Joni Mitchell to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2026 Juno Awards

Joni Mitchell is coming to the Junos.

The legendary singer/songwriter will receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2026 Juno Awards on March 29. The announcement was made at a media event in Hamilton, Ontario on Monday (Nov. 24). She’ll become just the third person to receive the honor, following executive Pierre Juneau (1989) and Anne Murray (2025).

“The distinction recognizes Joni Mitchell’s outstanding artistic contributions and enduring impact on global music culture,” the Junos share in a statement. “Mitchell, a four-time Juno Award winner and Companion of the Order of Canada, will be celebrated for her trailblazing artistry that has inspired generations of creators across genres.”

The Canadian icon was recently honoured by the SOCAN Awards, but was not able to make the trip to Toronto for the awards, instead receiving a special ceremony at her home in Los Angeles. Due to health concerns, Mitchell rarely travels and has toured modestly since her 2022 comeback. The organizers of the Junos say she will be in Hamilton to receive the 2026 honour.

Mitchell has received many prestigious career accolades both in her native Canada and internationally. She was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1981 and received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts, in 1996. In 2002 she was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honour. In January 2007 she was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Mitchell received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2002. She was named MusiCares Person of the Year in 2022. In 1995, Mitchell received Billboard‘s Century Award. In 1996, she was awarded the Polar Music Prize. In 1997, Mitchell was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2020, she received the Les Paul Award, becoming the first woman to be so honoured.  In 2021, Mitchell received the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2023, she was named by the Library of Congress as that year’s recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

In another announcement at the event, held at the just-opened TD Coliseum in downtown Hamilton, the site of the upcoming awards, global pop artist Nelly Furtado was named as an inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, an honour she’ll accept at the 2026 Junos. A 10-time Juno winner and 2024 host, Furtado also has one Grammy and one Latin Grammy to her name and has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide.

The biggest cheers of the morning came when the parochial Hamilton attendees welcomed the news that hometown rock heroes Arkells will perform at the big show. The group has won nine Junos, while The Beaches, the other star rock act named as a performer, have won five trophies, including group of the year at the 2025 Juno Awards. The band were recently also named Billboard Canada’s Women of the Year 2025. Other artists to appear on the awards show will be named later.

Those speaking at the event included Juno host committee co-chairs Tim Potocic, head of Sonic Unyon and Supercrawl, and Ryan McHugh, manager of tourism & events for the city of Hamilton. In welcoming the Canadian music industry to Hamilton, Potocic declared that the Junos “mean that the whole music scene here gets electric for a whole week, and beyond. The spotlight is f— huge.”

Hamilton mayor Andrea Horwath and Stan Cho, the Ontario minister of tourism, culture and gaming were also at the announcement. After quoting a Luke Combs song lyric, Cho noted that the province is investing $1.5 million in the 2026 Junos. Horwath reiterated the commitment of Hamilton city council to support and strengthen the music community and declared that serving as Juno hosts “is another incredible moment for Hamilton.”

“We have a deeply rooted passion for music here,” she said. “It is part of who we are and the fabric of our city. Hamilton has nurtured generations of extraordinary performers, songwriters, producers and industry professionals.”

Allan Reid, president & CEO of CARAS/Juno Awards added that Hamilton has previously hosted six Juno Awards ceremonies, the most of any city other than Toronto, with 2026 marking the city’s return as host for the first time in a decade. “Hamilton has always been a city that lives and breathes music,” he said. “2026 is Hamilton’s Year of Music, and that is fitting for a city that may well host more independent musicians per capita than just about any other city in the world.”

On hand representing Oak View Group (owner of the new TD Coliseum) was senior VP and TD Coliseum general manager Nick DeLuco, while Chiefs of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Six Nations of the Grand River extended a welcome.

The Hamilton Junos host committee has set a target of raising $100K for MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity associated with CARAS/The Juno Awards, with two-thirds of that figure already raised. In turn, the MusiCounts Industry Exchange program will bring together 10 educators and 10 emerging artists from the Hamilton area. The Junos will air live across Canada at 8 pm on CBC’s radio, TV and digital channels. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 28 at 10 am ET at ticketmaster.ca/junos

Additional reporting by Paul Grein.

This story originally appeared in Billboard Canada.