Cardi B, Bebe Rexha, Chxrry and More To Be Honoured at Billboard Canada Women In Music 2026

Billboard Canada's celebration of the music industry's most influential women has already begun.

Billboard Canada Women In Music returns to Toronto on Nov. 24 with a star-studded celebration at Rebel, and Billboard Canada is spending the next month recognizing this year's list of powerful honourees: women who are making strides in their professional careers, checking off milestones and driving the musc industry forward. Tickets are available here.

2026 marks the third edition of the third celebration in Canada and it is already shaping up to be the biggest edition yet. This year's event will honour the first-ever Billboard Canada Global Woman of the Year, along with a host of other Canadian female musicians and global stars who will receive awards and perform throughout the night.

Cardi B is Billboard Canada's First-Ever Global Woman of the Year

Cardi B has been on a nonstop victory lap since returning with her sophomore album I Am the Drama last year, following a seven-year wait. The Bronx native will come to Toronto to accept Billboard Canada's first-ever Global Woman of the Year award.

The accolade comes after embarking on a sold-out arena tour earlier this year, her first major headline trek which made her the first female rapper to play a sold-out arena tour (also becoming the first woman to headline and sell out the newly-renovated TD Coliseum in Hamilton).

She's racked up eight top 10 hits and 46 entries on the Canadian Hot 100 over the years, adding to her record-breaking history on the Billboard Hot 100, where she became the first female rapper to go No. 1 in the 21st century (second all-time) and the first to notch several chart-toppers. From her chart debut with "Bodak Yellow" — her first No. 1 in the U.S. — to her bold and enthusiastic NPR Tiny Desk Concert released this week, Billboard Canada is celebrating a decade of Cardi B's global success and impact.

Read more here.

Melissa Bubb-Clarke Named Executive of the Year

Live music continues to scale at a rapid rate, and Live Nation's chief commercial officer Melissa Bubb-Clarke has been at the heart of a massive growth for Live Nation since stepping into her role in 2024. Bubb-Clarke has been instrumental in each moment, and she is being crowned Executive of the Year at Billboard Canada Women In Music 2026. Read more here.

This year, RBC Amphitheatre reopened under its new name ahead of its planned overhaul into an eye-catching, year-round destination over the next few years. Live Nation also inaugurated History Ottawa this summer, a new mid-sized destination that is bringing buzzing and burgeoning acts to the Canadian capital, filling a big gap for live shows in the city. The 50,000-capacity Rogers Stadium also hosted an even bigger concert lineup in its second year of operations, building off Live Nation's record year in 2025.

Bebe Rexha Recognized as Global Hitmaker

Bebe Rexha will be recognized for her chart-topping success across genres, as both an artist and a songwriter.

Rexha has remained a definitive voice in hits across genres for over a decade, ever since her breakthrough in 2013 with a co-writing credit on Eminem and Rihanna's chart-topping hit "The Monster."

Working between pop, EDM, hip-hop and country, she's earned No. 1s on the Billboard Canada charts with David Guetta, and continued to reach the top as a newly-independent artist. Rexha partnered with EMPIRE this year to launch her visual album Dirty Blonde, her most creatively ambitious project to date, which topped the Billboard Top Dance Albums chart and earned her two new Billboard Dance Airplay chart-toppers with "New Religion" and "Sad Girls."

Read more here.

Chxrry is Billboard Canada's Rising Star

Chxrry will be the third artist to receive Billboard Canada's illustrious Rising Star award.

Her momentum has been growing exponentially since signing with fellow Torontonian The Weeknd's XO Records in 2022. She launched her debut album U, Me & My Ego this year, releasing viral tracks like "Main Character" which boasts over five million streams and has been used in over 200,000 TikTok videos.

She's graced stages of all sizes over the past year, embarking on a solo theatre tour after opening for stadium-sized crowds for The Weeknd during his After Hours Til Dawn tour. Following co-signs by Offset, Rema and Billboard, which recently named her Up-and-Coming R&B Artist of the Month, Billboard Canada is celebrating Chxrry's noteworthy rise and growing success. Read more here.

Kristy Fletcher Will Receive the Impact Award

Kristy Fletcher will be recognized for her positive influence on the Canadian music industry and its next generation of creators with the Impact Award.

The president of MusiCounts and chief operating officer of CARAS, the organization behind the Juno Awards, Fletcher continues to celebrate the music creators of today while empowering young musicians through equitable access to musical education.

This year, MusiCounts made its biggest-ever donation through its MusiCounts School Funding Programs, investing $1.4 million to support music education programs across 96 Canadian schools. It adds to a decade of change-focused commitments made by the organization since Fletcher joined in 2016, including donating $20 million worth of instruments over the past decade and another $1.1 million donation through the School Music Program in 2025.

Read more here.

Billboard Canada will continue to announce exciting additions to this year's celebration at ca.billboard.com and at @billboardca. Stay tuned for the next big announcement at 11 am ET today (Oct. 22).