Women In Music Canada Releases Names of 2025 Honours Nominees

Women In Music Canada is pleased to share the nominees for the 2025 Women In Music Canada Honours. The third annual Honours event will take place on March 6th at Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Annabel’s, in Toronto where the recipients will be recognized and celebrated alongside a showcase of incredible performances. Tickets are available for purchase now. See below for the full list of nominees. Stay tuned tomorrow when the speakers for the International Women’s Week Summit will be announced. The Summit will take place March 4th and 5th at the Allied Music Centre in Toronto and will be streamed live for those not able to attend in person. Information on the Honours evening (here) and the Women’s Week Summit can be found here, along with the registration link for the summit.

New this year, the national organization, with chapters in ten Canadian regions, is thrilled to announce ahead of the event, the recipients of three special awards – Career Achievement, Rising Leaders and International Leader. Slated to be celebrated as part of the March 6th event are 2025 Career Achievement Honourees: Leela Gilday, Lisa Logutenkow, and Veronica Syrtash. This Honour recognizes outstanding industry professionals who have been making waves for 20+ years. The recipient of this year’s International Leader Award is Alysha Brilla. The Rising Leaders category recognizes five incredible young voices in the music industry, all doing amazing work to support a more equitable music industry, see below for Honouree list.

The 2025 list of nominees began with an open call for submissions which included 235 entries. The nominees and honourees were determined through a juried process including category juries, with a total of 30 industry professionals weighing in, and verified by the Women In Music Canada Board of Directors Honours Committee. Submissions for consideration were made by the prospective honouree or another Canadian colleague. The final honouree recipients will be curated from the list of nominees by a finalist jury, with the Artist of the Year category being decided on by WIM Canada member voting (now open – vote here).

The WIM Canada Honours program is designed to celebrate and support Canadian innovators and creators who have had outstanding success in their field in the eligibility year (December 2023 through December 2024 for annual-based categories). Categories are: Artist of The Year (presented by Amazon Music), Change Maker of the Year (presented by National Arts Centre), Entrepreneur of the Year (presented by Believe and TuneCore), Excellence in Live Music, International Leader of the Year, Organization of the Year, Career Achievement Honour, and the Women In Music Canada Rising Leader. The 2025 honourees will receive gift packages from event partners and woman-owned Canadian businesses.

The Honours awards presentation will feature a showcase of incredible talent. Made possible with the support of Ontario Creates and Rogers Media Inc., the evening will include performances by Kimmortal, Cozmic Cat, Nyssa and announcing today, Kibra.

If you are interested in supporting Women In Music Canada and the Honours event, please contact Robyn Stewart at robyn@womeninmusic.ca.

2025 WOMEN IN MUSIC CANADA HONOURS:
Date: March 6th
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Theatre / Annabel’s
Time: 6:30 pm doors | 7:30 pm Honours presentation | 9 pm Afterparty
Tickets: purchase here

2025 WOMEN IN MUSIC CANADA HONOURS NOMINEES:

Artist of the Year presented by Amazon Music:

Allison Russell
Bambii
DijahSB
Lu Kala
Nemahsis
Tia Wood

Change Maker of the Year presented by National Arts Centre:

Gina Lam – Ginalina
Jinting Zhao – SHE-Q Audio
Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews – Toronto Metropolitan University / SOCAN Foundation

Entrepreneur of the Year presented by Believe and TuneCore:

Billie Jo Aasen – The Festival Company
Natalie Aloessode-Bernardin – Amixie Solutions
Cara Heath – With A Bullet
Chelsey June – Twin Flames
Ebonnie Rowe – Honey Jam Canada

Excellence in Live Music:

Diana Cerovich – Biltmore Theatre
Taylor Jack – Whitecap Entertainment
Shannon Josdal – Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
Carly McFadden – Folk On The Rocks
Samantha O’Connor – Ink Entertainment

Organization of the Year:

Arthaus Community
FabCollab
Misfit Music Management
Music Managers Forum Canada

International Leader of the Year:

Alysha Brilla

Career Achievement Honour:

Leela Gilday
Lisa Logutenkow
Veronica Syrtash

Women In Music Canada Rising Leaders:

Alexandra Idiart-Benavides – The Vault
Harpo Mander – 5X Fest
Alex Simpson – LiveNation / Lavender Live
Kingsley Swim – Project Warp and the Framework
Laura Wilson-Lewis – Warner Music Canada