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Comedian Mae Martin will host the 55th annual Juno Awards, organizers announced on Thursday morning.
Coming off their 2024 hosting gig at the Canadian Screen Awards — and No. 1 show, Wayward, premiering on Netflix late last year — they will be the first comedian to solo host the ceremony since Russell Peters in 2009.
“I remember coming here when I was 13 to be on a radio show and how nervous I was,” Martin said in an interview with CBC News at its Toronto headquarters. “I’m slightly less nervous today at age 38. So I hope that by the time I host the show, I’ll be feeling looped up and warm.”
The Toronto-born comedian, actor, writer and musician will take to the stage in Hamilton on March 29, just two years after their first Juno nomination for comedy album of the year.
Martin’s MC role comes after the Junos were presented by a string of repeat hosts: Michael Bublé took over the gig last year for his third time; Nelly Furtado hosted in 2024 for her second time; and the year before that, actor Simu Liu hosted his second ceremony in a row.
From a first-time nominee last year to hosting the Junos, comedian Mae Martin chats with the CBC’s Griffin Jaeger on coming back to the Canadian stage and rising Canadian culture.
Martin said their goal is for a loose, non-stuffy feeling — one with the energy of a live music show.
“So I hope the audience gets a little raucous,” they said.
The show will feature performances by R&B/soul musician Daniel Caesar — who will also receive the international achievement award — and folk/roots singer-songwriter William Prince, organizers shared.
Previously announced performers include Hamilton hometown rock band Arkells and Toronto’s the Beaches. Also previously announced, Joni Mitchell will receive a lifetime achievement award, while Furtado will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Martin’s stint comes at something of a turning point in the Canadian awards space. Largely inspired by a Canada-U.S. trade war and economic aggression from the country’s southern neighbour, there has been an increased focus on the value and distinctiveness of Canada’s artistic output.
The 2025 Juno Awards largely operated as a repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats that the United States should absorb Canada. At the show, Anne Murray sported a Canadian hockey jersey and called the country “my safe haven, my safety blanket, my light at the end of the tunnel.” And rapper bbno$ called Elon Musk — at the time a U.S. government official — “a piece of garbage,” to roaring applause.
“We are the greatest nation on Earth,” host Bublé said at the opening of the show. “And we are not for sale.”
In 2024, Martin’s turn at the Canadian Screen Awards put the focus on the health and viability of independent Canadian pop culture. In a tongue-in-cheek joke, Martin assured the crowd that their “mild jokes” were sure to save a film and television industry that the Globe and Mail had recently declared as being in “crisis mode.”
For the Junos, Martin said they are decisively more hopeful about the state of Canadian art. Given the success of their own Netflix show and the barn-burning popularity of hockey drama Heated Rivalry, they said they felt a “huge sense of pride” around celebrating Canadian content.
“I think the worse things get around us, the more we rally together and realize that we actually do have a really distinct cultural identity,” Martin said.
“It just takes a handful of things to break through and show people that, yeah, Canadian content has global appeal and what hard-working artists there are here.”
This year’s awards will see a few category changes. Latin music recording of the year will be awarded for the first time, while rap album/EP and rap single of the year have updated eligibility requirements. Only vocalists who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents can be nominated, according to the Junos website, to ensure “that the spotlight remains on homegrown talent and supports the continued growth of Canada’s thriving hip-hop community.”
The 55th annual Juno Awards will take place on March 29 at Hamilton’s recently renovated TD Coliseum. The show will air on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and CBC Listen — and stream on CBC Music’s YouTube Channel — live at 8 p.m. ET.
