And the host of the 2026 Juno Awards goes to...
No, it’s not the dudes from Heated Rivalry
In the pecking order of CanCon hosting assignments, hosting the Juno Awards is as prestigious as it gets. Previous personalities to helm the annual celebration of Canadian music include Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé, Shania Twain, Russell Peters and Drake.
This year, the Junos will be in Hamilton (does this mean Hamilton is finally happening?), and hosting honours will go to the multi-hyphenate Toronto-born comedy phenom Mae Martin.
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It’s been a big year for Martin, whose Netflix series Wayward was a massive Canadian entertainment success story. (Granted, this was before Heated Rivalry became the only Canadian entertainment story that anyone cares about—but Shane and Ilya are probably still sleeping under some table at the Chateau Marmont or being asked to host the Grammys.)
Related: “I’m deeper than people assume”—Sarah Gadon on the creepy brilliance of Wayward
Martin also released their debut album, I’m a TV, last February. Their comedy tour, The Possum, kicks off in Oklahoma City next month. They also host the hit podcast Handsome and, lest we forget, have a side hustle selling animal art on Etsy.
Clearly Martin is up for the gig. Mind you, hosting the Junos can be challenging. One second, you’re trying to come up with an original bit; the next you’re dressed in a nude body suit complete with nipples and pubic hair. (That was, of course, Alanis Morissette’s iconic 2004 protest against the Janet Jackson nipple-gate incident that year.)
If Martin wants to use their pulpit for protest, our current moment offers plenty of injustices to choose from.
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
