Toronto-born comedian set to make debut emceeing event celebrating best in Canadian music<\/p>\n
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Published Mar 29, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 4\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 5 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n When Toronto-born stand-up comedian, actor, singer-songwriter, podcast host, and writer Mae Martin takes the stage as host for this year\u2019s Juno Awards, they\u2019ll be thinking about kids they knew growing up.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n They\u2019ll be trying to put their awkward teenage years behind them when they emcee the show from Hamilton\u2019s TD Coliseum.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if my high school bullies are there and they bully me and flush my head down the toilet if I don\u2019t do good?\u201d the non-binary comedian wonders aloud. Of course, Martin is joking.<\/p>\n The multi-hyphenate is no stranger to hosting awards shows, having emceed the Canadian Screen Awards in 2024. But speaking to Postmedia, the Wayward<\/a> writer and star said that emceeing this year\u2019s Junos will pose a unique challenge.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s different when it\u2019s musicians. Secretly, all comedians want to be musicians,\u201d Martin confessed to Postmedia in an interview from CBC\u2019s Toronto headquarters. \u201cThe Junos have always been about celebrating artists who are bold, genre-defying, and unafraid to be a little weird, so I\u2019ll try to embody those qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Show will feature CanCon star power<\/p>\n Justin Bieber and Tate McRae<\/a> lead the nominees for this year\u2019s awards.<\/p>\n Organizers have announced music legend Joni Mitchell will be feted with a lifetime achievement honour<\/a>. The Alberta native is only the third Canadian to receive the award, which was given last year to Anne Murray.<\/p>\n The Junos will also induct Nelly Furtado into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Grammy winning R&B star Daniel Caesar is set to be honoured with the International Achievement Award. The two-time Juno winner will also take the stage for a special performance.<\/p>\n Martin\u2019s gig fronting the Junos follows Michael Buble\u2019s hosting duties last year.<\/p>\n They are hoping the broadcast feels \u201clike a party\u201d in which \u201canything could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be these incredible musical performances happening so, hopefully, it will have this real party atmosphere. That\u2019s what I\u2019m hoping to bring,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n We spoke with Martin about all things Canuck music and why this year\u2019s Junos are about Canadian pride.<\/p>\n Sunday night we\u2019ll be celebrating the best in Canadian music. If we were sending you away for a weekend to an island somewhere, what five Canadian artists would you be packing for your trip?<\/p>\n Half Moon Run, from Montreal. I love them. They\u2019re always on my Spotify Wrapped list. Leif Vollebekk, Andy Shauf and then I\u2019m going to say Tragically Hip and The Odds.<\/p>\n Which Hip album?<\/p>\n Music At Work. I was a teenager when it came out and there were a couple of songs that got into my bones at that age. I put Tiger the Lion on the soundtrack of my show, Wayward. That album meant a lot to me.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Does hosting the Junos right now mean more for national pride and pride in Canadian culture?<\/p>\n We\u2019re definitely having a moment \u2026 Everyone\u2019s aware how fragile democracy is and how grateful we have to be for it. Hopefully, it will be a celebratory atmosphere and one of unity and pride. There\u2019s amazing art coming out of Canada, as there has always been, but I feel like we\u2019re noticing it more. I feel very grateful to be from a country where I land at Pearson Airport and there\u2019s a Pride flag in the airport. I don\u2019t have to be nervous about what I say about the government \u2026 We\u2019re hanging on to a base level of decency here. But I hope we realize how tenuous that is and we need to protect it.<\/p>\n The Junos are taking place in Hamilton, Ont. You were born in Toronto. What are some of the best shows you saw growing up here?<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Well, my first-ever concert was 98 Degrees with Jessica Simpson as the opener \u2026 I wept \u2026 She might have met Nick Lachey on that tour. But seeing Alanis Morissette when I was 13 or 14 was pretty revelatory. She\u2019s like Robert Plant. She\u2019s in the pantheon of great voices. That was pretty mind-blowing. From a comedy lens, seeing Kids in the Hall at Massey Hall was also great. They were doing a reunion tour in 1999 or 2000, and it just blew my mind. People were yelling out the punchlines and I didn\u2019t know you could do that as a job, really.<\/p>\n You\u2019re a famous stand-up star. Does that mean you\u2019ll be less nervous hosting the Junos in front of all of Canada?<\/p>\n You hope you have some muscle memory of how to ride the energy of a room. But it\u2019s different when it\u2019s musicians \u2026 musicians are really intimidating because they\u2019re the coolest people on Earth.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Michael Buble hosted the show last year<\/a> and that was his third time. Nelly Furtado hosted the year before. Simu Liu did it back-to-back. Did you look at any of those other hosts for inspiration?<\/p>\n They are all icons. I got to try not to get in my head too much. If I start watching all of Buble\u2019s hosting, I\u2019m going to start doing an impersonation of him. I have to tune it out and tap into the energy I want to bring.<\/p>\n I wanted to ask you about your Netflix thriller Wayward <\/a>that debuted last fall. What inspired that and are we going to get a Season 2?<\/p>\n Wayward was a really personal story. I\u2019ve always been interested in the troubled teen industry and had friends who were sent to troubled teen facilities that ended up being exposed as abusive. So I\u2019ve always wanted to get into that territory, and we used that as the framework for a crazy, big thriller \u2026 But it was always meant to be a limited series. For me, I feel like all those characters made strong choices. Not the choices that you wanted them to make, but I feel like it was a limited series.<\/p>\n Advertisement 8<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n I heard you\u2019re a big fan of escape rooms. There\u2019s no way I could be into something like that. I\u2019m too claustrophobic.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an emergency exit button, so you can get out at any time. You got to give it a go, Mark. It\u2019s so fun. I think life is so terrifying and overwhelming that I like being in a confined space where I have one task to complete for an hour. My phone is away and my only focus is to solve these puzzles and get out of the room. The scarier the better. I like the adrenaline. I like seeing how people behave under pressure. You get to learn a lot about your friends. And if it\u2019s a first date, you\u2019ll get to know if you want a second date.<\/p>\n The 55th Juno Awards airs Sunday night on CBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n mdaniell@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Mae Martin to host 2026 Junos that will celebrate Canadian ‘unity and pride’<\/p>\n <\/a> ‘My Stanley Cup’: Michael Buble talks 2025 Junos, new Christmas song and ‘The Voice’<\/p>\n <\/a> Joni Mitchell, Nelly Furtado to be feted at Juno Awards in Hamilton<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n![\"Comedian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mae-martin-1_302281120.png\")
Comedian Mae Martin is hosting the 2026 Juno Awards. Photo by Universal Music CanadaArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.8.4\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Nelly Furtado poses for a photo in Toronto on Wednesday March 8, 2017. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk \/Toronto Sun<\/p>\n![\"opening](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.8.4\/websites\/images\/newsletters\/icon-sun-middaySun.svg\"\/){kind=icon}
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Acclaimed comedian, actor, singer-songwriter, podcast host, and writer Mae Martin will host the 55th Annual Juno Awards, live from TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ont. Photo by CBC<\/p>\n![\"Toni](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wayward-netflix-toni-collette.jpg\")
Toni Collette as Evelyn Wade in \u2018Wayward.\u2019 Photo by Netflix<\/p>\n![\"Acclaimed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774805232_936_junos-mae-martin-image_300760825.jpg\")
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