George Canyon

At first glance one might rightfully mistake George Canyon as a strong-jawed, rugged-looking actor straight out of a Western movie, silently tending to his cattle and stepping up to fight for what is right when the time comes. Interestingly enough, he IS that. And so much more.

George Canyon rose to becoming one of Canada’s hottest Country Music stars in the early 2000’s and has won countless accolades and awards, including Juno Awards, CCMA Awards, and ECMA Awards to name a few. He has been inducted into the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame, recorded 12 albums, and was recently presented a certified Platinum Award for his debut album ‘One Good Friend’. With country hits like Just Like You, I Believe in Angels, Drinkin’ Thinkin’, Daughters of the Sun, I Got This, I Want You To Live, Slow Dance and many, many more. He is also highly regarded humanitarian, strong supporter of the military, and, most important, a proud father and devoted husband.

Before the stage lights, awards, and movie gigs, music was always an aspiration for George. But his family, wife Jennifer and children Kale and Madison, came first, so the dream had to be put aside as he worked as a bylaw officer to support them. However, he never gave up hope and in 2004, with Jennifer’s support, George set out to compete on U.S.A. Network’s “Nashville Star”, an American Idol-type show with a country twist. Unsurprising to no one who knew of the talent and passion George held, he was a hit. And while he came very close to winning the show it was clear that he had already won the hearts of country music fans throughout the world.

From there the Nova Scotia native started his career as an international music icon. The appearance on Nashville Star landed him a record contract and his breakout album, 2004’s “One Good Friend” climbed the charts and became certified Gold. The album was also honoured with numerous awards including the Juno Award for Country Recording of the Year, Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA) for Male Artist of the Year and Single of the Year for “My Name”.

His second album, 2006’s Somebody Wrote Love was proof that George was no TV star fluke, becoming certified gold and garnering yet another score of awards, among them a Juno Award for Country Recording of the Year and CCMA Male Artist of the Year, and Single of the Year for the title track of the album. Proving that good things come in threes, George’s 2007 Classics, a self-produced and recorded album that pays tribute to all of the country hits that have inspired him, became an instant hit, earning another gold record. To this day his rendition of “Ring of Fire” is a constant fan favourite during live performances.

Over the years George has also had the privilege of collaborating with fellow talents, a prime example being when he joined forces with multi-platinum pop and rock icon Richard Marx to produce two albums, 2008’s What I Do and 2011’s Better Be Home Soon, the latter of which featured “When Love Is All You Got”, written for George by Marx and the legendary Kenny Rogers. What I Do was an enormous success, going Certified Gold during the first three weeks of release.

In 2016 George a new collaboration was formed with famed BC-based music producer Jeff Johnson for I Got This, from which the title track and the sultry single “Daughters of the Sun” reached top 10 status on the Nielsen BDS and Mediabase country radio charts.

George is so much more than an award-winning musical talent. Helping others has always been a huge priority for him, particularly for children with Diabetes and his work as spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

It’s a cause close to Canyon’s heart, starting from when he himself was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes at age of 14. A proud air cadet with ambitions on serving his country, George was told his diagnosis would make his dreams of being a pilot in the Air Force impossible. Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. In 2009, after learning more about what it means to live with Type-1 Diabetes, making adjustments to his everyday diet and lifestyle, and embracing the advancements in insulin pump technology, George blazed the trail for diabetics by passing all the medical tests required to get his pilot’s license.

To celebrate, that year he took to the skies on his own plane for his ongoing project “The Sky’s Not The Limit”, taking George across Canada, hosting inspirational talks and live performances to share with young kids with Type-1 Diabetes that a diagnosis doesn’t mean an end to their dreams. A man who proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, George’s goal for his work with JDRF can be best summed up in his own song (and theme song for JDRF) “I Believe in Angels”: “I pray someday they will see/That they can be anything they want to be”.

In addition to his work with JDRF, George is an ardent supporter of our military, having performed many times for troops overseas and even releasing a moving tribute with the single “I Want You to Live”, which touches on the very heartbreaking fact that in fighting for our country, some of our troops won’t make it back home. The music video for the single features several real soldiers talking about their lives and career, putting faces to the group of people working to make our country safe.

In light of his ongoing support for our military, George was appointed Honorary Colonel for 14 Wing Greenwood Air Force Base in Nova Scotia in 2008 and was also made the first ever Colonel Commandant of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets by The Honourable Peter MacKay, former Minister of National Defense in 2011. He was also a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in honour of his ongoing work with the Air Cadets and other charities. He was also recognized by the Canadian Country Music Association with the Humanitarian Award in recognition of his work with JDRF and the Canadian military.

Outside of his music and charitable work, many people might also recognize George as Charlie Wells in the hit television show Heartland, the head forest ranger in Trailer Park Boys, a fighter pilot in Man of Steel, and more recently, the teen idol in the stage adaptation of Grease. George even played Bull Shelton in the Hallmark Channel’s highest-rated original movie “One Starry Christmas”, which featured his character performing the original song “The Ballad of Wild Bill” to viewers throughout North America.

With all that he does, one might think that George doesn’t often have time for anything else, but they would be so very wrong. When asked he will happily admit that being a husband and dad is still his #1 job. Since day one family has been his first priority and is a constant theme in his works, even celebrating his children by recording songs specifically for them, “Madi’s Song” from Somebody Wrote Love and “Just Like You” from What I Do.

Among his many identities, Canyon is also a proud Canadian and huge hockey fan, and roots for his team, the Calgary Flames, for which he just completed his 8th season singing the national anthem during the home games.

It’s almost poetic that a man who wears a single iconic hat would be a man of so many. The identities of talented musician, humanitarian, actor, husband, father, and proud Canadian all make up to form a true legend and a star. And like the heroes in those western movies, George Canyon is doing his bit to make the world a better place. And we’re all the better for it.