Toronto, ON (February 15, 2006) - The contenders for Canada’s biggest musical honour are in. At a Nova Scotia-style kitchen party media conference in Toronto, The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CTV announced today the nominations for The 2006 JUNO Awards, Canada’s Music Awards. Culminating in a two-hour telecast on CTV on Sunday, April 2, The 2006 JUNO Awards will be celebrated over three days in Halifax, Nova Scotia beginning March 31.

“Today’s announcement reflects Canada’s abundant creative spirit strength and diversity in producing some of the world’s best musical artists,” said Melanie Berry, President of CARAS. “Across the 39 categories, we have a excellent representation of artists from first-time nominees to musical legends - all reflecting the amazing talent this country has to offer.”

Multi-platinum rock icons Nickelback top the nominations with six nods. Hot on the heels of the successful release of their fourth major album, All The Right Reasons, Nickelback garnered nominations for Group of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, Jack Richardson Producer of the Year, Single of the Year (“Photograph”), Juno Fan Choice (presented by Doritos) and Album of the Year.

Canada’s Queen of jazz Diana Krall and JUNO Award winner Michael Bublé are tied with five nominations each. Krall is nominated for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Vocal Jazz Album for Christmas Songs, Music DVD of the Year and Juno Fan Choice (presented by Doritos). Bublé shares with Krall nominations for Juno Fan Choice (presented by Doritos), Album of the Year (It’s Time) and Artist of the Year. In addition, he is also nominated for Pop Album of the Year and Single of the Year (“Home”).

Artists garnering three nods each are Montreal’s own Arcade Fire, first-time nominee Kalan Porter, rock and roll icon Neil Young, and Canada’s internationally acclaimed Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

Nominations for Arcade Fire include: Songwriter of the Year (sponsored by SOCAN) for “Wake Up”, “Rebellion (Lies)” and “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”, in addition to double nominations in the Video of the Year (sponsored by VideoFact) category for “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” and for “Rebellion (Lies)”.

Kalan Porter received nominations for Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year for 219 Days, as well as a nod for Artist of the Year.

Neil Young is up for Adult Alternative Album of the Year (Prairie Wind), Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year (sponsored by SOCAN) for “The Painter”, “When God Made Me” and “Prairie Wind”.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is a contender for Children’s Album of the Year (Baroque Adventure: The Quest for Arundo Donax). The orchestra has also received a double nomination in the Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment category for Concerti Virtuosi and Beethoven: Symphonies nos. 5 et 6.

First-time JUNO Award nominees receiving double nominations include: Bedouin Soundclash, Boom Desjardins, Divine Brown, Hedley, Jonas, Rex Goudie, Roberto Occhipinti and Russell Broom. Blue Rodeo, Christopher Mills, Garnet Armstrong, Jann Arden, Kathleen Edwards, k-os, Our Lady Peace, and Theory of a Deadman also received two nominations each.

Vying for the International Album of the Year Award are rapper
50 Cent, hip hop quartet the Black Eyed Peas, Britain’s own Coldplay, pop queen Gwen Stefani and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson.

A complete list of 2006 JUNO Award nominees, including biographies and images, can be found online at www.junoawards.ca.

The 2006 JUNO Awards, Canada's Music Awards, will be broadcast for the fifth year in a row on CTV on Sunday, April 2 from the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, NS. Broadcast in High-Definition and 5.1 Surround Sound, the telecast will feature performances by Bedouin Soundclash, Broken Social Scene, 2006 Canadian Music Hall of Fame recipient Bryan Adams, Coldplay, Michael Bublé, Nickelback and additional artists to be announced soon. In April 2005, 1.34 million viewers watched The 2005 JUNO Awards from Winnipeg on CTV. In all, more than 5.7 million Canadians tuned in to watch some part of the star-studded show- an increase of almost half a million viewers compared to the 2004 broadcast - making it once again the most-watched Canadian awards telecast. CTV began broadcasting The JUNO Awards in 2002 when it telecast the Awards from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, before taking it to Ottawa (2003), Edmonton (2004) and Winnipeg (2005). The 2007 JUNO Awards will be broadcast from Saskatoon on CTV.

Sponsors for The 2006 JUNO Awards include FACTOR, Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s “Canada Music Fund”, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Province of Nova Scotia, the Halifax Regional Municipality, Events Halifax and Radio Starmaker Fund. Broadcast sponsors for the event are General Motors, Pantene Pro-V, Doritos and Nice ’n Easy.

About CARAS:
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L'academie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l'enregistrement (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music and recording industries and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. The main focus of CARAS is the exploration and development of opportunities to showcase and promote Canadian artists and music through television vehicles such as the JUNO Awards. For more information on the 35th annual JUNO Awards, visit the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ (CARAS) website at www.junoawards.ca. The 2006 JUNO Awards will air live on CTV, on Sunday, April 2nd, 2006.

About CTV:
CTV, Canada’s largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTV owns 21 conventional television stations across Canada and has interests in 14 specialty channels, including the number-one Canadian specialty channel, TSN. CTV is owned by Bell Globemedia, Canada’s premier multi-media company. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

Web Links:
JUNO Awards: www.junoawards.ca
CTV’s JUNO Awards Web site: www.junos.ctv.ca