George Canyon (born Frederick George Lays, August 22, 1970) is a Canadian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. He was the runner up on the second season of ''

Nashville Star ''Nashville Star'' is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the l ...

'' in 2004. He grew up in Fox Brook,

Pictou County Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Furthermo ...

, Nova Scotia before he moved west to

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

. He also holds an appointment in the Canadian Forces as the Colonel Commandant of the

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

Biography

George Canyon has held many jobs: he spent time working as a bylaw enforcement officer/special constable, a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

beef inspector, and the owner/operator of his own recording studio. He always dreamed of becoming a professional musician. Canyon is the father of two children. His wife worked three jobs during the day so that he could sing at night. In 2004, George Canyon competed in ''

2''. He was the runner-up in the competition, but became very well known in Canada and garnered much support, being the only Canadian to make the cut for the competition. After the competition ended, he received many accolades from fans and the industry alike. These include the top 5 hit "My Name", a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Best Country Recording of the Year (for his album ''

One Good Friend ''One Good Friend'' is the third studio album by Canadian country music artist George Canyon. It is the first album released by Canyon since he competed on Nashville Star, Nashville Star 2, and his first release in the United States. In Juno Awar ...

''), and, four

Canadian Country Music Awards The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a gr ...

Nominations (CCMAs) including Male Vocalist of the Year and the Fan Choice Award. On September 22, 2007, Canyon performed at ''China-Canada: Hand in Hand''; a joint concert held in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

between

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

(China Central Television) and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) to commemorate the one-year countdown of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. One of the songs performed by Canyon was "What a Fine Jasmine Blossom". Sung entirely in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, Canyon performed the duet with Mandarin singer Tang Can. On January 9, 2008, Canadian defence minister

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007� ...

appointed Canyon to the position of honorary colonel at

14 Wing Greenwood Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located east of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using th ...

, the largest air base on the east coast. After this appointment expired in December 2011, Canyon was appointed colonel commandant of the

. Canyon was diagnosed with

type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

at the age of 14 and has given talks to children about diabetes. On October 16, 2014, Canyon was named the official anthem singer for the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. In 2020, Canyon will appear as a panelist on ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'', advocating for

Jesse Thistle Jesse Thistle (born 1976) is a Métis-Cree author and assistant professor in the Department of Humanities at York University in Toronto. He is the author of the internationally best-selling memoir, '' From the Ashes.'' He is a PhD candidate in th ...

's memoir ''From the Ashes''.

Acting

In addition to his singing career, Canyon has also performed as an actor in movies and television. His first role of note was as "Head Forest Ranger" in several episodes during the seventh season of the popular

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

television series ''

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer pa ...

'' in 2007. He also appeared as the character "Charlie Wells" in the series ''

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

'' in 2008. His most notable film role to date was as the character "Cattle Jack" in the 2012 film ''

Dawn Rider ''Dawn Rider'' is a 2012 American Western film starring Christian Slater, Jill Hennessy and Donald Sutherland. It is a remake of the 1935 John Wayne film ''The Dawn Rider''. Plot Cincinnati John Mason, who says he has never been to Cincinnati, ...

'', a remake of a 1935

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

film of the same name. In 2013, he had role on the movie '' Coming Home for Christmas'' and Hallmark channel's One Starry Christmas.

Politics

In 2014, Canyon briefly ran for the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

nomination in the newly created riding of

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

before withdrawing from the race later that year. On August 21, 2019, Canyon was announced as the Conservative candidate for the riding of

Central Nova Central Nova (french: Nova-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 until 1996. In 1996, Antigonish County and part of Guysborough County were placed with Pic ...

for the federal election later that year, ultimately coming second to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

incumbent Sean Fraser.

Band

* Jay Buettner (Guitar) * Michael Lent (Bass) * Adam Dowling (Drums) * Mike Little (Keyboard & Accordion)

Discography

Awards and nominations

Juno Awards

Canadian Country Music Association Awards

Other awards

* 2004 – winner, Music Industry of Nova Scotia, New Artist Recording of the Year – for the album ''George Canyon'' * 2004 – winner, Music Industry of Nova Scotia, Country Recording of the Year – for the album ''George Canyon'' *2005 – winner, The East Coast Music Awards, Galaxie Rising Star *2005 – winner, The East Coast Music Awards, Country Recording of the Year – for the album ''One Good Friend'' *2005 – winner, The East Coast Music Awards, Entertainer of the Year *2005 – winner,

Canadian Radio Music Awards The Canadian Radio Music Awards were an annual series of awards presented by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters that was part of Canadian Music Week. The award show ran from 2016 to 2018. There has been no information on the future of the e ...

, Best New Group or Solo Artist (Country) for his single ''Good Day To Ride'' *2005 – winner, Music Box Awards (Paris, France), New Artist Male US/Canada *2005 – winner, 2005 Nova Scotia Crystal Tourism Awards of Excellence, Ambassador Award *2006 – winner, ECMA, Entertainer of the Year *2007 – winner, ECMA, Entertainer of the Year *2007 – winner, ECMA, Country Recording of the Year *2007 – winner, ECMA, Video of the Year, for the video ''Drinkin' Thinkin *2007 – nominee, ECMA, Best Album of the Year, for the album ''Somebody Wrote Love''. *2008 – winner, ECMA, Entertainer of the Year

References

External links

*
George Canyon at Canadian Bands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canyon, George 1970 births Calgary Flames Canadian country singers Juno Award for Country Album of the Year winners Living people Musicians from Calgary Musicians from Nova Scotia Nashville Star contestants People from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia People with type 1 diabetes Canadian Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Rising Star Award winners Canadian Country Music Association Fans' Choice Award winners 21st-century American singers 21st-century Canadian male singers Candidates in the 2019 Canadian federal election Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Nova Scotia candidates for Member of Parliament