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

Tiga, Hot Life (Turbo Recordings / Secret City) — April 17

Another eagerly-awaited spring release is Hot Life from Tiga, due out on April 17, on his Turbo Recordings imprint. The veteran electronic/dance music DJ and producer is a legend in that scene and this will be his first studio album in over a decade. It features artists such as Fcukers, Boys Noize, Maara and MRD.

Arkells, Between Us (Universal Music Canada/Virgin Music Group) — April 17

One of Canada's most successful rock bands of the last decade, Arkells have confirmed that they will release a new album, Between Us, on April 17. The band will perform at this year's Juno Awards, held in their hometown of Hamilton (they are 9x winners) , following tour dates in Europe and the U.K.. The album was produced/recorded in L.A. with Grammy Award Winner John Congleton (St. Vincent, Death Cab for Cutie). A brand new single, "Next Summer," came out the first week of February. Recently, frontman Max Kerman shared his 2026 music industry resolution — "remember the people... the stagehands, the crowds, the invisible ecosystem... that allow the things we love to exist in the first place" — in a guest column for Billboard Canada.

Bandcalledmax, Live At The Cameron House (Victory Pool) – April 16

Bandcalledmax, Toronto’s worst-kept secret, can justifiably be tagged as a local indie rock supergroup, given that they comprise David Monks (Tokyo Police Club), Mike Small (Meligrove Band) and Nick McKinlay (Fast Romantics). Helping flesh out the sound on a couple of cuts are raging saxophonist Gordon Hyland and guitarist Nichol Robertson.

Their recklessly energetic brand of rock ‘n roll is reportedly best experienced live, so it’s fitting that their new album is recorded live at famed Toronto club the Cameron House. Having fun is the band’s key mandate, as evidenced by the co-ordinated blue jumpsuits. Monks explains that “We spend so much time in other bands chasing a culminating album or sold out tour and I see this band more as an experience or moments that you revel in but can’t hold on to.” The trio’s core groups all share a strong sense of melody and that is reflected in Bandcalledmax. On the album release day, the band performed live at the Cameron House to help celebrate Victory Pool's sixth anniversary. Let’s hope they get to play live more often.

Dallas Good & Richard Reed Parry, Were The Watchtowers (Yep Roc Records) — April 18

This album is a posthumous offering from Canadian roots-rock hero Dallas Good, of The Sadies fame. He passed away prematurely four years ago, and prior to his death he worked extensively with a close friend, producer/musician Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, who helmed The Sadies 2022 album Colder Streams. Were The Watchtowers was written and recorded over the course of a decade, and it features the duo probing cosmic, psychedelic Americana sounds. The 10-song album features a star-studded guest list, including Margaret Atwood, Neko Case, Kurt Vile, Yo La Tengo, Jim Jarmusch, John Doe, Jon Spencer, Scott McCaughey, Gary Louris and a 500-strong fan choir. Parry described the making of the album this way: "It has been the slowest moving musical endeavour of my entire life...Tiny, joyous flourishes of activity a couple times a year for over a decade." A limited edition vinyl run is being released on Record Store Day (April 18), with wider distribution to follow.

Cadence Weapon, Forager (Six Shooter) — April 24

Veteran hip-hop artist, poet and author, Cadence Weapon (a.k.a. Rollie Pemberton) returns with a new album, Forager, out on April 24. It's first album with completely live instrumentation, produced by acclaimed Toronto artist Junia-T. It's inspired by his love of vintage clothing. “True vintage is made from natural materials and was made with a higher standard of craftsmanship,” he explains. “It was built to last. This made me think of the classic hip-hop that I grew up listening." To help launch the record, Cadence Weapon has announced a series of Forager Markets which will bring his music and thrifting worlds together in free events that will include vintage pop-ups, exclusive vinyl and more. They'll take place in his home base of Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton. Tickets and details here.

Metric, Romanticize the Dive (Metric Music International/Thirty Tigers) — April 24

Veteran Toronto modern rock hitmakers Metric have announced their 10th studio album, Romanticize The Dive. The record's opener "Victim of Luck" doubles as a mission statement, tracing the band back to their early days and revisiting, re-examining the tension, vulnerability, and hunger of youth. The opening lines delivered by Emily Haines: “Let me take you back, it was the start of something, I was there not long before all the stardom. Now I'm in front of you and all I'm seeing is all my flaws." Metric recorded the album at Electric Lady in New York City with co-producers Gavin Brown ,Jimmy Shaw and Liam O’Neil. The band join Broken Social Scene and Stars on the All The Feelings tour this summer.

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.

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.

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.

Drake, Iceman (OVO Sound) — TBD

Then, there's Drake. The global superstar loves to surprise people by dropping albums without announcing a release date in advance but plenty of advance hype. Drake has been teasing Iceman for many months, and promised in a recent livestream that it is coming in 2026. “We’re focused. I know what you’re waiting on, so trust me. We’re cheffing," he said.

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

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)

• 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)

• Jont, Walk Right Through

• Noah Derksen, Mercy on the Skyline (AWAL)

• Tim Hicks, Going Somewhere (Open Road)

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

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)

• 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)

August

August 7:

• Corb Lund, Dark Horses (New West)

Aug. 28:

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

October

October 23:

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