Cameron Whitcomb walked out of the 44th CCMA Awards with the two biggest trophies in Canadian country music and an album prize on top. MusicRow reports that he took Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year at the ceremony on 19 September, along with the Ford F-150 Album of the Year award for The Hard Way.
The show was held at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon for the third time, and the hosts did well out of their own night. The James Barker Band received the Fans' Choice award and were named Group or Duo of the Year for the fourth consecutive year, which makes them the most durable act in the category since it was last genuinely contested.
Meghan Patrick picked up her third Female Artist of the Year trophy, and Josh Ross took Single of the Year for Hate How You Look, also his third win in a row in that category. Sully Burrows was named Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year, an award presented by FACTOR, the federal recording funding body that backs a large share of the acts in the room.
Nate Haller and Tenille Townes won Musical Collaboration of the Year for Backfire, and Thelma & James took Video of the Year for Parking Lot Prayers. The full ceremony is streaming on Crave.
The industry awards were handed out the night before, on 18 September, at a gala dinner hosted by Jackie Rae Greening, and that is where the structural news was. The Wilkinsons and Ron Kitchener were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Brett Kissel and W. Brett Wilson shared the Gary Slaight Humanitarian Award, and Natalie Waller received the Leonard T. Rambeau International Award.
Karen Kosowski made history at that dinner by becoming the first solo woman to win Record Producer of the Year, in a category that has been a closed shop for as long as it has existed on either side of the border. Amber Bauer won Keyboard Player of the Year, and the Songwriter of the Year award presented by SOCAN went jointly to Michael August, Nate Hall, James Adam Shelley and Tenille Townes.
The corporate awards tell their own story about where Canadian country money now comes from. Big Loud Records was named Record Company of the Year and Big Loud Publishing took Music Publishing Company of the Year, and the association's first International Industry Person of the Year award went to Big Loud's Seth England. A Nashville company sweeping the trade categories at a Canadian ceremony is a fair description of the current market.
Elsewhere on the night, Thelma & James also won Alternative Country Album of the Year, presented by the National Music Centre, Fred Dionne was named Francophone Artist of the Year, and Shannon Ella of iHeartRadio and PURE Country took Country Personality of the Year. Performances came from Dean Brody, Morgan Griffiths, Brett Kissel, Madeline Merlo, Tyler Joe Miller and The Wilkinsons. The association named its board directors for 2026 and 2027 earlier this year. Our award watch tracks the ceremonies, and the country hub carries the rest, including the Americana association's lifetime achievement honour for Dolly Parton.
The facts
- The 44th CCMA Awards were held on 19 September at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
- Cameron Whitcomb won Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
- He also took Album of the Year for The Hard Way.
- Hosts the James Barker Band won Fans' Choice and a fourth Group or Duo award.
- Meghan Patrick won her third Female Artist of the Year trophy.
- Karen Kosowski is the first solo woman to win Record Producer of the Year.
- The Wilkinsons and Ron Kitchener joined the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
- Big Loud took both Record Company and Music Publishing Company of the Year.
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