| Title |
Director |
Cast |
Genre |
Notes |
| All in Good Taste | Anthony Kramreither | Jonathan Welsh, Jim Carrey | Comedy | |
| Au clair de la lune ( in English, By the Light of the Moon) | André Forcier | Michel Côté, Pierre Girard | Fantasy drama | |
| Boys and Girls | Don McBrearty | Megan Follows, David Fox | Short | Oscar winner |
| A Christmas Story | Bob Clark | Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley, Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz | Comedy | Based on short stories by Jean Shepherd; Genie Awards – Director, Screenplay; made with U.S. financing |
| Cross Country | Paul Lynch | Richard Beymer, Nina Axelrod, Brent Carver, Michael Ironside | Drama | |
| Dead Zone | David Cronenberg | Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Martin Sheen, Colleen Dewhurst | Drama | Based on a Stephen King story |
| Deserters | Jack Darcus | Alan Scarfe, Dermot Hennelly | Drama | |
| Flamenco at 5:15 | Cynthia Scott | | National Film Board documentary | Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject |
| Flasha: Exile of the Black Jews | Simcha Jacobovici | | Documentary | |
| For Those I Loved | Robert Enrico | Michael York, Brigitte Fossey, Helen Hughes | Drama | Canada-France co-production |
| Going Berserk | David Steinberg | John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Pat Hingle, Alley Mills | Comedy | |
| If You Love This Planet | Terri Nash | Helen Caldicott | National Film Board documentary | Oscar winner; labeled subversive by U.S. gov. |
| Losin' It | Curtis Hanson | Tom Cruise, Jackie Earle Haley, John Stockwell, Shelley Long, John Navin | Comedy | Released just prior to Tom Cruise's breakout role in Risky Business and made with U.S. financing. |
| Maria Chapdelaine | Gilles Carle | Carole Laure, Nick Mancuso | historical drama | Based on the novel by Louis Hémon; Genie Awards – Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes |
| Narcissus | Norman McLaren | Jean-Louis Morin | | Norman McLaren's final film |
| Of Unknown Origin | George P. Cosmatos | Peter Weller, Jennifer Dale, Kenneth Welsh | Horror | Made with U.S. financing |
| Porky's II: The Next Day | Bob Clark | Don Monahan, Wyatt Knight, Mark Herrier, Roger Wilson, Bill Wiley | Teen comedy | Made with U.S. financing |
| Rock & Rule | Clive A. Smith | voices Greg Salata, Susan Roman | Animated musical | |
| Running Brave | Don Shebib | Robby Benson, Pat Hingle, August Schellenberg, Graham Greene | Bio-drama on the life of Billy Mills | |
| Skullduggery | Ota Richter | David Calderisi, Wendy Crewson | Horror | |
| Siege | Paul Donovan | Doug Lennox, Tom Nardini | Thriller | |
| Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone | Lamont Johnson | Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson, Michael Ironside | Futuristic adventure | In 3D; made with U.S. financing |
| Stations | William D. MacGillivray | Mike Jones | Drama | |
| Strange Brew | Rick Moranis Dave Thomas | Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Max von Sydow | Comedy | The adventures of the Bob and Doug McKenzie from SCTV; Golden Reel Award |
| The Tin Flute | Claude Fournier | Mireille Deyglun, Marilyn Lightstone, Michel Forget | | Based on the Gabrielle Roy novel |
| The Terry Fox Story | Ralph L. Thomas | Robert Duvall, Eric Fryer, Chris Makepeace, Rosalind Chao | Bio-drama of amputee Terry Fox's run across Canada | Genie Awards – Picture, Actor (Fryer), Supporting Actor (Zelniker), Editing, Sound |
| Ups & Downs | Paul Almond | Colin Skinner, Andrew Sabiston | Drama | |
| Utilities | Harvey Hart | Robert Hays, Brooke Adams, John Marley | Drama | |
| Videodrome | David Cronenberg | James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Les Carlson | Sci-fi drama | Genie Award - Director |
| The Wars | Robin Phillips | Brent Carver, Martha Henry, William Hutt, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Jackie Burroughs | Family drama | Based on the novel by Timothy Findley; Genie Awards – Actress (Henry), Supporting Actress (Burroughs) |
