MusiCounts is making history with a massive investment in Canadian music education. 96 schools across the country will receive funding totalling $1.4 million via the MusiCounts School Music Funding Programs. This is the charity's largest investment to date.
"Every year, we receive a staggering amount of applications from schools that operate on annual budgets of $500 or less. They are expected to support hundreds of students with this amount," says Regan Harney, MusiCounts Executive Director. "At most, they can do minimal upkeep on instruments that haven't been replaced in years - it's not sustaining learning. A grant of $15,000-$20,000 can implement a full K-6 elementary music program, purchase new concert band instruments that will last for years, start a culturally connective program, or implement technology-forward learning. All of this will build practical skills in students."
The team at MusiCounts is focused on funding momentum amid widespread cuts, multi-million-dollar deficits, and provincial oversights that are impacting Canadian school boards and universities. To date, MusiCounts has allocated nearly $22 million in musical instruments and resources in every province and territory.
Harney adds, "We're celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2027, and we're honoured to be able to demonstrate the monumental impact of MusiCounts' work over the last three decades. Students who receive an enriching music education report that they grow up to be more mentally healthy, more capable of connection, and more employable. Nurturing the future of the Canadian music industry via an arts education can result in more jobs and economic growth - ultimately, communities thrive where there is music education. We need this now, more than ever."
This year, Manitoban performing arts school teacher Madly Friesen and the students at Faraday School in Winnipeg's North End received a MusiCounts School Music Funding Programs grant of $18,000 in support of the teacher's mission to develop the school's general music education program. "This grant fuels the imagination and the experience the kids can have," says Friesen. "I want to build a class so amazing that the students can't wait to come in from recess."
The 56th Annual JUNO Awards will be hosted in Winnipeg from April 1-4, 2027, where the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award winner will be announced live on Broadcast.
Applications for the 2027 MusiCounts School Music Funding Programs are now open. To learn more about MusiCounts or how to make a donation, visit musicounts.ca.
2026 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
- École Brentwood Elementary - Strathmore
- École Mother d'Youville - Beaumont
- Elmer S. Gish School - St. Albert
- Falconridge School - Calgary
- Griffin Park School - Brooks
- Gwynne Valley Rural Academy - Gwynne
- Kipohtakaw Education Centre - Rivière Qui Barre
- Spruce Avenue Junior High - Edmonton*
- Steinhauer School - Edmonton
- Sundance School - Calgary
British Columbia
- Abbotsford Traditional School - Abbotsford*
- Bear Creek Elementary - Surrey*
- Brookside Elementary School - Surrey*
- Connex (SD42 Alternate Secondary) - Maple Ridge*
- Houston Secondary School - Houston*
- Luwechon Kots'ede'i Kime - Iskut
- N'kwala School - Douglas Lake*
- Nootka Elementary - Vancouver
- Sir Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School - Hagensborg
- Steeples Elementary School - Cranbrook
- Valleyview Secondary School - Kamloops
- West Boundary Elementary School - Rock Creek
- Whistler Secondary School - Whistler*
Manitoba
- Faraday School - Winnipeg*
- MacGregor Collegiate Institute - Macgregor
- Ochre River School - Ochre River
- Sergeant Tommy Prince School - Scanterbury*
New Brunswick
- École Grande-Rivière - Saint-Léonard*
- École Notre-Dame - Notre-Dame
- École Univers Jeunesse - Bertrand
- Fundy Middle and High School - St. George*
- Sussex Middle School - Sussex*
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Acreman Elementary - Green's Harbour
- Bayview Academy - Saint George's
- Brother Rice Junior High - St. John's
- Crescent Collegiate - South Dildo*
- Dunne Memorial Academy - St. Mary's
Nova Scotia
- Antigonish Education Centre - Antigonish
- Bridgewater Junior High School - Bridgewater*
- Humber Park Elementary School - Lake Loon
- Pictou Landing First Nation School - Trenton*
- Thorburn Consolidated School - Thorburn
Northwest Territories
- Chief Sunrise Education Centre - Hay River*
- École William McDonald Middle School - Yellowknife
Ontario
- Beverley Heights Middle School - Toronto
- Christ the King Catholic Secondary School - Halton Hills
- Courtice Intermediate - Courtice
- Dorset Park Public School - Toronto
- Dundas Valley Secondary School - Hamilton*
- East Garafraxa Public School - Orangeville
- Eastdale Secondary School - Welland
- École élémentaire catholique Saint-Joseph, Wendover - Wendover
- Etobicoke Collegiate Institute - Toronto
- Fallingbrook Middle School - Mississauga*
- Gateway Public School (TDSB) - Toronto
- Greenbriar Middle School - Brampton*
- Hagersville Secondary School - Hagersville
- Harbord Collegiate Institute - Toronto*
- Huntington Ridge Public School - Mississauga
- Indian Creek Road Public School - Chatham
- JF Carmichael Public School - Kitchener
- Lisgar Collegiate Institute - Ottawa
- Lisgar Elementary School - Hamilton
- Lucy McCormick Senior School - Toronto*
- Queen Elizabeth Public School - Peterborough
- Queenston Drive Public School - Mississauga
- Roseland Public School - Windsor
- St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School - Kitchener
- St. Kateri Tekakwitha Secondary School - Milton
- St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School - Toronto
- St. Paul Catholic Elementary School - Lakefield
- St. Thomas More Catholic Elementary School - Toronto
- Stewart Avenue Public School - Cambridge
- Sunnyside Public School - Kitchener
- Superior Heights CVS - Sault Ste. Marie
- Twentieth Street Junior School (Toronto District School Board) - Toronto
- West Bayfield Elementary School - Wasaga Beach*
- West Credit Secondary School - Mississauga*
- Westdale Secondary School - Hamilton
- Westminster Woods - Guelph*
Quebec
- École Des Moulins - Saint-Félix-de-Valois
- École Isummasaqvik - Quaqtaq
- École Notre-Dame-d'Etchemin - Lévis
- École Saint-Joseph - Val-d'Or
- École secondaire Le Filon - Chapais
- École secondaire Massey-Vanier - Cowansville
- James Lyng High School - Montréal*
- Lake of Two Mountains High School - Deux-Montagnes*
- Pierrefonds Community High School - Montréal
- Pitakallak - Kuujjuaq*
- Saint John Fisher Senior Elementary School - Pointe-Claire*
Saskatchewan
- Judge Bryant School - Regina*
- Midale Central School - Midale
- Wesmor Public High School - Prince Albert
Yukon
- Jack Hulland Elementary School - Whitehorse
- Programme Confluence - Dawson City
