Toronto
#1 Music Event (up from #4)
The country’s largest free jazz festival attracted 1 million music-lovers in 2017. The ultra-popular StreetFest returned this year, with over 40 bands per night taking over Queen Street East for free funk, R&B, soul, Ska, Big Band, and Afro-Cuban shows. Ontario Lottery and Gaming returned as a mainstage sponsor. Next: July 6-29, 2018
Montreal
#2 Music Event
Montreal’s 2017 jazz fest featured 600 performances, including 31 sold-out concerts, by 461 bands from 30 countries. The 10-day party celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday and Montreal’s 375th, and provided plenty of free programing. TD Bank and Rio Tinto returned as sponsors. Next: June 28-July 7, 2018
Ottawa
#3 Music Event
The party moved to Ottawa in 2017, with more than 32,000 people attending the weeklong celebration and award show. The Juno Express train, presented by VIA Rail, whisked V.I.P.s from Toronto and Montreal to Ottawa for the event. The show moves to Vancouver next year, when the City of Vancouver and TD Bank will sponsor. Next: March 19-25, 2018
Winnipeg
#4 Music Event (up from #7)
Attendance grew by 16 percent to 70,000 this summer, with the festival campground at Bird’s Hill Provincial Park selling out. Highlights included Choir! Choir! Choir! leading the crowd in "Lovers In a Dangerous Time" with Bruce Cockburn himself. Red Bull and Mott’s Clamato sponsored. Next: July 5-8, 2018
Toronto
#5 Music Event
The TD-sponsored music fest moved to Yorkville from Nathan Phillips Square in 2017 and held 100 free concerts to celebrate. A show by soon-to-retire Aretha Franklin at the newly reopened Concert Hall in the historic Masonic Temple was one of many highlights. Next: June 2018
Montreal
#6 Music Event
The festival moved to Parc Jean-Drapeau’s Île Notre-Dame in 2017, when Lorde was the opening act and 135,000 people attended from 37 countries. Unlike 2016, however, this year’s event did not sell out. Virgin Mobile and Coors Light were sponsors. Next: August 3-5, 2018
Montreal
#8 Music Event
The outdoor electronic music festival held more shows than usual in 2017 to celebrate Montreal’s 375th birthday in the scenic Old Port of Montreal. Attendance grew to 120,000 at a site that was bigger, brighter, and more immersive. Sapporo and Jägermeister were key sponsors this year. Next: January 18-February 3, 2018
Toronto
#9 Music Event (new to the list)
Increased capacity at Echo Beach allowed the 2017 festival to grow to 5,000 attendees, the most in its five-year history. The sold-out, one-day event featured an all-Canadian lineup this year, and admitted kids under age 12 for free. Next: May 2018
Dawson City
#10 Music Event
The country’s “tiny, perfect festival” drew about 900 fans this year, plus volunteers and sponsors like Goldcorp and Yukon Brewing. One highlight was a free workshop with artists from Haiti, Greenland, and Canada jamming on stage together. Next: Summer 2018
