What to know
- Mae Martin is set to host the Juno Awards this weekend, making them the first non-binary person to do so.
- Martin is a Toronto native who says their upbringing in the city helped shape who they are as an artist.
Mae Martin is the host of this year’s JUNO Awards, the first non-binary person to do so. They are also a comedian, actor, screenwriter, and artist. Now Toronto spoke with the Toronto native about their career and their passions.
They are heading to Hamilton’s TD Coliseum this weekend to take the stage for Canada’s biggest night in music in the midst of their busy schedule of their first stand-up tour, ‘The Possum’, across the U.S. and Canada, which is also their first cross-country tour.
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“I might be off my rocker,” Martin told Now Toronto jokingly.
“Hopefully, I’ll be fighting fit from doing a bunch of shows. I’ll be hopefully on my game.”
Martin’s Toronto upbringing influences their work
Martin has a few days in the city before their Toronto show at the Massey Hall on April 4, which they say is a “real bucket list type thing.” It’s currently sold out but fans can join the waitlist on their website.
“I remember seeing The Kids [in Massey Hall] when I was 13 and that kind of changed the trajectory of my whole life,” they said.
They say they’ll be spending time with family and friends in between their upcoming commitments.
“I like to play poke with my family. We sit in the living room and there’s a lot of trash talking, and usually one of my parents wins,” they said.
While in town, they’ll be up to the typical Torontonian affairs.
“If the weather’s good enough, I like to go to the island,” they said.
And maybe a little trip down memory lane.
“I’m super nostalgic, though. Sometimes I like to go back to old apartments I lived in and just walk by and see who lives there now. So I’ll be doing all that.”
Martin as a musician
Martin, who now spends most of their time in Los Angeles, released their first studio album I’m A TV in 2025. They say the album is heavily influenced by their Toronto roots.
“Moving away from Canada, [I] gained a new appreciation for Toronto, and my upbringing here, and my early influences musically,” Martin tells Now Toronto.
“I think you can really feel the kind of Sam Roberts, Tragically Hip kind of warm, Canadian nostalgia.”
They worried it would come out “very folky, singer-songwriter-y” but say they were happy with how the final product was an authentic extension of who they are.
Martin as a visual artist
In addition to all that they do in Hollywood, Martin is also an owner and operator of Etsy shop AnimalArtByMae. Although it is only their side gig Martin says it’s what they’re “most proud and excited about right now.”
Martin says they started painting after a breakup. Their subjects are “animals in emotionally complex situations” like a rabbit who wants to start a new life and a raccoon learning to love himself.
“I found it really soothing to paint animals in different emotional situations,” Martin says.
Their passion is also their philanthropy, with 100 per cent of the profits from the sale of their products going to Doctors Without Border.
“I would sometimes put [the artwork] on my Instagram, and people were really into it and wanted to see if they could order them,” Martin says.
“So I thought it was a good opportunity to set up something for charities.”
To date, Martin has raised over $40,000.
Martin is also taping a new stand-up special on their current tour, which would be their third after Dope – nominated for Best Comedy Show at the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards – and SAP – on Netflix and a Junos Comedy Album of the Year nominee.
After the JUNO Awards and their show in Toronto, they’re heading to Ottawa for two back-to-back shows on Sunday, where only a few tickets are left at the time of publication.
