For more than four decades, Canada’s reggae community has built, celebrated, and preserved its musical legacy through award platforms created to recognize the artists, musicians, producers, and industry professionals who have contributed to the growth of reggae and dancehall in the country.
That journey can be traced through three significant award shows: The Canadian Reggae Music Awards, the Reggae Music Achievement Awards, and now The Reggae North Music Awards. Each emerged at a different moment, responding to the needs of the Canadian reggae community and carrying forward the work of those who came before.
The story is therefore not simply about three award shows. It is a story of continuity, transition, and legacy—of one generation standing on the shoulders of giants to create opportunities for the next.
The Canadian Reggae Music Awards: Where It Began
Winston Hewitt – Canadian Reggae Music Awards
The foundation was laid in 1985, when reggae artist and visionary Winston Hewitt founded the Canadian Reggae Music Awards. Hewitt recognized that Canadian reggae artists needed a platform of their own. At a time when reggae musicians were often overlooked by mainstream award institutions, he wanted to create an occasion where their accomplishments could be publicly acknowledged.
The inspiration came to him in 1984 while watching the American Music Awards. Hewitt had been involved in reggae music for years, and as he watched artists from different genres being celebrated, he noticed the absence of reggae artists from such recognition. He realized that many reggae artists were not selling enough records to earn the traditional gold or platinum records that could serve as symbols of achievement.
His response was to create another form of recognition. Thus, the Canadian Reggae Music Awards was born. Held annually in Toronto, the awards became an important institution for the Canadian reggae scene. Over the years, numerous Canada-based reggae artists gained recognition and exposure through the event, helping to establish a stronger identity for reggae within the Canadian music ecosystem.
The awards continued for decades, although the event experienced a hiatus in 2005, 2006 and 2007, before returning. Its final edition took place in 2009, bringing an important chapter of Canadian reggae history to a close. Yet while the ceremony eventually ended, the need it addressed did not disappear. And neither did its legacy.
Recognizing Winston Hewitt
As conversations about Canadian reggae awards continue, the contribution of Winston Hewitt deserves to remain central to the story. His achievement was more than creating an annual ceremony. He helped establish the idea that Canadian reggae artists deserved a dedicated platform where their work could be seen, celebrated, and remembered.
For artists who may not have received mainstream industry recognition, an award displayed on the wall could become a tangible symbol of achievement. Hewitt’s vision helped open doors for generations of artists and contributed to putting Canadian reggae on the map. The institutions that followed inherited that foundation.
The Reggae Music Achievement Awards: Continuing the Legacy
Delroy “Speedy” Sterling – Canadian Reggae Music Achievement Awards
With the conclusion of the Canadian Reggae Music Awards, another reggae advocate recognized that the Canadian scene still needed an awards platform. That person was Delroy “Speedy” Sterling.
In 2006, Sterling launched the Reggae Music Achievement Awards (RMAA), which continued until 2011, marking a five-year run.
The timing was significant. The Canadian Reggae Music Awards had ended, but Canadian reggae continued to produce artists and contributors whose work deserved recognition. Sterling stepped into that gap and sought to continue the tradition of celebrating achievement within the country’s reggae community.
Under Sterling’s leadership, the RMAA became a platform for recognizing influential contributions to Canadian reggae music. It also provided aspiring artists with public exposure and an opportunity to connect their work with a wider audience and the international reggae market.
Sterling described the RMAA as “a celebration of outstanding achievements.” The awards highlighted artistic potential within Canada’s rich Caribbean cultural community and sought to bring greater attention to the people helping to develop reggae music in Canada.
Although the RMAA ended in 2011, Sterling’s contribution became another important link in the chain. Delroy Sterling passed away in 2012, but the work he championed remained part of the broader Canadian reggae legacy.
The Gap
After the RMAA concluded, Canadian reggae once again found itself without a national awards platform of this nature. For 13 years, there was no comparable event dedicated to bringing reggae and dancehall artists from across Canada together to celebrate their accomplishments.
During those years, however, the music did not stop. Canadian reggae and dancehall continued to evolve. Artists emerged from different regions, new sounds developed, and the Canadian Caribbean cultural community continued to contribute to the country’s musical landscape. What was missing was a national stage dedicated specifically to recognizing that work.
That gap ultimately led to the next chapter.
The Reggae North Music Awards: A New Generation Takes the Stage
Tony Anthony – Reggae North Music Awards
In 2024, the Reggae North Cultural Association, under the leadership of singer, songwriter and musician Mark “Tony Anthony” Bennett, responded to that absence by establishing the Reggae North Music Awards.
The objective was straightforward but significant: create a space where reggae and dancehall artists from across Canada could come together, celebrate each other’s work, and receive recognition for their efforts. The launch represented more than the creation of another awards ceremony. It marked the continuation of a tradition that had begun nearly four decades earlier.
Tony Anthony recognized that Canada’s reggae community had once again reached a point where its artists needed a dedicated platform.
“There was a gap of thirteen years since there was an event of this nature that celebrated and recognised the work of Reggae and Dancehall artists across Canada,” Tony Anthony said. “Today we have some amazing talent across the country, and this is a necessary platform that can only help to encourage these artists and help to create recognition for them not only in Canada but worldwide.”
The Reggae North Music Awards therefore represents a bridge between generations. It acknowledges the pioneers who established the foundation while creating space for contemporary artists to build upon it.
Three Awards Shows, One Continuing Legacy
The history of Canada’s reggae awards can be viewed as three chapters of the same story.
Winston Hewitt created the foundation.
Delroy “Speedy” Sterling carried the tradition forward.
Mark “Tony Anthony” Bennett and the Reggae North Cultural Association have taken up the responsibility for a new generation.
The organizations and award shows are different, and each operated during its own period, but they share a common purpose: recognizing the people who contribute to the development of reggae music in Canada.
From 1985 to today, the need for recognition has remained remarkably consistent. The Canadian Reggae Music Awards demonstrated that Canadian reggae deserved its own stage. The Reggae Music Achievement Awards continued that mission after the original awards concluded. And after another lengthy gap, the Reggae North Music Awards have reopened that space for today’s artists.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
The phrase standing on the shoulders of giants is particularly fitting when looking at this history. Today’s reggae artists did not arrive in an empty landscape. They inherited a musical community shaped by performers, promoters, organizers, producers, broadcasters, entrepreneurs, and cultural advocates who invested their time and energy into building Canada’s reggae industry.
Award shows are part of that infrastructure. They create moments of recognition. They preserve history. They give emerging artists something to aspire to and established artists an opportunity to have their contributions acknowledged. Most importantly, they remind the community that its achievements matter.
As the Reggae North Music Awards enters its third year in 2026, the event represents another stage in a story that began more than 40 years ago. This year’s Award show is scheduled for Sunday, September 27, at the Rose Theatre in Brampton, bringing another generation of reggae and dancehall artists together under one roof.
The transition from the Canadian Reggae Music Awards to the Reggae Music Achievement Awards and, ultimately, to the Reggae North Music Awards demonstrates that institutions may come and go, but the desire to celebrate Canada’s reggae culture endures.
Today’s artists are, quite literally, standing on the shoulders of giants.
