Get Inspired By These Generous Canadian Music Stars

By JC Villamere. 24 Mar 2022 2:14 PM

Even the smallest gesture of kindness can help create a more comfortable society for all of us. But big gestures are great, too. In a world that seems bent on unravelling, see how these Canadian music stars are helping to hold us all together with their philanthropic efforts. Let their generosity inspire you to help however you can, with whatever you have, right now.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Jag Gundu / Contributor, Getty

Denise Grant via Junos/CARAS

Apple Music

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Justin Bieber

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Life Is Beautiful

Michael Tran/FilmMagic via Getty

Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward/CP Images

Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

CPImages

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

START OVER

Next Gallery: Stars On Vacation

More Galleries

1 of 12

The Weeknd
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Scarborough's favourite son just established the 'XO Humanitarian Fund' with the United Nations World Food Programme in response to the global hunger crisis. He made an initial donation of $500,000. He's also donated $500,000 to the Scarborough Health Network Foundation to provide COVID-19 relief to his hometown and $500,000 to MusiCares for their COVID-19 Relief Fund, which supports people in the music industry impacted by COVID-19. Last year, he donated $1 million to the United Nations World Food Program to provide food aid to the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian-Canadian has also donated $50,000 to the University of Toronto's Ethiopic Studies program.
Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida
Jag Gundu / Contributor, Getty
Award-winning singer-songwriter Kreviazuk and Our Lady Peace frontman Maida tied the knot in 1999, creating one of Canadian music's most enduring royal couples. The pair was honoured with the Humanitarian Award at the Junos in 2011. Kreviazuk is an honorary founder of War Child Canada, which works with children in war zones. Maida founded Busking for Change, which helps fund War Child projects. In 2000, the couple travelled to Iraq with War Child to see the effects of war on Iraqi children and provide humanitarian assistance. Their trip was chronicled in the documentary "Musicians In The War Zone". The pair are supporters of SickKids, the Children's Hospital Foundation in Winnipeg, Canuck Place Children's Hospice in Vancouver, among many other causes. Kreviazuk, who also serves on the Future of Canada Project council, has Ukrainian roots. She recently told the Sarnia Observer that "it's a tricky balance right now between the world of entertainment and what's happening in Ukraine … the war just takes the steam out of everything."
"We're trying to get some of the defence supplies to the people on the ground there," she said.
Susan Aglukark
Denise Grant via Junos/CARAS
In 2012, the acclaimed Inuk singer-songwriter established the Arctic Rose Foundation for Northern Inuit, First Nations, and Metis youth. The foundation supports the creation of Indigenous-led, arts-based after-school programs and other engaging cultural and creative projects. Today, the Arctic Rose Foundation operates in three communities across Nunavut. The three-time Juno winner will be honoured with the Humanitarian Award at this year’s Junos ceremony. The award recognizes philanthropic efforts from Canadian music stars who have made a meaningful impact on social welfare. “It is an honour to receive this award, and a privilege to have had the opportunity to help create safe spaces for Northern Inuit and Indigenous youth to explore their own potential and forge cultural connections through Indigenous-led programs,” Aglukark said in a statement. “I am proud of the work our team at the Arctic Rose Foundation has achieved so far, and look forward to expanding our footprint across the North to bring more culturally grounded, adaptable programming to young people and help engage, support, and inspire them in all aspects of their lives.”
Avril Lavigne
Apple Music
Napanee’s favourite daughter created the Avril Lavigne Foundation to support people with Lyme disease, serious illness, or disabilities. The pop princess was bedridden for five months after being diagnosed with the disease in 2015. (She also provided moral support to Justin Bieber after his 2020 diagnosis.) Lavigne, who will perform at the Juno Awards on May 15, has also supported the Make A Noise Foundation, Amnesty International, American CPR, Camp Will-a-Way, Music Clearing Minefields, Project Hope, the Women’s College Hospital Foundation, Unison, Stronger Together, and the Red Cross. She’s also a Special Olympics ambassador.
Justin Bieber
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Justin Bieber
Sure, he’s one of the biggest stars in the world. Of course, he can afford to donate. It’s an easy argument to make. But listen: He doesn’t have to. He doesn’t have to take the time or spend the money. But he does. And he does it a lot. Here’s just a taste of the initiatives he’s been involved in over just the past two years:

- He took part in the Red Nose Day fundraising event for Comic Relief.

- He established the “Justice in Action” initiative to incentivized Beliebers to take action on social justice during his "Justice" world tour.

- To combat anti-Asian racism, he posted a video in support of China, plus donated to the Beijing Chunmiao Children Aid Foundation.

- He participated in “Global Goal — Unite for our Future: The Concert” for COVID-19 relief efforts.

- With Chance the Rapper, he donated $250,000 to fans struggling during the pandemic.

- All net proceeds of his single "Stuck With U" with Ariana Grande were donated to the First Responders Children’s Foundation. (That’s a whopping $3.5 million right there.)

- He launched a fundraiser to assist the people of Haiti after their country’s devastating earthquake.

- With Quavo, he raised awareness and launched a fund for Alexandria House, which helps less fortunate families move into permanent housing.
Arcade Fire
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Life Is Beautiful
In 2006, Arcade Fire started donating $1 per concert ticket sold to Partners in Health, a global health-care organization that supports poverty-stricken areas. Building on the dollar-per-ticket donation strategy, Arcade Fire touring member Marika Anthony-Shaw established Plus1 in 2014. It’s a non-profit that pairs music acts with causes they want to support, then $1 from each concert ticket sold is donated to their cause. For example, Carly Rae Jepsen was able to send $1 from each ticket sold to the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth advocacy organization in San Francisco. Plus1 has raised about $10 million since its inception, which has benefited organizations like the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, KANPE and Phoenix House. Band member Regine Chassagne co-founded KANPE in 2010 to help Haitian families escape poverty. It has raised and donated over $4 million. The band, formed in Montreal, recently played a show at New Orleans’ Toulouse Theatre, with proceeds going to the Ukraine Relief Fund via Plus1. The group were honoured with the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award in 2018 and the Juno Humanitarian Award in 2016.
Alessia Cara
Michael Tran/FilmMagic via Getty
In a 2020 statement, she shared, "I put out an EP last September [entitled This Summer EP] and shortly after recorded a live-off-the-floor version, which was set to come out this summer. Then the world flipped upside down, so I decided to donate all my proceeds from this EP for the next 21 years to Save The Children, a global organization that saves and improves the lives of children who have been denied their rights by ensuring they have shelter, food, protection, health care, and education. This includes the 12 million kids currently suffering in Yemen, Indigenous children in Canada, children of colour in vulnerable communities, and anyone who needs help across 117 countries." The Brampton superstar has also supported a long list of causes, including BC Flood Relief, Sydney Children's Hospital, Global Citizen Live, cancer research, the EB Research Partnership, Stronger Together, the Smilezone Foundation, and MusiCares.
Shawn Mendes
Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW
In 2019, the chart topper launched his own foundation. “I’m so excited to launch the Shawn Mendes Foundation. For a long time, I’ve wanted to find a way to amplify the causes that my fans and I care deeply about, and to help make the voices of our generation heard,” Mendes said in a statement. “My goal in launching the foundation is to work alongside my fans, and do everything I can to help provide them with a platform that inspires positive change, and empowers young change-makers.” The foundation focuses on children’s health care, sustainability, mental health, human rights, anti-bullying, and education. In addition to his foundation, he continues to work with and donate to a variety of other causes, such as DoSomething.org, a campaign he spearheaded to support teen mental health. He’s also donated more than $100,000 to the Mexico Earthquake Relief Fund, supported March For Our Lives with his “Youth” video, and has helped fund schools in Ghana through Pencils of Promise.
Arkells
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward/CP Images
The Hamilton rockers have donated a portion of their ticket sales to Partners In Health Canada. This non-profit organization works with local communities in places like Haiti and Rwanda to provide health care to marginalized citizens. Proceeds from the group’s 2013 Tiger-Cats anthem, “Ticats Are Hummin’,” were donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hamilton. The four-time winners of the Best Group Juno Award also support MusiCounts, War Child, Stronger Together, Socks 4 Souls Canada, Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders, and the Refuge Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health.
Tegan and Sara
Dominik Bindl/Getty Images
The Calgary-born twins are outspoken feminist advocates for LGBTQ+ equality and gender justice. They've created the Tegan and Sara Foundation to provide scholarships and funding to LGBTQ+ summer camps that focus on bringing together LGBTQ+ youth to build confidence, leadership & community. "Since the beginning of our career, our LGBTQ+ fans have supported us in innumerable ways," the pair shared in a statement. "Our journey navigating sexism and homophobia in the music industry has always been interwoven with the stories you share with us. Your personal histories of injustice and discrimination at home, school, work, and church have inspired us to use our public status to speak out about the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community."
Jann Arden
CPImages
The singer-songwriter has been a high-profile supporter of Canwest Raise-A-Reader, a literacy awareness and fundraising initiative. She has also generously supported causes, including the Ladybird Animal Sanctuary, Stronger Together, the Red Cross, Alice Sanctuary, MusiCounts, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, and the A Frame Association, which works to preserve writer Al Purdy's house in Prince Edward County as a writer's retreat to support emerging Canadian writers.
Drake
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
It’s not just for show. It’s not just his joy-inducing “God’s Plan” video where he doled out nearly a million dollars in Miami to help out students, schools, shelters, and grocery shoppers. It’s dozens and dozens of targeted donations over the past decade. In 2014, he established the annual Houston Appreciation Weekend, which benefits the Houston Food Bank, Interfaith Ministries, Keep Houston Beautiful the T.J. Ford Foundation, Houston Astros’ Urban Youth Academy, and more. In 2017, he donated $200,000 to Hurricane Harvey victims. In 2018, he joined with the Raptors in pledging to donate $1 million to help repair basketball courts throughout Toronto. He donated $100,000 in 2020 to support Black Lives Matter. This is just a small sampling of his philanthropic efforts, which have also benefited the Jamaica Learning Center, the Union Gospel Mission of Portland, a Philadelphia high school’s recording studio, and National Bail Out, a collective that supports Black mothers and caregivers amid the pandemic.

Get Inspired By These Generous Canadian Music Stars

More Galleries

Latest Galleries