The eligibility period for the 2024 CMAOntario Awards will be valid from October 1, 2022 through to November 30, 2023

There are currently twenty (20) CMAOntario Awards.  The description of each award can be found at the bottom of this page.

The winners/recipients of the CMAOntario Awards are determined by the votes of current CMAOntario members in good standing as of January 31, 2024.

Exceptions:

The Fans’ Choice Award - The contenders for the Fans’ Choice Award will be determined by cumulative airplay on Canadian radio within the eligibility period and verified by the CMAOntario Awards & Balloting Committee. Airplay data will be compiled by Luminate. For CMAOntario member voting, the  contenders will appear as “Nominees” on the Third & Final Ballot. For public voting, there will be an online ballot coordinated with the Third & Final ballot. The public and member vote tallies will be combined for a total number of votes to determine the winner of the Fans’ Choice Award.

CMAOntario Impact Award – this recipient is voted on and determined by the Country Music Association of Ontario Board of Directors.

The Compass Award - This recipient is based on a combination of Luminate Data, Audio On-Demand Streams, Album Sales, Digital Song downloads and Airplay Spins metrics along with statistics for Facebook, Instagram and X. The artist, group or duo with the largest outcome of said metrics during the applicable period will be deemed the recipient.

The Holly & Steve Kassay Generous Spirit Award - This award recognizes a person who has dedicated their time and efforts above and beyond the call of duty. It acknowledges that demonstrated passion and dedication plays an integral role in the continued development of the organization and its initiatives. The recipient of this award is determined by award’s Sponsors in consultation with the CMAOntario Board of Directors. This award may or may not be presented annually.

The winners of the remaining Sixteen (16) Awards go through a three-stage balloting process.  Only CMAOntario members in good standing can participate in the voting process.

The Awards & Balloting Process:

Submission Ballot: Each eligible CMAOntario member (Individual or Corporate status) in good standing may

propose ONE AND ONLY ONE contender in each category. Providing they meet the eligibility requirements as

determined by the CMAOntario Awards & Balloting Committee, eight (8) Contenders in each category will advance to the Second Ballot. For the artist categories, the volume or absence of measurable activity associated with the number of nominations, social media, airplay, streaming services, recorded music sales, and live performances will influence the verification process.

Second Ballot: Second Ballot Contenders are not required to be members of the CMAOntario.

From the list of Contenders supplied, each eligible CMAOntario member may vote for ONE AND ONLY ONE Contender in each category.  The six (6) Contenders receiving the most votes in each category will appear on the Third (Final) Ballot as Nominees, providing they meet the eligibility requirements as determined by the CMAOntario Awards & Balloting Committee.

Third (Final) Ballot:  Third Ballot Nominees are required to be members of the CMAOntario. From the list of Nominees supplied, each eligible CMAOntario member may vote for ONE AND ONLY ONE Nominee in each category.  The Nominee receiving the most votes will be announced as the winner at the annual Awards

Presentation.

Additional Balloting Information:

There must be at least three (3) Contenders after the First Ballot in any particular category in order for that category to remain in that current year.  Categories with only three (3) to five (5) Contenders after the First Ballot will move directly to the Third Ballot. If there are less than three (3) Contenders, the category will be placed on hiatus for the current year only.  Only those Contenders within a category placed on hiatus may be eligible for the year immediately following the hiatus.

The CMAOntario will open each stage of the balloting process with an announcement to members by email or mail containing a voting login user name and password.  By sending this announcement to the last address provided to the Association by the member, the Association then considers the member deemed to have received their login information within the specified period of time after the mailing date.

Voting rules are subject to change at the discretion of the CMAOntario Board of Directors. It is the responsibility of the Contenders to notify the CMAOntario in writing of changes to ballot information prior to the closing of the Second Ballot: March 15, 2024. Information as it appears on the Third Ballot is final.

CMAOntario members have the right, should they so desire, to have their name eliminated from any particular category.  Please contact the CMAOntario Awards & Balloting Committee Chair by email at awards@cmaontario.ca by the closing of the Second Ballot, March 15, 2024 to remove your name if desired.

CMAOntario AWARDS: Voting Terms and Conditions:

1. The privilege of voting is restricted to eligible CMAOntario Members in good standing as of the announced date of ballot accessibility.

1. The privilege of voting is restricted to the CMAOntario Member to whom an access code has been issued and is not transferable to another party.

• All contender, nominee, and ballot contents are the exclusive and confidential property of CMAOntario and are not to be shared before, during or after the voting process.

1. CMAOntario does not share or reveal the contact information of its members.

1. All ballots will be tallied, verified and certified by an independent third party.

1. A submitted ballot shall be deemed to exclusively represent the selections of the authorized voting CMAOntario Member.

• Voters shall cast their votes based on their own conscience and preferences and shall avoid being influenced or directed by company loyalties, business interests, relationships or regional bias.

• Voters shall not cast a vote in exchange for a payment, special consideration or benefit.

1. Voters shall not enter into any form of agreement constituting collusion with any other party regarding their voting selections, including, but not limited to:

1. Aligning with any group of voters, through business relationships or social groups, who mutually agree regarding the voting process.
2. Agreeing to mutual or reciprocal voting for the benefit of one or more parties, i.e.: trading or exchanging votes.

Any violation(s) of these Terms and Conditions, or the attempt to influence others to violate these guidelines, or any attempt to interfere with the voting process in any way, will be reviewed by the Awards and Balloting Committee and may result in loss of voting privileges during the current period’s voting process. As a potential result of violation(s) of these Terms and Conditions, the Board of Directors, at its discretion, may revoke the membership of any individual or corporation, as described under Section 4:5 of the CMAOntario Bylaws.

The Awards Eligibility:

The eligibility period for the 2024 CMAOntario Awards will be valid from October 1, 2022 through to November 30, 2023. Recordings must have been commercially released and available for consumer purchase during the eligibility period. Commercially released recordings include distribution through digital channels (ie: iTunes / Spotify, etc.).  Where a Contender/Nominee's eligibility is not based on the commercial release of a recording during the eligibility period, at least 6 in-person performances by the Contender/Nominee must take place during the eligibility period.

All Contenders/Nominees must meet one (1) of the following criteria of eligibility:

1. Canadian citizen born in the province of Ontario, OR;
2. Canadian citizen maintaining permanent residency in the province of Ontario for a period of two consecutive years, OR;
3. Have landed immigrant status maintaining permanent residency in the province of Ontario for a period of two consecutive years.

Exemption: On a collaboration of work at least 50% of the contributors must meet one (1) of the criteria of eligibility as stated above. If the collaborative team consists of three (3) individuals, only one (1) person is required to meet one (1) of the criteria of eligibility as stated above.

Exemption: Within a Group or Duo at least 50% of the contributors must meet one (1) of the criteria of eligibility as stated above.  If the Group consists of three (3) individuals, only one (1) person is required to meet one (1) of the criteria of eligibility as stated above.

All final Nominees are required to be members of the CMAOntario (Individual or Corporate status) in good standing.  On a collaboration of work at least one of the contributors is required to be a member of the CMAOntario (Individual or Corporate status) in good standing.  Within a Group or Duo at least 50% of the contributing members are required to be members of the CMAOntario (Individual or Corporate status) in good standing, notwithstanding the definitions outlined in the above exemptions.

The Awards Description:

Below is additional detail on each of the twenty (20) CMAOntario Awards: