The 2025 Broadcast Dialogue Canadian Radio Awards, presented by Xperi, open for submissions on Monday, Sept. 29, with the introduction of a new award recognizing leadership excellence, among other changes.
Broadcast Dialogue has long been asked why we separate the PPM-measured markets of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary into their own category when markets of similar size like Ottawa and Winnipeg aren’t included. That changes this year as we streamline into two divisions, much like the awards programs of the B.C. Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) and Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA), among others.
As many of our Canadian metropolitan markets experience a population boom, the Major/Medium Market category will reflect those with populations over 150,000, encompassing the aforementioned markets, in addition to cities like Quebec City, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Halifax, Victoria, Windsor, Saskatoon, Regina, St John’s, Kelowna, and Kingston.
All other markets of 150,000 or less, including Brandon, Medicine Hat, Grande Prairie, Thunder Bay, and Yorkton, will continue to be captured in the Small Market category.
New categories
Among our new categories for 2025 are the Leadership Excellence Award, awarded to an individual who demonstrates outstanding leadership in Canadian radio broadcasting. This honour recognizes vision, mentorship, and the ability to inspire teams toward creativity, innovation, and measurable success, while embodying the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.
We’ve said goodbye to Best Multi-Market Program of the Year, because let’s face it – we’ve reached peak networking, with many shows now more likely to be heard in multiple markets, than aren’t.
The Young Broadcaster of the Year Award, given out annually in memory of late broadcaster Steve Young, has also come under our auspices, which will be announced alongside the Canadian Radio Awards winners in late November, but continue to be chosen by a jury of past winners of the honour. Learn more here.
Submissions will be open from Sept. 29 – Oct. 27. To be eligible for the 2025 competition, entries must have been published by or aired on Canadian radio between Nov. 1, 2024 and Oct. 27, 2025. Find all of the rules and regulations here and a list of past winners and their winning audio at CanadianRadioAwards.com.
