Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie loses top Canadian music honours

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Article content

TORONTO — Buffy Sainte-Marie has lost her Juno Awards, Polaris Music Prize honours and her induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as arts organizations respond to a statement from the singer saying she is not Canadian.

Article content

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences says it will revoke her five Juno wins and her 2017 humanitarian award after a review of its eligibility requirements.

Article content

Sainte-Marie will also no longer be a part of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Other organizations also announced on Friday that they are in the process of taking back Sainte-Marie’s honours.

Organizers at the Polaris Music Prize say they rescinded two awards, including her 2015 win for best Canadian album, after learning she is not a Canadian citizen. Polaris representatives say they will not seek a return of the $50,000 cash prize.

And Rideau Hall says Sainte-Marie pre-emptively returned her Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards medallion, and is no longer a laureate. That follows her Order of Canada termination in January.

Sainte-Marie told The Canadian Press in a statement earlier this week that she had “made it completely clear” she was not Canadian to Rideau Hall.

She says she’s an American citizen and holds a U.S. passport, but was adopted as a young adult by a Cree family in Saskatchewan.

Organizers at the Junos said Friday their decision is not a reflection of Sainte-Marie’s artistic contributions but based on their eligibility criteria.

The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.

Share this article in your social network