Montreal band Patrick Watson has snagged this year's $20,000 Polaris Music Prize for its album Close to Paradise.

The band was chosen as the critics' favourite at an industry gala in Toronto on Monday. The two-year-old Polaris Prize is meant to recognize creative quality, in the same vein as the U.K.'s esteemed Mercury Prize.

Shaggy-haired front man Patrick Watson joked throughout the night that a win would bail the band out of a $16,000 rental car bill.

But when the band was crowned at the end of the night, Watson appeared genuinely surprised to be called onstage to accept a giant novelty cheque.

"I know it sounds cheesy, but seriously, it's a real honour just to be nominated with all these amazing artists," said Watson, noting he was rooting for Calgary's Chad VanGaalen to take the prize.

Backstage, a jovial Watson kept media laughing with jabs at Montreal cohorts Besnard Lakes and his assertion that he and bandmates would spend $4,000 on "a lot of cheeseburgers and a hot tub."

But most of the cash would settle a rental car bill incurred in a crash just outside of Fargo, N.D., earlier this year, he said.

It was April and the band had just performed at the Junos in Saskatoon, where they were also nominated for new artist of the year, he said.

The band crossed the U.S. border and drove straight into a blizzard, losing control of the van while grooving to Pink Floyd on the radio, said Watson, re-enacting the event with a brief serenade and a twirl to demonstrate how the van flipped over.

Luckily, no one was injured but months later they were stuck with the massive bill, said Watson, currently on tour in Quebec, and set to tour Europe in October and November.

Other nominees included Feist, Junior Boys

The evening included performances by a host of nominees, including Montreal's Miracle Fortress, Halifax's Joel Plaskett Emergency, New Brunswick's Julie Doiron and VanGaalen.

Other nominees included Calgary's Feist, Hamilton's Junior Boys, and Montreal bands Arcade Fire, the Dears and the Besnard Lakes.

During the performances, a jury of 11 music experts deliberated over whose disc deserved to win, regardless of musical genre or sales figures.

To be eligible, an album had to be released between June 1, 2006, and May 31, 2007.

The short list was drawn up from submissions by more than 170 Canadian music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers who provided their top five picks.

Critics of the critics' list were quick to emerge when the names were announced this summer — several bemoaned the predominantly indie-rock flavour while others wished for more regional diversity.

Complaining that none of the bands are francophone, one Quebec professor has reportedly filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau alleging English acts have an unfair advantage.

But according to the list of jurors on the Polaris Prize website, submissions for this year's shortlist came from journalists across the country, including members of several francophone media outlets.

Last year, critics similarly complained that Atlantic Canadian acts were shut out of the running.

This year's jury consisted of five journalists from Toronto, two from the Maritimes, two from Montreal, and one each from Edmonton and Ottawa.