Cardi B to receive Billboard Canada’s top award Nov. 24

Cardi B will receive Billboard Canada’s first Global Woman of the Year award at Billboard Canada Women In Music 2026 on Nov. 24 at Rebel in Toronto, Billboard Canada announced on Oct. 16.

It is the third edition of the event, and Cardi B is its guest of honour. Billboard Canada said she has 46 songs on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, including eight top 10 hits.

Two Canadian music executives will be honoured alongside her. Melissa Bubb-Clarke of Live Nation Canada is the 2026 Executive of the Year, and Kristy Fletcher, president of MusiCounts and chief operating officer of CARAS, the organization behind the Juno Awards, will accept the Impact Award, Billboard Canada reported on Oct. 15. Billboard Canada said the Impact Award recognizes Fletcher’s influence on young musicians.

“I’m incredibly honoured to receive the Impact Award at Billboard Canada Women in Music,” Fletcher said in the announcement.

Billboard Canada’s announcement listed Cardi B’s chart record. She is the first female rapper with multiple No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first solo woman to win the Grammy for best rap album. She is also the only female rapper to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her first two albums. She received her 11th Grammy nomination, for best rap performance for Outside, at the 2025 Grammys.

Billboard named her its Woman of the Year in 2020, the first rapper to receive that honour. Accepting it, she said: “When I came into the music industry, I didn’t know if people were going to accept me.” She added: “There’s hope for your dreams.”

Cardi B also has a history with Canadian audiences. Billboard Canada said her sold-out Little Miss Drama arena tour played Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and TD Coliseum in Hamilton. At TD Coliseum she was the first female artist to headline and the venue’s highest-grossing hip-hop show, the publication said.

Tickets for the Nov. 24 event are available through ca.billboard.com/WIM2026. Billboard Canada did not list prices in its announcements.

The event arrives in a busy stretch for Canadian music honours. Drake and Jessie Reyez will be honoured at the SOCAN Awards on Oct. 26, and Juno submissions close Nov. 5 after a category overhaul.

Via Billboard Canada.

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