The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) has just revealed the 2026 semi-finalists for its Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) awards given out annually. The initial selection identifies 20 vehicles offered on the Canadian market, divided into four distinct categories: Car, Utility Vehicle, Electric Car and Electric Utility Vehicle.
2026 Canadian Car of the Year
Here, the selection includes models as contrasting as the compact sedans Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra, the sporty Porsche 911 Carrera and the Toyota Prius hybrid.
- • Honda Civic
- • Hyundai Elantra
- • Kia K4
- • Porsche 911 Carrera
- • Toyota Prius
2026 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year
The Utility Vehicle category also presents a great diversity with the compact pickup Ford Maverick, Subaru Forester and Toyota RAV4 SUVs and the Hyundai Palisade aimed at large families.
- • Ford Maverick
- • Honda Passport
- • Hyundai Palisade
- • Subaru Forester
- • Toyota RAV4
2026 Canadian Electric Car and Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year
In the two all-electric vehicle categories, the semi-finalists clearly illustrate the rapid increase in choice when it comes to BEVs in Canada.
In the Electric Car category, the selection ranges from luxury to mainstream.
- • BMW i4
- • Hyundai Ioniq 6
- • Lucid Air
- • Porsche Taycan
- • Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid
Among Electric Utility Vehicles, the diversity is just as marked:
- • BMW iX
- • Hyundai Ioniq 9
- • Kia EV9
- • Lucid Gravity
- • Porsche Macan Electric
Collectively, these choices demonstrate that electric power is now available across a full range of segments, from family crossovers to luxury SUVs, confirming the growing importance of electric propulsion in the Canadian market.
AJAC's evaluation process
AJAC's process for identifying winning vehicles every year mobilizes about 50 automotive journalists from all regions of Canada. These professionals (including several contributors to Auto123.com) subject each vehicle to exhaustive tests under varied conditions: dense urban traffic, long highway journeys and even in the middle of winter. The idea is to replicate the daily experience of Canadian motorists as faithfully as possible.
AJAC also organizes a Test Fest annually to allow journalists to gather and trade war stories, but also of course to test some of the new models on the market on the same roads.
Each vehicle is compared to a wide sample of models available in Canadian territory, and its rating is weighted according to the selling price.
Unique in Canada
The CCOTY awards program remains unique in that it is the only process that requires every juror is required to drive all evaluated models before voting. This requirement ensures conclusions are based on tangible experience.
This week’s announcement of the semi-finalists marks the first step of a process that will continue in early 2026 with the revelation in Montreal of the Top 12 Canadian vehicles (three finalists per category), before the announcement of the four big winners during the Toronto Auto Show next February.