As promised last week when walking back a previous decision to pull select categories from the 2025 JUNO Awards (set to take place March 30 in Vancouver), the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has unveiled a press release detailing the changes for next year's awards — including the addition of two new prizes and the confirmed discontinuation of the International Album of the Year category.
CARAS underwent a strategic review of the nominating and voting practices ahead of the 2025 JUNO Awards submissions window, adding two new categories for this season: South Asian Music Recording and Songwriter of the Year (Non-Performer), the latter presented by SOCAN.
"These two new categories showcase how the JUNO Awards continue to evolve every year," CARAS wrote. "To inform future changes, we will continue to work closely with artists, industry professionals, and communities, ensuring that all decisions are made thoughtfully and inclusively reflecting trends, data and cultural significances within our communities."
Furthermore, the Breakthrough Artist and Breakthrough Group of the Year awards will be merged into one single category, while the International Album of the Year award will be discontinued.
It was suspected as such when, last week, CARAS announced that the Reggae Recording, Children's Album, Christian/Gospel Album of the Year would no longer be pulled from the 2025 awards after the decision to put those three categories (plus International Album of the Year) "on hiatus" was met with backlash from Canadian artists, fans and community leaders.