This Saturday, April 21st is the 5th Annual Record Store Day, and Canadian independent record stores from coast to coast will be celebrating with exclusive releases, live in-store showcases, and special deals.

Over 170 stores from across Canada will be celebrating Record Store Day 2012, with stores in all 10 provinces taking part.

In St. John's Newfoundland, Fred's Records caters to the casual listener and the die hard music aficionado in historic St. John's. On the other side of the country, over 5000 kilometers away, Salt Spring Sound in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, will welcome music fans to their store, which features mostly vinyl records, with lots of vintage material.

The Vancouver Sun has a great primer of participating shops in Vancouver, which has over a dozen stores taking part.  Francois Marchand highlights some events happening in the city's top record stores, including a special Jack White album listening session and live performances from Hannah Georgas, Damien Jurado, Siskiyou and No Sinner at Zulu Records. Meanwhile, Scratch Records will be celebrating with 13 bands performing in-store in 12 hours, including We Hunt Buffalo, Vancougar and If We Are Machines, as well as DJs and a full-service bar.

In Toronto, Plaid Magazine's Laura Cappe spoke with Rob Butcher of Sonic Boom Records, Craig Dunsmuir of Soundscapes and John Bowker of She Said Boom! on their RSD picks and special events, as well as why they think Record Store Day is important.

OurWindsor's Allison Brown profiled RSD events in Windsor, where Dr. Disc will have extended hours, opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m, while featuring live local bands The Hoop, Raised By Weeds, Learning and Weirdonia. Dr.Disc owner Liam O’Donnell was preparing for a big event: “We’ve got tons of releases…massive amounts of releases. We’ll have refreshments and giveaways. Last year it was crazy. We’re hoping for a repeat.” 

In Edmonton, Listen Records is celebrating by opening at 10 am and having an all-day long sale, featuring "a ton" of the limited exclusive record store day releases available. They are featuring what are sure to be some of the most sought-after releases, including specials from Alexisonfire, Arcade Fire, and Death from Above 1979. FreeCloud Records will also be taking part, though it's business as usual to owner Rich Liukko: “Every day is Record Store Day at Freecloud. I just throw a bunch of soda pops and food on the counter and I’ll be here till midnight,” he said in the Edmonton Journal.

Back Alley Music in Charlottetown, PEI will be celebrating RSD, a location that CBC's Grant Lawrence called one of the Top 10 Record Stores in Canada in his radio show this week - enthusiastically endorsing the store: "Besides an amazing selection of music and musical instruments, this awesome gathering place serves SOUP every third Saturday!"

Taz Records in Halifax, Nova Scotia are celebrating with some free swag including Odd Future, Tom Waits, Foster the People and Great Lake Swimmers posters, as well as CD samplers from Sub Pop Records.

In Fredericton, New Brunswick, Backstreet Records  is celebrating with a special one-day only vinyl release of a Live in Fredericton EP from Leonard Cohen. The recordings were made at The Playhouse in 2008 when Cohen kicked off his world tour in Fredericton, and were originally released as a free one-day download by iTunes and National Post, no revived on a special vinyl release. They've also ordered a great selection of other RSD exclusives, detailed on their blog. Participating stores in Moncton include Frank's Music, Spin-It Records and the Live Wire Music Emporium. In St. John, secondspin will feature lots of RSD exclusives, plus an extra 150 new vinyl releases.

Quebec record stores are celebrating Record Store Day with events throughout Montreal at eleven different stores, including Boutique L'Oblique, Beatnick Music, Cheap Thrills, and more. Sherbrooke's Musique Cité will be participating, highlighted in this article in Estrie Plus.

Alberta record stores are representing Record Store Day as well, with events throughout Calgary, such as at The Inner Sleeve, where fans receive 20% off all new and used vinyl and CDs and each customer will even receive one free LP or CD (maximum $6.00), no purchase necessary! The Inner Sleeve recently received some of the CBC's vinyl collection, which will be available as well. Other Alberta stores include Heritage Posters & Music, Melodiya Records, and Hot Wax Records, who is featuring live bands all day.

Ten stores are celebrating Record Store Day in Winnipeg, including the Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store, Planet of Sound, and Music Trader, which will be featuring many exclusive RSD limited edition releases as well as a Disintegration Records showcase with live performances by Cannon Bros and Greg Macpherson.

Saskatchewan is represented this Record Store Day by participating stores The Danger Room and X-Ray Records in Regina, and The Vinyl Exchange and Vinyl Diner in Saskatoon.

For the official list of special releases, visit the site at RecordStoreDay.com, or download the PDF here. You can also grab the official Record Store Day Guide App, available for Apple and Android devices.

For more on Canadian record store promotions this Record Store Day, follow our Twitter List of Canadian record stores, download the official RSD Guide App, and get out to visit your local record store!