Tate McRae Is Billboard Canada's Top Canadian Artist of 2025
The Calgary-born artist finishes at the top of the new year-end chart, Top Canadian Artists, which combines year-end data from the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Canadian Albums charts. The young star ranks just ahead of The Weeknd and Drake for the year.
We're celebrating this year’s top artists, albums, songs and more in the 2025 Billboard Canada Year-End Charts, which will drop tomorrow (Dec. 10). But first, we’re kicking off the festivities with a new year-end chart — Top Canadian Artist.
The ranking is a combination of year-end data from the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Canadian Albums charts, spotlighting the groundbreaking talent that exists within the country. On the first-ever chart are 32 artists from coast to coast that represent the diversity and range of musicians in Canada.
For the inaugural edition, Tate McRae tops the list. Hailing from Calgary, the homegrown pop sensation has made waves in her home country and north of the border. Earlier this year, she earned her first No. 1 album in Canada with So Close to What. McRae has been building momentum since her 2020 breakthrough, "You Broke Me First,” releasing three albums in four years, each receiving increasing acclaim. In 2025, McRae is one of Gen Z's biggest pop stars, performing sold-out arena shows and notching multiple hits on the Canadian Hot 100 this year, including “Just Keep Watching,” earning the singer her first-ever Grammy nomination.
McRae has taken her crown as one fo the country's top artists, but her No. 1 ranking is still a surprise. She surpasses fellow Canadians The Weeknd and Drake, who fall at No. 2 and 3. Both chart juggernauts have had major years.
The Weeknd started the year on a high note, with Hurry Up Tomorrow, the third and final installment of his After Hours/Dawn FM trilogy, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, followed by a record-breaking tour that amassed over a billion dollars.
In March, Drake and PartyNextDoor — who comes in at No. 5 on the year-end chart — released $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, which hit No. 1 for three non-consecutive weeks. It’s a major boost for PND, as it was his sole release this year. As he teases Iceman, meanwhile, Drake has released a series of one-off tracks that have also earned him placements on the Canadian Hot 100.
Justin Bieber, meanwhile, falls at No. 4 as part of a major comeback year that's featured the acclaimed surprise albums SWAG and SWAG II, which topped the Canadian Albums chart.
Newcomer Cameron Whitcomb follows at No. 6. Whitcomb has maintained his spot on the Canadian Hot 100 throughout the year with a series of anthemic rootsy anthems from his 2025 album The Hard Way that have charted and gained significant radio play. Another young artist, Josh Ross, who is at No. 9, is shining on the Billboard Canada Airplay charts and is one of the country's top country stars.
Punjabi-Canadian star Karan Aujla released the historic P-Pop Culture, which earned 12.4 million streams, marking the highest debut for a Punjabi-language album in Canadian history. That record surpassed Aujla’s 2023 album Making Memories.
He is at No. 8, just behind perpetual juggernaut Michael Bublé, whose catalogue albums continue to surge (including his acclaimed Christmas album, which is charting again currently). Rock stars Nickelback round out the top 10.
The full 32-name Top Canadian Artist will drop tomorrow (Dec. 10) along with the rest of the Billboard Canada 2025 Year-End charts.
Billboard Canada Top Canadian Artists of 2025
- Tate McRae
- The Weeknd
- Drake
- Justin Bieber
- PARTYNEXTDOOR
- Cameron Whitcomb
- Michael Bublé
- Karan Aujla
- Josh Ross
- Nickelback
The Top Canadian Artists category rank the best-performing Canadian acts of the year based on activity on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Canadian Albums charts for the 2025 tracking period covering charts dated October 26, 2024 through October 18, 2025.
