It was an eventful week for Canadian TV and film as the Canadian Screen Awards winners were announced throughout Canadian Screen Week. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) was proud to see many of our members represented both in wins and nominations across multiple categories, for productions ranging from newscasts to entertainment and lifestyle programming.
“With 60 wins and 240 nominations, Canada’s private broadcasters are showing that they are powerhouses in Canadian TV, serving not only as platforms for exceptional, diverse content but as producers as well,” says CAB President Kevin Desjardins. “The value they bring to our cultural landscape as storytellers and news leaders is reflected in these well-deserved accolades.”
We know that our private broadcasters are the largest source of news and information programming for Canadians, so it is no surprise that they won several major news awards, including Best National Newscast and Best News Anchor, National for Global National News and host Dawna Friesen. Additionally, CTV W5 won for Best News or Information Segment and Best Host and Interviewer for Avery Haines. APTN Investigates won the Best News or Information Program award for In Plain Sight, which follows an investigation into the sexual exploitation of women, particularly Indigenous women and girls, in Kenora, Ontario.
Several reality competition and lifestyle series that Canadians know and love were also recognized, with Crave’s Canada’s Drag Race, CTV’s Amazing Race and CTV Life Channel’s Mary Makes It Easy sweeping many of the awards in their categories. Not only that, but Citytv’s police procedural drama Hudson & Rex took home the Audience Choice Award, and Cityline host Tracy Moore won the special Changemaker award.
We also saw sports coverage from Canada’s private broadcasters recognized, with Sportsnet winning the Best Direction, Live Sports Event award for their coverage of one of last year’s Stanley Cup Final games and the Best Sports Analyst award for Hockey Night in Canada’s Craig Simpson. TSN won awards for Best Live Sports Event, Best Sports Feature Segment, Best Sports Opening, and Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer for Gord Miller.
Educational programming for ages ranging from pre-school to adult were also recognized, with Family Jr.’s Fabulous Show With Fay and Fluffy winning the Shaw Rocket Fund Kids’ Choice Award. History’s BLK: An Origin Story won several awards in the documentary series categories, including Best Direction and Best Writing, and W Network’s Sex With Sue won Best Documentary Program.
The CAB congratulates its members on this strong showing at the awards. For the full list of nominees and winners, visit academy.ca.