CANDY PALMATER AWARD

Awarded for the first time in 2022, The Candy Palmater Award is named in honour of the late Candy Palmater, the celebrated Mi'kmaw actor, writer, broadcaster, comedian, and member of Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. The award was created to celebrate the life, enthusiasm, talent, and intelligence that flowed through all of Candy’s work, and to foster these same qualities in others.

Candy studied law in Halifax, working as a lawyer for the Nova Scotia government before turning to comedy and broadcasting. She created and hosted the award-winning The Candy Show on APTN, was a regular CBC personality, served as a co-host on CTV’s afternoon talk show The Social, and appeared in various shows, including Trailer Park Boys and Call Me Fitz. She also wrote a memoir which was published by Harper-Collins in 2022.

2026 Candy Palmater award winner: ASIAH SPARKS

Asiah Sparks is a polydisciplinary African Nova Scotian creative, storyteller, spoken word artist, advocate and arts facilitator from Dartmouth, with roots in the historically Black community of Lake Loon. Their practice lives where creativity meets care.

Grounded in community and shaped by their lived experiences, Asiah’s storytelling navigates the rich terrain of, Love, and Truth. Their work exists to disrupt the flattening of Black narratives, and their creations center joy, vulnerability, and the fullness of being.

Asiah continues to curate spaces that invite reflection, dialogue, and creative liberation. Asiah Sparks also sees great value in community education. They currently hold a role as a Community Educator at The Youth Project, an organization that supports 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. They have also contributed to art education through the Unity Charity

A former Youth Poet Laureate of Halifax and recipient of both the Provincial and HRM Volunteer of the Year Awards, Asiah aims to create worlds where others might find themselves, too.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2022 - Calendula Sack

2024 - Jenn Waugh

2025 - Tanas Sylliboy