrine’s appearance concluded an excellent series of live sets from Album Short List nominees including Aquakultre, Begonia, Bibi Club, Beverly Glenn-Copeland & Elizabeth Copeland, Charlotte Cornfield, Les Lounages and Tanya Tagaq in addition to an interpretation of Peaches’ No Lube So Rude album from 2026 Album Long List nominees Slash Need.

A number of exciting music events remain on the Polaris calendar as the organization’s Polaris Festival presented by SiriusXM Canada continues throughout the rest of September with free concerts from the likes of Witch Prophet and Adria Kain and co-promotional events with the Second Summer festival and London, Ontario’s Punk Rock Flea Market, as well as curated Dreaming With listening parties dedicated to Caribou and Broken Social Scene.

POLARIS ALBUM PRIZE WINNERS

The past winners are Angine de Poitrine (2026), Yves Jarvis (2025), Jeremy Dutcher (2024), Debby Friday (2023), Pierre Kwenders (2022), Cadence Weapon (2021), Backxwash (2020), Haviah Mighty (2019), Jeremy Dutcher (2018), Lido Pimienta (2017), Kaytranada (2016), Buffy Sainte-Marie (2015), Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007) and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).

POLARIS SONG PRIZE WINNERS

2026 – Angine de Poitrine — “Fabienk,” written by Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine.

2025 – Mustafa “Gaza is Calling,” written by Mustafa Ahmed, Emmanuel Hailemariam, Simon Hessman and Nicolas Jaar.

CBC presents the 2026 Polaris Music Prize. This year’s Concert & Award Ceremony is powered by FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. It is supported by SiriusXM Canada, Ontario Creates, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, and the Slaight Family Foundation.

ABOUT POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE

The Polaris Music Prize is a registered charity organization that annually honours and rewards artists who produce Canadian music of distinction. A select panel of music critics judge and award the Prize without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity.

ABOUT FACTOR

The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings – FACTOR – is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to providing investment support toward the career development of Canadian artists, entrepreneurs, and organizations to produce and promote a diversity of Canadian music in a world of choice, be competitive at home and abroad, and to contribute to Canada’s creative economy. Funding for our programs is contributed by the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Music Fund and from Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

ABOUT CBC/RADIO-CANADA

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages: Dëne Sųłıné, Dene Kǝdǝ́, Dene Zhatıé, Eastern Cree, Dinjii Zhuʼ Ginjik, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun and Tłı̨chǫ. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

ABOUT CBC MUSIC

CBC Music is the leading curator of emerging and diverse Canadian music talent across platforms, playing the most Canadian artists and genres on radio, CBC Listen and cbcmusic.ca. We prioritize Canadian artists in a wide variety of genres on over 200 playlists available on CBC Listen, and publish daily national music coverage. CBC Music Live features live music recordings from across the country. Our music partnerships and events include The JUNO Awards, the Polaris Music Prize, CBC Music Presents: Live at Massey Hall and The Canadian Music Class Challenge.

ABOUT SLAIGHT MUSIC

Slaight Music was started in 2011 with a mandate to support the Canadian Music community through a variety of initiatives, and to develop Canadian talent via strategic partnerships with industry peers.
www.slaightmusic.com

ABOUT SOCAN  

SOCAN is Canada’s largest member-owned music rights organization, championing the fundamental value of music and the people who create it. SOCAN collects license fees for the public performance and reproduction of music, matches them to rights holders, and distributes them as royalties to songwriters, composers and music creators and publishers in Canada and around the world. With more than a century of expertise and innovation, SOCAN stands for respect and fair compensation for creative work – protecting, recognizing, and celebrating its over 200,000 songwriter, composer, and music publisher members. For more information: www.socan.com.