2021 in Canadian music

The following musical events and releases that happened in 2021 in Canada.

Events

 * April 10 – 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards
 * April 12 - CBC Music launches Canada Listens, a new musical version of the CBC's long-running literature debate show Canada Reads. Kardinal Offishall's album Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 is announced as the winner of the competition at the end of the week.
 * June 6 – Juno Awards of 2021
 * June 15 - Initial longlist for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize announced
 * July 15 - Shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize announced
 * July 26 - Prism Prize winners announced
 * July 28 - SOCAN Songwriting Prize winners announced
 * September 27 - Cadence Weapon wins the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for his album Parallel World
 * November 7 - 43rd Félix Awards
 * November 29 - 2021 Canadian Country Music Awards

0-9

 * 347aidan, Chasing Harmony

A

 * Afrikana Soul Sister, Kalasö
 * AHI, Prospect
 * Alaskan Tapes, For Us Alone
 * Alee, Feels Like This - July 16
 * All Hands Make Light, All Hands Make Light
 * a l l i e, Tabula Rasa
 * Arkells, Blink Once - September 30
 * Tenille Arts, Girl to Girl - October 22

B

 * Backxwash, I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses - May 28
 * BadBadNotGood, Talk Memory - October 8
 * James Baley, A Story
 * Ashleigh Ball, Before All the Magic's Gone
 * Gord Bamford, Diamonds in a Whiskey Glass - June 4
 * Barenaked Ladies, Detour de Force - July 16
 * The Beaches, Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album)
 * Beatchild, Unselfish Desires - August 13
 * Bell Orchestre, House Music - March 19
 * Belly, See You Next Wednesday - August 27
 * Beppie, Dino-Mite!
 * Art Bergmann, Late Stage Empire Dementia - May 21
 * Bernice, Eau de Bonjourno
 * The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings - January 29
 * Justin Bieber, Justice - March 19
 * Big Brave, Vital
 * Big Brave with The Body, Leaving None but Small Birds
 * Big Wreck, Big Wreck 7.1 - November 19
 * Blue Rodeo, Many a Mile - December 3
 * The Blue Stones, Hidden Gems - March 19
 * Born Ruffians, Pulp - April 16
 * Boslen, Dusk to Dawn
 * Boys Night Out, Nevermind 2 - July 16
 * Jon Bryant, Psychidyllic Salutations - November 26
 * Spencer Burton, Coyote

C

 * Cadence Weapon, Parallel World - April 30
 * Alessia Cara, In the Meantime - September 24
 * Casey MQ, babycasey: ultra
 * Charlotte Cardin, Phoenix - April 23
 * Casper Skulls, Knows No Kindness - November 12
 * Annabelle Chvostek, String of Pearls
 * Cœur de pirate, Perséides (April 30); Impossible à aimer (October 15)
 * Louis-Jean Cormier, Le ciel est au plancher - April 16
 * Charlotte Cornfield, Highs in the Minuses - October 29
 * Crown Lands, White Buffalo

D

 * Death From Above 1979, Is 4 Lovers - March 26
 * Art d'Ecco, In Standard Definition
 * The Deep Dark Woods, Changing Faces
 * Del Barber, Stray Dogs (Collected B-Sides / Vol. 1) - August 20
 * Devours, Escape from Planet Devours
 * The Dirty Nil, Fuck Art - January 1
 * Julie Doiron, I Thought of You - November 26
 * Drake, Certified Lover Boy - September 3
 * Drake, Scary Hours 2 - March 5
 * Kevin Drew, Influences - July 16
 * Dru, The Rebirth MMXX - May 27
 * Ducks Ltd., Modern Fiction
 * Willie Dunn, Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies
 * Melanie Durrant, Where I'm At - May 7
 * Dvsn, Amusing Her Feelings - January 15
 * Dvsn and Ty Dolla Sign, Cheers to the Best Memories - August 20

E

 * Jade Eagleson, Honkytonk Revival - November 12
 * Efajemue, Aesthetics
 * Emanuel, Alt Therapy
 * André Ethier, Further Up Island

F

 * Michael Feuerstack, Harmonize The Moon - March 19
 * Dominique Fils-Aimé, Three Little Words - February 12
 * Jeremy Fisher, Hello Blue Monday
 * The Franklin Electric, This Time I See It - September 24

G

 * The Garrys, Get Thee to a Nunnery
 * Gayance, No Toning Down
 * Godspeed You! Black Emperor, G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! - April 2
 * Great Aunt Ida, Unsayable - September 7
 * Great Lake Swimmers, Live at the Redeemer 2007 - May 14
 * Grievous Angels, Summer Before the Storm
 * G. R. Gritt, Ancestors

H

 * Half Moon Run, Inwards & Onwards
 * Hillsburn, Slipping Away
 * Home Front, Think of the Lie
 * TheHonestGuy, Love Songs for No One
 * Hunter Brothers, Been a Minute - June 30
 * Nate Husser, Adult Supervision
 * Andrew Hyatt, The Wanderspace Sessions (February); Wild Flowers (July)

I

 * Islands, Islomania - June 11

J

 * JayWood, Some Days
 * Jazz Cartier, The Fleur Print - September 10
 * Sean Jones, Weekend Lover - November 5

K

 * Greg Keelor, Share the Love
 * Mo Kenney, Covers - February 26
 * Shawnee Kish, Shawnee Kish - June 25
 * Brett Kissel, What Is Life? - April 9
 * Kiwi Jr., Cooler Returns - January 22
 * Korea Town Acid, Metamorphosis (April); Cosmos (October)
 * Nicholas Krgovich, This Spring

L

 * Land of Talk, Calming Night Partner - November 12
 * Daniel Lanois, Heavy Sun - March 19
 * Thierry Larose, Cantalou
 * Sook-Yin Lee and Adam Litovitz, 
 * Hubert Lenoir,  - September 15
 * Simon Leoza, Albatross
 * Loony, Soft Thing; Turf
 * Loscil, Clara - May 28
 * Russell Louder, Humor
 * The Lowest of the Low, Taverns and Palaces - December 10

M

 * Majid Jordan, Wildest Dreams - October 22
 * Manila Grey, No Saints on Knight Street
 * Martha and the Muffins, Marthology: In and Outtakes - November 5
 * Matt Mays, From Burnside with Love
 * Kyle McKearney, Down-Home
 * Kairo McLean, Easy Now
 * Kelly McMichael, Waves
 * Myst Milano, Shapeshyfter
 * Millimetrik, Sun-Drenched
 * Ariane Moffatt, Incarnat - March 25
 * Monowhales, Daytona Bleach
 * Jess Moskaluke, The Demos - February 19
 * Mother Mother, Inside - June 25
 * Mouth Congress, Waiting for Henry - December 10
 * Mustafa, When Smoke Rises - May 28

N

 * N Nao and Joni Void, L’oiseau chante avec ses doigts
 * Nimkii and the Niniis, Nang Giizhigoong
 * Laura Niquay, Waska Matisiwin
 * Safia Nolin, Seum
 * Justin Nozuka, Then, Now & Again - April 9

O

 * Ocie Elliott, Slow Tide
 * Odonis Odonis, Spectrums
 * Steven Lee Olsen, Relationship Goals - July 30
 * The Oot n' Oots, Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule
 * Ouri, Frame of a Fauna

P

 * Dorothea Paas, Anything Can't Happen - May 7
 * Meghan Patrick, Heart on My Glass - June 25
 * Nico Paulo, Live at First Light
 * Dany Placard, Astronomie (suite)
 * Planet Giza, Don't Throw Rocks at the Moon
 * The Joel Plaskett Emergency, Twenty Years Gone: The Joel Plaskett Emergency Revisits Down at the Khyber
 * Plaza, Nocturnes - October 1
 * Postdata, Twin Flames - March 5
 * Garth Prince, Falling in Africa
 * Priyanka, Taste Test - July 16

R

 * Raised By Swans, Raised By Swans Is the Name of a Man, Volume 1 - February 9
 * Rare Americans, Rare Americans 2 (March); Jamesy Boy & The Screw Loose Zoo (November)
 * Rhye, Home - January 22
 * Daniel Romano, Cobra Poems
 * Daniel Romano, Fully Plugged In
 * Daniel Romano, Kissing the Foe
 * Royal Canoe, Sidelining - July 9
 * Justin Rutledge, Islands - March 26
 * Ruth B., Moments In Between - June 11
 * Serena Ryder, The Art of Falling Apart - March 12

S

 * Julien Sagot, Sagot
 * Said the Whale, Dandelion - October 22
 * SATE, The Fool
 * JP Saxe, Dangerous Levels Of Introspection - June 25
 * Jay Scøtt, Ses plus grands succès
 * Joseph Shabason, The Fellowship - April 30
 * Shabason, Krgovich and Harris, Florence
 * Shad, TAO - October 1
 * Andy Shauf, Wilds
 * Jairus Sharif, Mega Optics
 * Tyler Shaw, Tyler Shaw - August 20
 * Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Theory of Ice
 * Skiifall, Woiiyoie Tapes Vol. 1
 * Small Sins, Volume II - February 12
 * Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Life After
 * Spiritbox, Eternal Blue - September 17
 * Arielle Soucy, Unresolved Collection
 * Souldia, Dixque d'art
 * Status/Non-Status, 1 2 3 4 500 Years
 * Emily Steinwall, Welcome to the Garden
 * Stripper's Union, The Undertaking
 * Adrian Sutherland, When the Magic Hits
 * Suuns, The Witness

T

 * Talk, Talk to Me
 * Tebey, The Good Ones - January 22
 * TEKE::TEKE, Shirushi
 * TiKA, Anywhere But Here
 * Tommy Lefroy, Flight Risk
 * Morgan Toney, First Flight
 * The Tragically Hip, Saskadelphia (EP) - May 21
 * The Tragically Hip, Road Apples: 30th Anniversary Edition - October 15
 * The Trews, Wanderer - November 19
 * Tuns, Duly Noted - March 26

U

 * Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, Einsteins of Consciousness - January 8
 * Suzie Ungerleider, My Name Is Suzie Ungerleider - August 13

V

 * Mathew V, The Outer Circle
 * Vincent Vallières, Toute beauté n'est pas perdue
 * Chad VanGaalen, World's Most Stressed Out Gardener — March 19
 * Jon Vinyl, Lost in You

W

 * Martha Wainwright, Love Will Be Reborn - August 20
 * The Weather Station, Ignorance - February 5
 * Whitehorse, Modern Love
 * Whitehorse, Strike Me Down
 * The Wilderness of Manitoba, Farewell to Cathedral - October 29
 * Charlotte Day Wilson, Alpha - July 9

Y

 * Yoo Doo Right, Don’t Think You Can Escape Your Purpose

Deaths

 * January 12 - Curtis "Shingoose" Jonnie, singer-songwriter (COVID-19)
 * January 28 - Jay W. McGee, R&B, soul and hip hop musician ("Ladies Delight", "Another Love in Your Life")
 * April 4 - Paul Humphrey, lead singer for Blue Peter (multiple system atrophy)
 * April 14 - Michel Louvain, singer (cancer)
 * April 19 - Bob Lanois, record producer and recording engineer
 * June 23 - Ellen McIlwaine, blues singer
 * December 18 - Custom, filmmaker and musician (cardiac arrest)