With only a handful of Canadian films released each year they were generally a small affair. In several years no film was found to merit the best picture award. The awards were also almost totally dominated by the National Film Board. Globe and Mail film critic Jay Scott described them as "honours given by presenters no one knew, to recipients no one recognized, to films no one had seen."
| Canadian Film Awards Winners |
| Year |
Feature Film |
Special Award |
Director |
Actor |
Actress |
| 1949 |
The Loon's Necklace (F.R. Crawley) |
Dots (Norman McLaren) & Un Homme et son Péché (Paul L'Anglais) |
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| 1950 |
North Shore (James Beveridge) Theatrical Short & Mouvement perpétuel (Claude Jutra) Amateur |
Begone Dull Care (Norman McLaren) & Primitive Artists of Haiti (André de Tonnancourt, Réal Benoît) & Paul L'Anglais, René Germain |
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| 1951 |
After Prison What? (Sydney Newman) Theatrical Short |
Family Tree (Evelyn Lambart, George Dunning) |
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| 1952 |
Newfoundland Scene (F.R. Crawley) |
Around is Around & Now is the Time (both Norman McLaren) |
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| 1953 |
Tit Coq (Gratien Gélinas) |
A Phantasy & Neighbours (both Norman McLaren) |
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| 1954 |
The Seasons (Christopher Chapman) |
Gordon Sparling |
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| 1955 |
The Stratford Adventure (Morten Parker, Guy Glover) |
Hye Bossin |
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| 1956 |
Gold (Colin Low) Theatrical Short |
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| 1957 |
Prelude to Spring (Jack Ruddell) Amateur |
Judith Crawley, F.R. Crawley, John Grierson, Don Mulholland, Roy Tash |
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| 1958 |
City of Gold (Wolf Koenig, Colin Low, Tom Daly) |
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| 1959 |
The Quest; Money Minters; The Tall Country Theatrical Short |
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| 1960 |
Royal River (Gordon Sparling) Theatrical Short |
Arthur Chetwynd, Joseph Morin |
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| 1961 |
Universe (Roman Kroitor, Colin Low, Tom Daly) |
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| 1962 |
Morning on the Lièvre (David Bairstow) Theatrical Short & Au Temps des Ombres Blanches (Claude Savard) Amateur |
O.J. Silverthorne |
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| 1963 |
Lonely Boy (Roman Kroitor, Wolf Koenig) |
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| 1964 |
À tout prendre (Robert Hershorn, Claude Jutra) & Pour la suite du monde (Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault, Jacques Bobet) |
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| 1965 |
The Luck of Ginger Coffey (Leon Roth) |
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| 1966 |
Astataïon ou Le festin des morts (André Belleau) & The Mills of the Gods: Viet Nam (Beryl Fox, Douglas Leiterman) |
|
Ron Kelly (The Gift) |
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| 1967 |
Warrendale (Allan King) |
Helicopter Canada (Eugene Boyko) |
Ron Kelly (The Last Man in the World) & Allan King (Warrendale) |
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| 1968 |
The Ernie Game (Walford Hewitson, Gordon Burwash) & A Place to Stand (Christopher Chapman) |
Pas de deux (Norman McLaren) |
Don Owen (The Ernie Game) |
Gerard Parkes (Isabel) |
Geneviève Bujold (Isabel) |
| 1969 |
The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar (John Kemeny, Barrie Howells, Peter Pearson) |
Does Anybody Here Know Denny? (Margot Kidder) & Vertige (Serge Gerand) |
Peter Pearson (The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar) |
Chris Wiggins (The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar) |
Jackie Burroughs (Duclima) |
| 1970 |
To See or Not to See (Robert Verrall, Wolf Koenig, Břetislav Pojar) & Goin' Down the Road (Donald Shebib) |
|
Paul Almond (The Act of the Heart) & Julian Biggs (A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story) |
Doug McGrath, Paul Bradley (Goin' Down the Road) |
Geneviève Bujold (The Act of the Heart) |
| 1971 |
Mon oncle Antoine (Marc Beaudet, Claude Jutra) |
The Only Thing You Know (Clarke Mackey) & Multiscreen Corporation |
Claude Jutra (Mon oncle Antoine) & Michael McKennirey (Atonement) |
Jean Duceppe (Mon oncle Antoine) |
Ann Knox (The Only Thing You Know) |
| 1972 |
Wedding in White (John Vidette) |
|
Gilles Carle (La vraie nature de Bernadette) & André Brassard (Françoise Durocher, Waitress) |
Gordon Pinsent (The Rowdyman) |
Micheline Lanctôt (La vraie nature de Bernadette) |
| 1973 |
Slipstream (James Margellos) |
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David Acomba (Slipstream) & Doug Jackson (The Sloane Affair) & Arthur Lamothe (À bon pied bon oeil) |
Jacques Godin (O.K. ... Laliberté) |
Geneviève Bujold (Kamouraska) |
| 1974 |
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (John Kemeny, Mordecai Richler) |
|
not awarded |
not awarded |
not awarded |
| 1975 |
Les ordres (Claude Godbout, Guy Dufaux, Bernard Lalonde, Michel Brault) |
|
Michel Brault (Les ordres) & Robin Spry (Action: The October Crisis of 1970) |
Stuart Gillard (Why Rock the Boat?) |
Margot Kidder (A Quiet Day in Belfast & Black Christmas) |
| 1976 |
Lies My Father Told Me (Anthony Bedrich, Harry Gulkin) |
The Golden Reel: Lies My Father Told Me (Anthony Bedrich, Harry Gulkin) |
Harvey Hart (Goldenrod) & Donald Brittain and John Kramer (Volcano: An Inquiry Into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry) |
André Mélançon (Partis pour la gloire) |
Marilyn Lightstone (Lies My Father Told Me) |
| 1977 |
J.A. Martin photographe (Jean-Marc Garand) |
The Golden Reel: Why Shoot the Teacher? (Lawrence Hertzog) |
Jean Beaudin (J.A. Martin photographe) & Claude Jutra (Dreamspeaker) |
Len Cariou (One Man) |
Monique Mercure (J.A. Martin photographe) |
| 1978 |
The Silent Partner (Garth Drabinsky, Stephen Young, Joel B. Michaels) |
The Golden Reel: Who Has Seen the Wind (Allan King) |
Daryl Duke (The Silent Partner) & Gilles Carle (L’Âge de la machine) & Bill Mason (Song of the Paddle) |
Richard Gabourie (Three Card Monte) |
Helen Shaver (In Praise of Older Women) |
| Genie Awards from 1980 |