MusiCounts, Canada's music education charity, is proud to announce the investment of $1.1 million in instruments, equipment, and gear through its school music funding programs - the MusiCounts Band Aid Program and the MusiCounts Slaight Family Foundation Innovation Fund - to support 85 high-needs schools across the country. This marks the largest disbursement in the charity's 28-year history, with schools in every province and territory receiving funds.
Since 1997, MusiCounts has provided under-resourced schools with grants to keep school music programs alive. In that time, over $19 million worth of instruments, gear, and resources has been delivered to schools in high-needs communities, ensuring young people have access to music education.
"Music classrooms are the beating heart of any school, and MusiCounts is proud to support 85 schools in high-needs communities with the instruments they need to keep that beat alive. With these resources, students nationwide will build connections with their peers, find their voice, and learn healthy ways to cope with their emotions," said Kristy Fletcher, President of MusiCounts/COO of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. "Though we're making a difference in these 85 communities, there is still so much work to be done."
Despite its vital role in Canadian culture, music education remains chronically underfunded. Among the schools receiving MusiCounts funding this year, 20% report having no annual funding at all to sustain programming. Demand far exceeds supply, with MusiCounts able to support just 1 in 5 schools that seek funding.
Applications for the 2026 MusiCounts School Music Funding Programs are open now. To learn more about MusiCounts or to donate in support of the charity's programs, please visit musicounts.ca.
2025 MusiCounts School Funding Recipients
*indicates funding through the MusiCounts Slaight Family Foundation Innovation Fund, indicating a tech-forward or culturally-relevant approach to music education being funded
Alberta
- Cremona School - Cremona
- École Notre Dame Elementary School - Bonnyville
- Inner City High School - Edmonton*
- Kapawe'no First Nation Collegiate (Buffalo Bay Academy) - Grouard*
- Master's Academy & College - Calgary (CBC Passion Prize winner)
- Mînî Thnî Community School - Mînî Thnî*
- Nellie McClung School - Calgary
- Parkdale Elementary School - Wetaskwin
- Rosemary School - Rosemary*
- Victoria Park High School - Lethbridge*
British Columbia
- Britannia Community Elementary School - Vancouver
- Betty Huff Elementary - Surrey, BC (CBC Music Class Challenge Passion Prize winner)
- Chief Tomat Elementary - West Kelowna
- Colleen and Gordie Howe Middle School - Abbotsford*
- Daaxiigan S 'adaa Née - Masset
- École Citadel Middle School - Port Coquitlam*
- École Glenmore Elementary - Kelowna
- H.J. Cambie Secondary School - Richmond
- Lena Shaw Elementary School- Surrey*
- Maywood Community School - Burnaby*
- Sea View Elementary School - Port Alice
Manitoba
- Albright School - Morris
- École New Era School - Brandon
- Norquay Community School - Winnipeg*
- Petit Casimir Memorial School - Lac Brochet*
New Brunswick
- École Donat-Robichaud - Cap-Pelé
- École La Source - Tracadie
- École Régionale Saint-Basile - Edmundston
- Parkwood Heights Elementary School - Bathurst
- River Valley Middle School - Grand Bay-Westfield
- Saint Mary's Academy - Edmundston*
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Baltimore School - Ferryland
- Gill Memorial Academy - Musgrave Harbour
- Hillview Academy - Norris Arm
- St. Lewis Academy - St. Lewis*
Northwest Territories
- Range Lake North School - Yellowknife*
- Deninu School - Fort Resolution*
Nova Scotia
- Allison Bernard Memorial High School - Eskasoni*
- Bible Hill Junior High School - Truro*
- G.R. Saunders Elementary - Stellarton
- Greenfield Elementary School - New Waterford
- John Bernard Croak VC Memorial School - Glace Bay
- St. Mary's Education Centre/Academy - Sherbrooke
- Sydney Mines Middle School - Sydney Mines
Nunavut
- Arviligruaq Ilinniarvik School - Kugaaruk*
Ontario
- Baycrest Public School - Toronto
- Brandon Gate Public School - Mississauga
- Carleton Village Junior and Senior Sports and Wellness Academy - Toronto*
- Darcel Ave. Sr. Public School - Mississauga*
- Dunrankin Drive Public School - Mississauga*
- E.I. McCulley School - St. Catharines
- East York Alternative Secondary School - East York (Toronto)*
- École élémentaire publique Terre des Jeunes - Alexandria
- Georgian Bay District Secondary School - Midland
- Glen Orchard Public School - Port Carling
- Greenfield Elementary School - New Waterford
- Huron Centennial Public School - Brucefield
- Maple Ridge Public School - Pickering
- Milliken Mills Public School - Markham
- Molly Brant Elementary School - Kingston
- Nepean High School - Ottawa (MusiCounts Teacher of the Year prize)
- Rockland District High School - Rockland
- Simcoe County District School Board, Indigenous Education Department - Midhurst*
- St. Catharines Collegiate - St. Catharines*
- St. Joseph Catholic School - Tilbury
- Stamford Collegiate - Niagara Falls
- Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute - Toronto
- Westview Elementary School - Hamilton
- Woodville Elementary School - Woodville
Prince Edward Island
- Charlottetown Rural High School - Charlottetown*
Quebec
- Centre de réadaptation pour jeune en difficulté d'adaptation (CRJDA) - Sainte-Thérèse*
- Chateauguay Valley Regional High School - Ormstown
- École Bruyère/St-Charles - Drummondville
- École du Caps-des-Neiges - Saint-Ferréol-Les-Neiges
- École internationale de Saint-Sacrement - Québec City
- École Léonard-De Vinci - Montréal
- École Maria-Goretti - Sorel-Tracy
- École secondaire de Matane - Matane
- École Secondaire Le Tremplin - Malartic
- Métis Beach School - Métis-sur-mer
- Springdale Elementary School - Dollard Des Ormeaux
Saskatchewan
- Montgomery School - Saskatoon
- Minahik Waskahigan High School - Pinehouse Lake*
Yukon
- F.H. Collins Secondary School - Whitehorse
- Johnson Elementary School - Watson Lake
- Whistle Bend Elementary School - Whitehorse
