Prince Albert musician Donny Parenteau says being named to the Saskatchewan Order of Merit is an honour he will carry with pride, but also one that reflects the city, culture, and music community that shaped his life.
Parenteau, a Métis musician, educator and community leader from Prince Albert, was one of nine people announced Thursday as 2026 recipients of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province’s highest honour. The recipients are expected to receive their medals at a ceremony in Regina on Tuesday, June 2.
For Parenteau, who is marking his 40th year in the music industry, the news was both exciting and humbling.
“Very excited, very humbled, realizing that this is the highest award ever given to a Saskatchewan person by Saskatchewan,” Parenteau said. “It’s one of the highest honours you can receive, so I was very, very thrilled and excited and honoured.”
Parenteau said the recognition is not tied to only one part of his life. He sees his music, Métis Heritage, community work and mentorship as connected.
“All of those together,” he said. “It’s all combined in everything I do. I let my music speak for me, and my culture is right there with me, because that’s where the music comes from, from my Métis heritage.”
The provincial biography released with the announcement describes Parenteau as a celebrated Métis musician, educator and community leader who has contributed to Saskatchewan’s cultural and social fabric for more than three decades. It notes that he has received well over 100 nominations across eight major award programs in Canada and the United States, is a three-time Juno nominee, received the Saskatchewan Country Music Association Legends and Legacy Award in 2020, and was inducted into the Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame in 2023.
Donny Parenteau/Facebook
Donny Parenteau performs on stage. The Prince Albert Métis musician has been named a 2026 recipient of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province’s highest honour.
Parenteau’s career has taken him far beyond Prince Albert. He spent 12 years touring internationally with American country artist Neal McCoy and has performed on stages in Europe, the United States, Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall, the Vancouver Winter Olympics, and the first halftime show at the new Mosaic Stadium in 2017.
Still, when his time with McCoy ended, Parenteau chose to come back home.
“I could have lived anywhere in the United States. I could have lived anywhere in Canada, and I came back home,” he said. “When I left Neal McCoy, I chose to move back home to Prince Albert because that’s where I felt most comfortable, and that’s my home, and it always will be my home.”
Prince Albert kept him grounded, and that sense of home is something he now tries to pass on to younger musicians.
“Go as far as you can, ride the ride as far as you can, but don’t ever forget where you come from,” he said. “I’ve never done that. I always remember where I come from. I remember who helped me along the way.”
The part of Prince Albert he carries most closely is the West Flat, where he grew up.
“I always carry pride of where I’m from and where I grew up, how I was raised,” he said.
His musical path started early. Parenteau said he learned acoustic guitar at age 12, then began playing fiddle at age 14. By then, he said, he already knew music would be his life.
“I remember walking around the house, and I would tell my mom and dad that one day I’m going to live in Nashville and I’m going to travel the world, and I’m going to play on the Grand Ole Opry,” he said. “My mom always called me a big dreamer.”
That dream became reality 10 years later, when Parenteau first walked onto the Grand Ole Opry stage at age 24.
He said that moment remains one of the most meaningful of his career, along with the memory of his father watching him perform in 1986, one month after he began playing music for a living.
“To see the expression on his face, what he heard after one month of playing every single day, how much the improvement that I had. When I look at that, I can always picture my dad’s face,” Parenteau said. “That’s a memory that will always be with me.”
Parenteau has also worked to create more space for Indigenous musicians in Saskatchewan. In 2022, he created the Saskatchewan Indigenous Music Association and Awards to bring more awareness and recognition to Indigenous music in the province. He said the fourth awards show is scheduled to come to Prince Albert on Oct. 3.
“It’s absolutely thrilling,” he said of seeing Indigenous music receive more recognition. “It’s always been there, but it’s finally making its way to the limelight a lot more now.”
Parenteau said Saskatchewan and Prince Albert both have deep musical talent that should be recognized more often.
“Even in Prince Albert, we’re much more than a hockey town,” he said. “We are a music town, big time. We are a music city as much as we are a hockey city.”
Through his school of music, Parenteau said he tries to teach more than notes and songs. He wants young artists to understand the work, discipline, and humility needed to build a career.
“The only one that’s ever going to stop your dream is you,” he said. “You have to focus on what you want to do, set your goals, try to be realistic at what you want to do, and get out there and do it, because it will not come to you. It’s like life. You want it, you have to go get it.”
Some of his greatest pride now comes from seeing his students succeed, including Prince Albert’s Josh Stumpf, who has gone on to sign a record deal and release songs that reached the top five in Canada. He also pointed to Aiden and Logan Edwards as former students who have continued to grow with their band.
“It’s not just music I teach them,” he said. “I teach them everyday things about the business, so much more than just teaching them music. I pass down that knowledge.”
Parenteau said that is how he hopes to be remembered.
“I want to be known as a person that really helped people in the music industry, that really gave all the knowledge that I have,” he said. “I help people just like I got help when I started.”
Parenteau said he is grateful for the Saskatchewan Order of Merit and plans to continue doing the same work that brought him to this point.
“I am truly grateful and humble for this award that I’m about to receive on June 2,” he said. “I will carry it with pride, and I will continue to do what I do, as long as I have air breathing.”
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
