Looking Ahead: A Release Calendar of New & Upcoming Canadian Albums In 2026

Canadian artists have moved into 2026 with some big releases on the horizon.

Some have begun their album cycles, others have confirmed release dates and some have just teased that their records will be out this year. It has been a growing industry trend for major name artists to put out new music with little or even no advance notice, so coming out with a definitive and iron-clad release schedule is an ongoing process. That's why we will now be updating this calendar throughout the year. Check back each week to see the new additions.

Here is our current list of upcoming albums with some of the most highly anticipated singled out. Here, in chronological order, are our Billboard Canada picks, followed by the full calendar of new and upcoming Canadian releases.

Albums to Look Forward to In 2026

John Shambles, Cabin Fever (April 30)

John Shambles is a pseudonym for Brett Emmons, best known as the frontman of Juno-winning rockers The Glorious Sons. He is now launching a solo career under this new moniker and has just released a debut solo album, Cabin Fever. The project typifies Emmons' desire to keep creating in different forms, and he explains that "Almost 15 years ago now, I started this for real. I’m not a pop star. I’m not a fashion icon. I don’t believe in almost anything except for one thing: create. That’s it." This new album is a collaboration with award-winning producer Derek Hoffman (Arkells, Aysanabee) and features a diverse sound encompassing folk, garage rock and lo-fi alternative elements. Shambles/Emmons is now ready to take his show on the road with a seven-city Canadian tour this spring. It kicks off in Hamilton on May 7 and closes out in Saskatoon on May 16. Itinerary here.

Whitehorse, All I Want Is All of It (Six Shooter) — May 8

This is the ninth full-length album from the prolific roots-meets-rock husband and wife duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Both acclaimed solo singer-songwriters prior to forming Whitehorse in 2010, they have forged a joint sound that is both musically adventurous and emotionally honest. All I Want Is All of It was recorded in a farmhouse studio, with guests including Jimmy Bowskill (Blue Rodeo), Little Jimi (Melissa and Luke’s son), Vincent Jones, John Obercian and Fred Eltringham. Their recording mandate this time was to stress one take over overdubs, instinct versus overthink. It can't have been easy for the pair to find time to write and record, as they've been in demand by a couple of Canadian superstars. They recently toured together in Sarah McLachlan's band and Doucet is now back on the road playing guitar with Bryan Adams, but they'll return to headline touring this spring with daughter Chloë Doucet in tow. Beginning in London, Ontario, on May 21, the tour concludes in Sherwood Park, Alberta, on June 17. Itinerary and tickets here.

Broken Social Scene, Remember The Humans (Arts & Crafts) — May 8

Indie rock heroes Broken Social Scene have announced the May 8 release of a new album Remember The Humans, their first new studio album in nearly a decade. This record reunites the Toronto-based collective with producer David Newfeld, who helmed their breakthrough You Forgot It in People (2002) and self-titled 2005 album. Expect these 12 new tracks to feature BSS' signature combination of rich musical atmospheres and melody, as showcased on the opening track and lead single “Not Around Anymore." Noted vocalists contributing include Feist, Hannah Georgas and Lisa Lobsinger. This summer, Broken Social Scene join close comrades Metric and Stars on a triple threat bill that has an extensive North American tour set, beginning in Austin on June 8. Tickets go on sale Feb. 6 here.

Abigail Lapell, Shadow Child (Outside Music) — May 8

Award-winning Toronto folk singer-songwriter Abigail Lapell returns with a new album, Shadow Child, out on Mother's Day. The album explores motherhood via nine songs, one for each month of gestation. Lapell worked with producer Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, Black Mountain) and recruited three B.C. singers (all mothers), Frazey Ford, Jill Barber and Pharis Romero, to guest on the record. "They’re all people with unique, distinctive voices, which is what I’m drawn to," Lapell explains. She begins North American tour dates on Feb. 26. Tickets here.

Drake, Iceman (OVO Sound) — May 15

Global superstar Drake loves to surprise people by dropping albums without announcing a release date in advance but plenty of advance hype. Drake had been teasing Iceman for many months, and then he finally unveiled its actual release date on April 21 via an extravagant stunt in his Toronto hometown that caught the attention of fans and police alike. This involved a large outdoor ice installation in which that date was concealed until local streamer Kishka unearthed (uniced?) it. It's successfully created a lot of buzz for Drake's first solo album since 2023's For All The Dogs.

Spencer Krug, Same Fangs — May 15

Veteran indie rocker Spencer Krug is striking while the iron is hot. The Montreal band he plays in, Wolf Parade, got a serious boost back in December when its 2005 song “I’ll Believe in Anything” was featured in the third episode of the fiery hot series Heated Rivalry. The song, written and sung by Krug, spiked 60% to over 23,000 official streams (Dec. 5-8), and, earlier this year, Krug then delivered a solo piano version. The song was initially featured on Apologies to the Queen Mary, the band's critically acclaimed debut album, and a vinyl deluxe reissue edition of that record comes out on Sub Pop on May 13. Two days later, Krug is putting out a new solo album, Same Fangs. But don't expect Wolf parade. "If Same Fangs sounds different, that’s because it is," a bio promises. "Built almost entirely around piano and voice, the record trades bombast for tension, clarity over chaos."

Wolf Parade will be one of the first acts to play new Ottawa venue History later this year.

Leeroy Stagger, Pilgrimage (Cordova Bay Records) — May 29

Vancouver Island-based alt-folk/root singer-songwriter and producer Leeroy Stagger is a highly prolific artist, having released 13 albums since 2004. Pilgrimage is his debut for the Cordova Bay label and is also noteworthy for the presence of indie rock veteran Joel Plaskett as co-producer. “There would be no better person to shine a light on the path and guide the creative work than my pal Joel," explains Stagger. Plaskett and renowned fiddler Kendel Carson both feature on "Highlands Leaving," a poignant cut that reflects on the lasting impact of the Highland Clearances of the 1700s, which displaced Stagger's ancestors from Scotland to Northern Ireland and eventually Nova Scotia. In support of the new album, Stagger has Canadian dates set for May prior to shows in the U.K. and Germany this summer. Full tour details here.

ZOON, Happy Thought School (Paper Bag Records) — June 19

ZOON is the acclaimed project of Polaris Prize shortlisted songwriter, composer, activist and artist Daniel Monkman, and it is a leading exponent of the exciting wave of Indigenous shoegaze, alongside the likes of Sunnsetter, Status/Non-Status and OMBIIGIZI (a joint project of ZOON and Adam Sturgeon from Status/Non-Status). As per the band's bio, ZOON's third album, Happy Thought School "interrogates identity formation within unsettling hostility. The title-track layers intergenerational recordings of their mother and aunt, who attended the same school decades earlier and were not even allowed off the bus." “One Too Many Nights,” meanwhile, features Sam Jr. of Broken Social Scene and it showcases Monkman's ability to create atmospheric soundscapes to frame his emotionally expressive lyrics. Monkman is a major talent deserving of your attention.

Writing by Kerry Doole

Here is the full list of upcoming Canadian albums with confirmed release dates.

2026 Calendar of New and Upcoming Canadian Albums

January

Jan. 30:

• Softcult, When A Flower Doesn’t Grow (Easy Life Records)

• Gab Bouchard, Encore

• New Saint, Santo

• Luca Fogale, Challenger (Nettwerk Music Group)

• Geneviève Racette, Golden (Deluxe)

• Triples, Every Good Story (Bleak Enterprise)

• Lights, A6EXTENDED

• The Sling Sisters, What I Hope to Find

• Miarlequin, The Fool

February

Feb. 6:

• Beverly Glenn-Copeland & Elizabeth Copeland, Laughter In Summer (Transgressive)

• Nick Schofield, Blue Hour (Backward Music)

• Daphni, Butterfly (Jiaolong)

• Mars Aspen, Baby Teeth (Twin Fang)

• Aquakulture, 1783

• Mike Van Eyes, Ain’t That Loving You, Baby

• Boy Golden, Best of Our Possible Lives (Six Shooter Records)

• Pony, Clearly Cursed

• Larkk, Cinders

• Lauren Spencer Smith, The Art of Being A Mess (Deluxe) (Universal Music Canada)

• Colin Stetson, Greg Fox, Trevor Dunn, Nethering (Envision)

Feb. 20:

• NYSSA, Cursebreaker (Six Shooter)

• Peaches, No Lube So Rude (Kill Rock Stars)

• Dominique Fils-Aimé, My World Is The Sun (Ensoul)

• CVCHE, Get Fluffy

• John and Roy, I Can Dream

Feb. 27:

• Bibi Club, Amaro (Secret City)

• Gord Downie, The Sadies, and The Conquering Sun, Live At 6 O'Clock (Arts & Crafts)

• The Sheepdogs, Keep Out Of The Storm

• Garrett T. Willie, Bill's Cafe

• Donovan Woods, Squander Your Gifts EP (Warner Music Canada)

• Julianna Riolino, Echo In The Dust (Deluxe) (Moonwhistle Records)

• School House, Homeland

• The Sarandons, Long Way Home

• Elyse Aeryn, Everybody Loves You (Symphonic Distribution)

• Grievous Angels, Revolution

• Donovan Woods, Squander Your Gifts

March

Mar. 6:

• Motorists, Never Sing Alone (We Are Time)

• Jenn Grant, Queen of the Strait

• Tanya Tagaq, Saputjiji (Six Shooter)

• Status Non-Status, Big Changes (You'e Changed)

• Odd Marshall, Seconds

• Pinebarren, Arbutus

• Mise en Scene, Drive-Thru Confessional

• Ndidi O, It's About Time

Mar. 13:

• Marie Celeste, Tout ce qui brille

• Various Artists, Covered - A Tribute to Nash the Slash (We Are Busy Bodies)

• Suzie Ungerleider, Among the Evergreens (Deluxe) (MVKA)

• Cat Clyde, Mud Blood Bone (Concord)

• Pick a Piper, Dandelion (Halocline Trance)

• Marie Céleste, Tout ce qui brille (Bravo musique)

• PUP, Megacity Madness (The Official Live Recordings) vinyl only

• City Builders, Healing Revenge

• Aman Dhesi, The Restless Night (Zedd Records)

• The Darcys, Rendering Feelings (GOODTIME Edition)

• Rush, Grace Under Pressure (40th Anniversary edition) (Anthem)

Mar. 19:

• Gnarwhal, Lucid Machine

Mar. 20:

• Edwin Raphael, I Know A Garden

• Ariel Posen, Bannatyne (Dine Alone)

• Cinzia & The Eclipse, The Wax

• MIINA, Where The Light Goes

• Jessica Rhaye and The Ramshackle Parade, Foolish Heart

• Bossanova Frankenstein, Heavy Relic

Mar. 27:

• Wintersleep, Wishing Moon (Dine Alone)

• Gentiane MG, Can You Hear the Birds?

• Sunglaciers, Spiritual Content (Mothland)

• Charlotte Cornfield, Hurts Like Hell (Next Door Records/Merge)

• Arielle Soucy, Passages (Bonbonbon)

• The New Pornographers, The Former Site Of (Merge Records)

April

Apr. 1

• Amanda Rheaume, The Truth We Hold (deluxe edition) (Ishkōdé Records)

Apr. 3:

• Malinowski, Under A Landslide of Stars (Dine Alone)

• Population II, Gimmicks (Bonsound)

• Good Kid, Can We Hang Out Sometime?

• Beatrice Deer, Inuit Legend

• Jon Mullane, The Road

• Jennifer Foster, Powerline

April. 9:

• Terry Gomes, 2 Open 3 Closed

Apr. 10:

• Les Louanges, Alouette! (Bonsound)

• Aysanabee, Timelines (Ishkōdé Records)

• The Fugitives, The Fugitives (Rhea Records)

• Kaeley Jade, The Great Unknown

• Flore Laurentienne, Volume 111 (Secret City)

• Rae Spoon, Assigned Country Singer At Birth (Coax Records)

• Maude Audet, May Your Light

• Nick Fraser, Areas (Elastic Recordings)

• Hiroki Tanaka, Isan (Errant Records)

• Loviet, Debutante

• Tenille Townes, The Acrobat

Apr. 15:

• Brass Camel, Brass Camel

Apr. 17:

• Tiga, Hot Life (Turbo Recordings / Secret City)

• Bandcalledmax, Live At The Cameron House (Victory Pool Records)

• LØLØ, god forbid a girl spits out her feelings! (Fearless Records)

• Arkells, Between Us (Universal Music Canada/Virgin Music Group)

• Chief State, Keep Your Friends Closer (Mutant League Records)

• The Devin Cuddy Band, Livin' Hard Ain't Easy

• Caroline Wiles , Just Be You

• Daniel Isaiah, Western Medicine

• Dallas Good & Richard Reed Parry, Were The Watchtowers (Yep Roc Records)

• Kyp Harness, Lovely

• Elyssia Biro, Running From Nothing (Universal Music Canada)

• Atsuko Chiba, Atsuko Chiba (Mothland)

• Metric, Romanticize the Dive (Metric Music International/Thirty Tigers)

• Kelly Clipperton, I Am Your Distraction

• Cadence Weapon, Forager (Six Shooter)

• Pastel Blank, Unmade In Minutes (Paper Bag Records)

• Sea of Lettuce, Open Doors

• Bobby Dove, Fortune Teller

• Simon Boisseau, Les fausses illusions

• John Shambles, Cabin Fever

• Whipped Cream, Home Was Always Me (Monstercat)

May

May 1:

• Eden FM, Ataxia (Cursus Audio)

• Shub, Heritage (Part Two)

• Aaron Wylder, Brand New TV

• Geordie Gordon, River Round (Victory Pool)

• Jessica Pearson and the East Wind, Wilding Part One

• Faber Drive, Seven Second Surgery (19 ¼ Anniversary Edition) (604 Records)

• Ellen Froese, Solitary Songs (Victory Pool)

• Shub, Heritage (Part Two)

• Broken Social Scene, Remember The Humans (Arts & Crafts)

• Abigail Lapell, Shadow Child (Outside Music)

• Ellen Froese, Solitary Songs (Victory Pool)

• Whitehorse, All I Want Is All of It (Six Shooter)

• Leeroy Stagger, Pilgrimage (Cordova Bay)

• General Chaos, Can’t Please ’Em All ( Stomp Records)

• Alaskan Tapes, Blank Slate, Open Space

• The Flatliners, Cold World

• Laura Roy, Late Bloomer Season

• Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary (vinyl deluxe reissue) (Sub Pop)

• Spencer Krug, Same Fangs (Pronounced Kroog)

• Alex Henry Foster, A Nightfall Ritual (Hopeful Tragedy Records)

• Skydiggers, West Montrose

• Desiree Dorion, Pieces of Me

• Jont, Walk Right Through

• Noah Derksen, Mercy on the Skyline (AWAL)

• Tim Hicks, Going Somewhere (Open Road)

• Jia, Technicolour (Light Organ)

• Alex Hughes, Take Me Home (Phase Entertainment Group)

• Hillsboro, A Party In Your Name (Play Dead)

June

June 5:

• Bye Parula, Something Out Of Nothing (Secret City Records)

• Sherri Harding, Storyland (Instant Replay Music/Fontana North)

• Friendly Rich, A Bruised Sunset

June 12:

• La Sécurité, Bingo (Bella Union/Mothland)

• Picastro, Double On Time (We Are Busy Bodies)

• Pharis & Jason Romero, These Are The Days That Turn Into Years

• ZOON, Happy Thought School

July

July 10:

• Jacob Brodovsky, Tell The Kids We Tried

• Magi Merlin, Power House (Bonsound)

• sundayclub, sundayclub (Paper Bag Records)

August

August 7:

• Corb Lund, Dark Horses (New West)

Aug. 28:

• Elephant Stone, ASHA (Little Cloud Records/Elephants On Parade)

• Jonathan Personne, Répertoire (Bonsound)

October

October 23:

• Matt Lang, Ain't That Bad (River House Artists)