Canadian Blues Music Awards is an incorporated national not-for-profit whose mandate is to govern, create, operate, maintain and update the CBMA and its processes.  

We are a wholly independent organization based on a foundation of governance, fair and inclusive process, transparency, and nationwide engagement, maximizing the integrity and impartiality of the awards.

The Canadian Blues Music Awards system  features:

•  Submissions for award consideration

•  Voting conducted by a panel of jury members selected from a jury pool of industry experts. Jury members are reviewed for their expertise, geographical diversity, and national representation. All voting is independent and anonymous (except for Fan Favourite, which continues to engage the public in the process)

•  Developing a large jury pool, screening applicants for experience and expertise in a number of blues-related fields

•  Selecting jury members from the jury pool each year, reflecting geographical diversity, and creating full national representation;  all voting is independent and anonymous

•  Lifetime Achievement and Industry Person awards now nominated by qualifying blues societies, festivals, and venues, for voting by the jury members

•  Involving more regional blues societies to participate in the process, increasing regional representation

•  Creating a dedicated website for online submissions, jury applications, and voting.

As a Not For Profit, all CBMA activities are overseen by the Governing Committee, who oversee the process, with clear governance guidelines, to protect and preserve the integrity and impartiality of the Canadian Blues Music Awards and its processes, including categories, submissions, impartial judging, voting procedures, & tabulations for the Awards.  

The Governing Committee determines the governance, structure, and all processes of the CBMAs, and oversees all stages thereof, ensuring full documentation of all mandates, mission statements,  etc.

Governing Committee Members:

•  are selected through an application process

•  demonstrate extensive blues music industry experience

•  each new member is selected by a majority ballot vote by the membership of the Committee

•  must agree to fulfill the required time, impartiality, confidentiality, commitment, and sign an agreement thereof.

Will equally represent at least 3 of 5 Canadian regions:

•  Atlantic (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador)

•  Quebec / Nunavut

•  Ontario

•  Prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories)

•  British Columbia / Yukon Territory

Committee members cannot submit entries in any categories, and are not eligible for the jury pool or to become jury members.

The eligibility period for recordings is 13 months, for example September 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, etc.

Artist submissions will be open for two months each year:

•  from September 1 to October 31

Each year two rounds of jury voting will take place, except for in the case of a tie, in which there will be a third round of jury voting until there is one clear winner.

The final nominees in each category will be publicly announced in January.

Recipients in each category will be announced at the gala TBD.