The Juno Awards of 2008 were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on the weekend ending 6 April 2008. These ceremonies honoured music industry achievements in Canada in the latter part of 2006 and in most of 2007. Country performer and multiple Juno Award winner Paul Brandt received the 2008 Humanitarian Award which is now named after CHUM-FM Radio founder, Allan Waters. Moses Znaimer, who led the development of Citytv and MuchMusic, received the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award. Nominations for all remaining categories were announced on 5 February 2008. Notable among winners was Feist, winning all five awards in her nominated categories, three of which were presented in the televised gala.

Presentations

Saturday gala

The Saturday gala where most awards are presented occurred at the Telus Convention Centre on 5 April, while the major awards were presented at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Sunday (6 April).

Sunday televised ceremonies

Performers appearing on the program included Feist, Finger Eleven, Michael Bublé, Avril Lavigne, Anne Murray, Paul Brandt, Aaron Lines, Gord Bamford, Hedley, Johnny Reid, and Jully Black. The televised event was broadcast on CTV and hosted by Russell Peters. Peters' monologue was described by Edmonton Sun columnist Bill Harris as "the funniest opening five minutes we've ever seen from an awards-show host." Peters was also cited by Toronto Star entertainment critic Ben Rayner as offering a break from recent years of "iffy emceeing" during the award broadcasts. The 2008 broadcast attracted CTV's second-highest ratings since the network gained broadcast rights. 1.45 million viewers were measured in 2008 compared to 2.18 million for the 2003 ceremonies. Jeff Healey, an internationally noted Canadian musician who died the month before the Juno ceremonies, was given a brief tribute mention by members of Blue Rodeo during the televised awards ceremony. I've never actually seen the Juno Awards, to be honest with you, which I guess makes me Canadian.

Nominees and winners

Nominees for the 2008 Juno Awards were announced on 5 February 2008. On 15 February 2008, CARAS indicated that it made a "logistical error" during its nominations voting process, announcing the addition of two new nominations and the replacement of one nomination as follows:

Artist of the Year

Winner: Feist Other nominees:

Group of the Year

Winner: Blue Rodeo Other nominees:

New Artist of the Year

Winner: Serena Ryder Other nominees:

New Group of the Year

Winner: Wintersleep Other nominees:

Jack Richardson Producer of the Year

Winner: Joni Mitchell, "Hana" and "Bad Dreams" Other nominees:

Recording Engineer of the Year

Winner: Kevin Churko, Black Rain (Ozzy Osbourne) Other nominees:

Songwriter of the Year

Winner: Feist, "My Moon My Man", "1234", "I Feel It All" Other nominees:

Fan Choice Award

Winner: Michael Bublé Other nominees:

Nominated albums

Album of the Year

Winner: The Reminder, Feist Other nominees:

Aboriginal Recording of the Year

Winner: The Dirty Looks, Derek Miller Other nominees:

Adult Alternative Album of the Year

Winner: Small Miracles, Blue Rodeo Other nominees:

Alternative Album of the Year

Winner: Neon Bible, Arcade Fire Other nominees:

Blues Album of the Year

Winner: Building Full of Blues, Fathead Other nominees:

CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year

Winner: Tracy Maurice and François Miron, Neon Bible (Arcade Fire) Other nominees:

Children's Album of the Year

Winner: Music Soup, Jen Gould Other nominees:

Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year

Winner: Holy God, Brian Doerksen Other nominees:

Classical Album of the Year (large ensemble)

Winner: Korngold, Barber & Walton Violin Concertos, James Ehnes, Bramwell Tovey, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Other nominees:

Classical Album of the Year (solo or chamber ensemble)

Winner: Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano, Marc-André Hamelin Other nominees:

Classical Album of the Year (vocal or choral performance)

Winner: Surprise, Measha Brueggergosman Other nominees:

Francophone Album of the Year

Winner: L'Échec du matériel, Daniel Bélanger Other nominees:

Instrumental Album of the Year

Winner: The Utmost, Jayme Stone Other nominees:

International Album of the Year

Winner: Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna Other nominees:

Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year

Winner: Almost Certainly Dreaming, The Chris Tarry Group Other nominees:

Traditional Jazz Album of the Year

Winner: Debut, Brandi Disterheft Other nominees:

Vocal Jazz Album of the Year

Winner: Make Someone Happy, Sophie Milman Other nominees:

Pop Album of the Year

Winner: The Reminder, Feist Other nominees:

Rock Album of the Year

Winner: Them vs. You vs. Me, Finger Eleven Other nominees:

Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Solo)

Winner: Right of Passage, David Francey Other nominees:

Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Group)

Winner: Key Principles, Nathan Other nominees:

World Music Album of the Year

Winner: Agua Del Pozo, Alex Cuba Other nominees:

Nominated releases

Single of the Year

Winner: "1234", Feist Other nominees:

Classical Composition of the Year

Winner: "Constantinople", Christos Hatzis Other nominees:

Country Recording of the Year

Winner: Risk, Paul Brandt Other nominees:

Dance Recording of the Year

Winner: All U Ever Want, Billy Newton-Davis vs. Deadmau5 Other nominees:

Music DVD of the Year

Winner: 666 Live, Billy Talent Other nominees:

R&B/Soul Recording of the Year

Winner: Revival, Jully Black Other nominees:

Rap Recording of the Year

Winner: The Revolution, Belly Other nominees:

Reggae Recording of the Year

Winner: "Don't Go Pretending", Mikey Dangerous Other nominees:

Video of the Year

Winner: Christopher Mills, "C’mon" (Blue Rodeo) Other nominees:

Compilation CD

A compilation album was released in February 2008 1.My Moon My Man – Feist—2.For The Nights I Can't Remember – Hedley—3.Girlfriend (radio edit) – Avril Lavigne—4.Nothing Special – IllScarlett—5.I Get Around – Dragonette—6.Paralyzer (clean version) – Finger Eleven—7.Tongue Tied – Faber Drive—8.Gate 22 – Pascale Picard—9.Everything – Michael Bublé—10. After Tonight – Justin Nozuka—11. Weak in the Knees – Serena Ryder—12.Born Losers – Matthew Good—13. Weighty Ghost – Wintersleep—14. This Town – Blue Rodeo—15.Walls Fall Down – Bedouin Soundclash—16.Pressure (radio edit) – Belly feat. Ginuwine—17.Seven Day Fool – Jully Black—18.Day Dream Believer – Anne Murray & Nelly Furtado—19.Didn't Even See The Dust – Paul Brandt—20.Dirty Old Man – Neil Young—21.Le Bonheur Au Large – Kaïn