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After four days of passionate and powerful debate, Tegan Quin has won Canada Reads 2026. The book she championed, The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor, survived the elimination vote on April 16.
On Canada Reads, five Canadian celebrities each select one book that all Canadians should read. They debate their choices over the course of four days, voting to eliminate one every day. The last book standing is the winner.
Musician and writer Quin, of the band Tegan and Sara, successfully convinced her fellow panellists that The Cure for Drowning best fits the theme as “one book to build bridges.”
The Cure for Drowning is a historical fiction novel that follows Kit McNair, who was born Kathleen to an Irish farming family in Ontario — but doesn’t fit in with the expectations set out for them.
When Rebekah, a German Canadian doctor’s daughter comes to town, she, Kit and Kit’s older brother, Landon, find themselves in a love triangle that tears their families apart. The three of them separate and join different war efforts but all eventually return home — and are each forced to move on with their lives.
Throughout the week, Quin had strong and passionate arguments for why The Cure for Drowning is the book that all Canada should read.
Right before the final vote she spoke about the power the novel has to expose people to perspectives different from their own, something she’s even witnessed during the debates themselves.
“It opened eyes and hearts at this table,” said Quin. “I believe, deeply, it will open eyes and hearts in this country.
“The rollback on trans rights, the attack on the LGBTQ community and marginalized communities in general, and this binary that we live in remains absolutely 100 per cent a pressing issue.”
Quin said the book provides the opportunity both to escape into a story and to better understand others.
“That’s the most important thing you can get from reading. You need to enjoy it, but we also need to learn. You can from this book.”
In a press statement, Paylor said that winning Canada Reads feels “absolutely incredible.”
“I think winning Canada Reads, especially in a year when the theme is building bridges, is especially meaningful to me,” they said.
“We’re at a place right now, politically and socially, where there are a lot of forces trying to divide us and keep people apart. So knowing that my book has gotten people together and furthered understanding and empathy is just incredible.”
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Having Quin champion their book was a dream come true for Paylor, who listened to Tegan and Sara growing up.
“Tegan’s music meant a lot to me as a closeted queer teenager growing up in a small town,” Paylor said.
“In that way she changed my life once, and again by selecting my book for Canada Reads, and now unbelievably a third time by winning the debates. To change someone’s life three times is unbelievable.”
WATCH | Tegan Quin on Commotion:
Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard was the runner-up. Hockey broadcaster Steve (Dangle) Glynn championed the novel, which he called “a hockey book that isn’t necessarily a hockey book.”
In Searching for Terry Punchout, Adam has one final chance to save his sports writing career: a shot at a Sports Illustrated profile of the notorious hockey goon, Terry Punchout. To complicate matters, Terry is Adam’s estranged father, and writing this piece requires Adam to return to his small, Nova Scotia hometown and dredge up old feelings and frustrations.
Ultimately, Searching for Terry Punchout lost in a 4-1 vote on the final day.
Quin is one half of the pop-indie twin duo Tegan and Sara, who have released 10 studio albums and sold more than a million records over the course of their career.
Tegan and Sara have received multiple Juno and GLAAD awards for their music as well as a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. They have been nominated for many Grammy and Polaris Prize awards.
Tegan and Sara are also the authors of the memoir High School and the middle-grade graphic novel duology Tegan & Sara: Junior High, illustrated by Tillie Walden. They were executive producers on the television series based on the memoir.
In addition to the music, writing and producing, they also started the Tegan and Sara Foundation to support and invest in 2SLGBTQ+ communities, which earned them the Humanitarian Award at the 2024 Junos.
The 2026 Canada Reads winner brought a strong and empathetic perspective to the debates, both making a strong case for the The Cure for Drowning and acknowledging the merits of the other books in contention.
One of her poignant arguments was that The Cure for Drowning is a novel that Canadians will easily connect with.
“I chose The Cure for Drowning because I loved it. Simple, but true,” she said. “I fell in love with the characters, rooted for them, and in the end, felt like I understood them.”
She described the book as one where the characters are all grappling with their identity, and as a novel that people can relate to no matter what how they personally identify.
“Who among us hasn’t struggled with who we are, or has had to make an impossible choice?”
Paylor is an Ontario-born author currently based in B.C. They have an MA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and their short fiction and essays have previously appeared in publications including Room and Prairie Fire. The Cure for Drowning is their debut novel and was longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
Paylor was also longlisted for the 2025 CBC Nonfiction Prize. The CBC Poetry Prize is currently accepting submissions until June 1.
The other three books were eliminated earlier in the week. Foe by Iain Reid, championed by Josh Dela Cruz was eliminated on Day One. A Minor Chorus, championed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, was voted off on Day Two. It’s Different This Time, championed by Morgann Book was eliminated on Day Three.
Musician and writer Tegan Quin will champion The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor on Canada Reads. The debates take place April 13 to 16.
This year’s show was hosted by Ali Hassan. The contenders and their chosen books were:
