'I know that she's proud of me': Mi’kmaw fiddler wins 2 ECMAs, keeping promise to ailing mother

When Morgan Toney won the first two East Coast Music Awards of his young career this past weekend in Fredericton, N.B., it wasn't only a dream come true for the 22-year-old Mi’kmaw fiddler — it was a promise kept to his ailing mother, Jackie.

"She's just been my rock, and I thought it would be awesome to dedicate an award to her,” Toney said Tuesday from his home on Wagmatcook First Nation in Cape Breton.

His mother is at Inverness Manor, an hour away from her son, fighting a Stage 4 brain tumor.

Tuesday, she and Toney connected through FaceTime, where he showed his mother the ECMAs that will soon sit at her bedside.

"The doctor gave her 12 months to live, and this was three years ago,” Toney said. “She’s still here.”

Toney wrapped up his acceptance speech for Indigenous Artist of the Year and Inspirational Performance of the Year by telling the crowd in the New Brunswick capital of his intention to bring the trophies home to his mother.

“I just happened to win these two awards on Mother's Day,” Toney said. “And it's kind of all connected because these awards are going to my mom."

Jackie isn’t able to speak much these days, but Toney says he knows how his mother feels.

"It's in those eyes. I saw those eyes growing up for 22 years. Looking in those eyes, I know that she's proud of me."