City council approves $500K for bid to host major music awards event

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Saskatoon could again find itself the centre of the Canadian music universe — at least for one week.

City councillors on Wednesday unanimously approved an urgent business request from Discover Saskatoon for $500,000 in support of a bid to host a “national major music awards event” in 2026.

According to an administration report presented to council, specific details of the event can’t yet be publicly reported due to confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.

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The local tourism organization was asking for the $500,000 as a one-time investment from the city’s special events grant reserve “to support the successful acquisition of this event” for the city.

Discover Saskatoon has also aproached the provincial government to request $1 million in support, council heard. Discover Saskatoon would cover an additional $100,000.

The total cost of the bid is $1.6 million. The money would only be spent if the bid succeeds.

“At a time where economic uncertainty looms, this is the chance for city council to make a powerful statement,” Discover Saskatoon CEO Stephanie Clovechok said on Wednesday.

Clovechok told council the event takes place in late September, which would help local businesses at a time of year when things typically start to slow down.

The two major week-long national events on the Canadian music calendar are the Juno Awards and the Canadian Country Music Association Awards. The Junos are traditionally held in the spring; the CCMAs are held in late summer or early fall.

The 2025 Juno Awards are set for for March 30 in Vancouver. The 2025 CCMA Awards are scheduled to take place in Kelowna on Sept. 13. Neither event has a confirmed host city for the 2026 editions.

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Saskatoon previously hosted the CCMAs in 2012 and 2017, and the Juno Awards in 2007. Just days before the 2020 Juno Awards were set to take place in Saskatoon, the ceremony and all related events were cancelled due to the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We need to get back into those conversations,” said Coun. Troy Davies, adding that providing the funding for the event “is something I 100 per cent do support.”

He noted there is no mill rate impact on taxpayers for the city to host such an event.

Coun. Scott Ford, who previously worked at SaskTel Centre and had a hand in hosting major events, said the city isn’t budgeting properly to accommodate the increased costs of hosting large-scale events.

Clovechok agreed. In its current state, Saskatoon isn’t competitive, she said.

In a letter to council, she said the “prominent cultural event” up for grabs in 2026 “represents an unparalleled opportunity to showcase Saskatoon as a premier destination for music, arts and entertainment.”

Clovechok said when a “similar event” was hosted in Hamilton in 2023, it drew 17,000 industry professionals and fans, sold nearly 8,500 tickets to the awards ceremony itself, and delivered $11.2 million in economic impact for the region. The CCMAs were held in Hamilton in 2023.

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She said that event supported 86 full-time-equivalent jobs, contributed $1.2 million in tax revenue and generated “significant exposure” through the national broadcast.

In 2024, the economic impact on the host region grew to around $15 million, Clovechok said in her letter to council. She said Discover Saskatoon expects an even higher impact in 2026.

In a report on the CCMA’s official website, the organization said the economic impact in Hamilton in 2023 was $11.2 million. In another report from CCMA, the organization reported an economic impact in Edmonton — the host of the 2024 CCMAs — of $16 million.

The city administration, in its report to council, recommended approving the $500,000 pending the successful awarding of the bid to host the event and a submission of a detailed event application package.

The administration is “confident” the 2026 event “would be consistent with the objectives” of the funding policy, including attracting visitors to Saskatoon, economic benefit for the community, enhancing the city’s profile and community spirit, and developing “an awareness, understanding and appreciation of art, culture and recreation,” the report said.

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The current uncommitted balance in the city’s special events grant reserve is $1,255,100, ensuring it has sufficient funds to support the request.

The report to council said this annual event would bring artists and visitors from across the country and internationally. It’s described as a weeklong event that would use venues like TCU Place, SaskTel Centre and Prairieland Park.

Clovechok said it would “drive substantial economic activity, filling our hotels with out-of-town guests and programming key venues across the city.”

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