| Juno Awards of 1994 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 March 1994 |
| Venue | O'Keefe Centre, Toronto, Ontario |
| Hosted by | Roch Voisine |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | CBC |
The Juno Awards of 1994, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 20 March 1994 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Roch Voisine was the host for the ceremonies, which were taped that afternoon for broadcast that evening on CBC Television.
Nominations were announced 8 February 1994. Starting in 1994, the Best New Solo Artist combined the former Most Promising Male and Female Vocalist categories. Reggae also received its own category, after years of being included under banners such as "world beat" or mixed with calypso.
A new category for aboriginal music was also introduced and was awarded by Robbie Robertson. The award faced controversy after nominee Sazacha Red Sky was accused of cultural appropriation by Leonard George son of Chief Dan George, the alleged writer of the song that has since been registered as Public Domain, because she was not personally a member of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation and according to Leonard George did not have the right to record it under their cultural traditions.[1] His son Leonard George sought a legal injunction to prevent the award from being presented at the Juno Awards ceremony at all,[2] and a final compromise revising Red Sky's nomination to reflect the album instead of the song was announced on the morning of the ceremony.[3]
Around the time of the 1994 ceremonies, there were plans to host the 1995 ceremonies in Winnipeg. However, Juno organisers CARAS was demanding substantial funding from the Winnipeg committee attempting to host the awards.
Atlantic group The Rankin Family was the major winner in 1994, winning awards in four categories including Entertainer of the Year.