George Canyon

Known for his wide-ranging talents, Canadian country singer George Canyon built a distinctive career after growing up in Nova Scotia. During the 1990s he issued two solo albums yet set music aside to serve as a bylaw officer and provide for his family. Encouraged by his wife, he tried out for the second season of the U.S.A. Network competition Nashville Star in 2004 and finished second. The exposure led him to Universal, which issued his third album, One Good Friend; the project captured the 2005 Juno Award for Country Recording of the Year. The follow-up, Somebody Wrote Love, arrived in 2006, earned another Juno, and broadened his following across North America.

Before music claimed his attention, Canyon’s earliest passion was aviation. As a teenage Air Cadet he hoped to enter the Royal Air Force, only to set the goal aside after receiving a type 1 diabetes diagnosis at age 14. Once established as a performer, he channeled both that interest and his support for diabetes research into public service. His efforts on behalf of Canadian troops prompted the defense minister to name him honorary colonel of 14 Wing Greenwood air base and, later, commandant of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. In 2009 he obtained his private pilot’s license. He also became a national spokesman for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and piloted his own aircraft from coast to coast, staging concerts and meeting youngsters living with the condition.

The 2010 single “I Believe in Angels” was adopted as an official JDRF theme in the United States and received a SOCAN Award the next year for ranking among the most-played tracks on Canadian country radio. His 2011 release Better Be Home Soon, produced by Richard Marx, earned gold certification. Alongside music and philanthropy, Canyon launched an acting career with appearances on Heartland and Trailer Park Boys and was chosen as the official anthem singer for the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. He maintains an active touring schedule throughout North America and Europe; in 2014 he issued his first career retrospective, Decade of Hits.