The Juno Award for "Songwriter of the Year" has been awarded since 1971, as recognition each year for the best songwriter in Canada. It was also known as the Juno Award for "Composer of the Year" from 1975 to 1990.[citation needed]
Formerly presented for a single song, in its contemporary form the award is presented for two or three songs by the same songwriter; as long as the songwriter is Canadian, they may be nominated for songs that were recorded or performed by non-Canadian artists. Songwriting collaborators share in the nomination if they are both Canadian and common to all of the nominated songs; collaborators will be acknowledged, but not formally included in the nomination, if they did not share credit on all of the nominated songs or if they are not Canadians.