(March 5, 2025). So far, the escalating trade war between the Donald Trump administration and Canada (and other countries) has been in the form of announced tariffs on goods imported to each country from the other. But there’s an intriguing element to this issue on the Billboard album charts that will be interesting to watch in the coming months as the two countries have traditionally enjoyed a symbiotic relationship when it comes to popular music consumption.
How intriguing? Welp, the last three new No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 — the list that ranks the most consumed albums each week in the U.S. — have been by Canadian artists. This week, Tate McRae, the pop princess from Calgary, Alberta, debuted at No. 1 with her new album So Close to What. She displaced $ome $exy $ongs 4 U by PartyNextDoor & Drake, both of whom hail from Toronto (although Drake boasts a dual U.S. citizenship).
Two weeks prior to that, The Weeknd — also from Toronto — topped the chart with his latest set Hurry Up Tomorrow. The only other new (released in 2025) albums to top the list this year have been by Lil Baby (from Atlanta) and Bad Bunny (Puerto Rico), which means Canadians have outperformed the Americans in this country 3-2 so far in 2025 (or maybe 3-1 depending upon who’s counting). This excludes earlier albums by Americans SZA and Kendrick Lamar, which returned to No. 1 in 2025 thanks to a high-profile deluxe album release and Super Bowl halftime performance, respectively.
So what’s the picture looking like in Canada?
Well, ten weeks into the year, only one American artist — SZA — has had a No. 1 album north of our border. In January, her 2022 release SOS returned to No. 1 on Top Canadian Albums (also ranked by Billboard) thanks to a deluxe edition issued in December. Otherwise it’s been all Canucks there: Michael Bublé opened the year at the top with his Christmas album. Then, after SZA’s five-week reign, it’s been the three albums by The Weeknd, PartyNextDoor & Drake, and Tate McRae in succession.
Unfair music trade? Not even close. In 2024, not a single album — new or otherwise — by a Canadian artist topped the Billboard 200, and only one — Bublé’s ever-resilient Christmas — reached No. 1 in Canada. The eighteen other No. 1 albums in Canada in ‘24 were all by Americans, including some with now-ironic titles like American Dream (by 21 Savage) and The Great American Bar Scene (Zach Bryan). The last Canadian to top either country’s album chart (besides Bublé) before this year was Drake, whose 2023 set For All the Dogs — the one that unwittingly sparked the now-world-famous diss rap battle between him and American nemesis Lamar — topped both countries’ charts upon its debut that fall.
Aside from Drake and Bublé, the only Canadians who’ve topped either country’s album charts this decade have been pop stars Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes, plus the rapper Nav, all three of whom hail from Ontario. All three have had No. 1 albums in both the U.S. and Canada since 2020.
While Canadian artists have had tremendous success here in the states over the decades — see Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Alanis Morissette, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Nickelback, Shania Twain, Gordon Lightfoot, Corey Hart, Sarah McLachlan, the Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Paul Anka, Nelly Furtado, Avril Lavigne, Deadmau5, and Anne Murray… just to name a few — the Canadian charts have largely mimicked the American ones with little variation.
Notably, this year’s Juno Awards — Canada’s equivalent to the Grammys — will be held on March 30, hosted by none other than Michael Bublé. While the Junos celebrate homegrown talent, many of their honorees rarely make an impact on American charts. For years, Canadian artists have criticized their homeland’s industry as being merely a “marketing warehouse for American artists.” But in 2025, they’re proving they can be the suppliers, not just the buyers.
Buble’s Christmas album, btw, is the biggest-selling “export” by a Canadian musician this century with an estimate of more than 20 million copies sold worldwide, including six million RIAA-certified units consumed in the U.S.
While musicians from either country may not immediately feel the brunt of the continuing trade war — consumers likely realize this is an unpopular decision by a U.S. president — it will be interesting to see if local Canadian radio and retailers, for instance, stop promoting product marketed and distributed by American record companies. Canadian musicians may also be discouraged from touring in the U.S., which could impact sales/streaming. The impact on Canadians’ usage of streaming platforms — Apple Music is an American company while Spotify is Swedish — should be interesting to watch as well.
Whether the music industry will feel the effects of the ongoing trade war remains to be seen. But on the Billboard charts, Canadian artists have already made their presence felt — turning what was once an import-heavy market into one where their own exports are thriving. If 2025 continues on this trajectory, it won’t just be maple syrup and ice hockey that Canada is best known for in the U.S. — it’ll be chart-topping albums too.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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