FEIST picked a good year to take advantage of a weak offering for CDN Indie music. Some of the other contenders sounded too dark by the time the summer arrived and didn't have staying power. A few good songs here and there but no solid albums to challenge.
This is the short list :
http://www.polarismusicprize.ca/2012/
Cold Specks is an artist to watch but again her album as a whole is not great. Just good.