Voting is underway by the jury, which comprises 50 expert AJAC journalists from across Canada. In a two-stage process, journalists first name their top five vehicles in each category. The jury then completes detailed ballots for the semi-finalists in each category.
Stage one of the voting is now complete and after collation of the votes cast, the semi-finalists have been named as follows:
The five semi-finalists for 2026 Canadian Car of the Year are:
The five semi-finalists for 2026 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year are:
The five semi-finalists for 2026 Canadian Electric Car of the Year are:
The five semi-finalists for 2026 Canadian Electric Vehicle of the Year are:
Every 2026 model year vehicle – almost 400 in all – is eligible for the CCOTY Awards, including those newly designed, recently refreshed, and carried over from the previous model year.
AJAC’s expert jurors are based right across Canada, from Vancouver to Halifax. CCOTY is Canada’s ONLY vehicle awards scheme in which the jurors drive every vehicle they vote on. Vehicles are tested on the same roads and in the same conditions faced by Canadian drivers from coast to coast every day.
