Canadian Screen Award for Best Screenplay

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for the best screenplay for a Canadian film. From 1980 until 2012, the award was presented as part of the Genie Awards ceremony; as of 2013, it is presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

The award's presentation has not always been consistent — in some years, a single award for Best Screenplay has been presented, while in other years separate awards have been presented for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay.

1980s

Year	Nominees	Film
1980 1st Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Janis Allen, Dan Goldberg, Len Blum	Meatballs
	Mireille Dansereau	Heartbreak
	Allan Moyle, John Laing, Stephen Lack	The Rubber Gun
	Jim Osborne	Summer's Children
	Anne Claire Poirier, Marthe Blackburn	A Scream from Silence
	Steven Hilliard Stern	Running
	Adapted screenplay
	Diana Maddox, William Gray	*The Changeling*
	Ted Allan	It Rained All Night the Day I Left
	Jean Beaudin, Marcel Sabourin	Cordelia
	R. J. Dryer, Martin Lager	Jack London's Klondike Fever
	Jean-Claude Lord, Jean Salvy	Chocolate Eclair (Éclair au chocolat)
1981 2nd Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Réjean Ducharme	Good Riddance (Les Bons débarras)
	Marc Rosen	Final Assignment
	Jean-Claude Labrecque, Jacques Benoit	L'Affaire Coffin
	Micheline Lanctôt	L'Homme à tout faire
	Ken Mitchell	The Hounds of Notre Dame
	Adapted screenplay
	Max Fischer	The Lucky Star
	Bernard Slade	Tribute
	Ronald Sutherland, Robin Spry	Suzanne
1982 3rd Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Terry Heffernan	Heartaches
	Clay Borris	Alligator Shoes
	Paul Illidge, James Sanderson	Head On
	Adam Arkin, Ian Sutherland, Morrie Ruvinsky	Improper Channels
	Réjean Ducharme	Happy Memories (Les Beaux souvenirs)
	David Cronenberg	Scanners
	Adapted screenplay
	Roger Lemelin, Gilles Carle	Les Plouffe
	Anne Cameron, Ralph L. Thomas	Ticket to Heaven
	Diana Maddox	The Amateur
1983 4th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	John Hunter	The Grey Fox
	Phil Savath, Laurence Keane, Chris Windsor	Big Meat Eater
	David Lee Henry	Harry Tracy, Desperado
	John Juliani, Sharon Riis	Latitude 55°
	Roger Fournier	Une journée en taxi
	Adapted screenplay
	Richard Paluck, Robert Guza, Jr.	Melanie
	Peter Dion	The Hot Touch
1984 5th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Bob Clark	*A Christmas Story*
	David Cronenberg	Videodrome
	Jack Darcus	Deserters
	Timothy Findley	The Wars
1985 6th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Daniel Petrie	*The Bay Boy*
	Micheline Lanctôt	Sonatine
	Michel Langlois, Léa Pool	La Femme de l'hôtel
	Don Owen	Unfinished Business
1986 7th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Sandy Wilson	My American Cousin
	Lise Lemay-Rousseau	Le Matou
	Mordecai Richler	Joshua Then and Now
	Louise Rinfret, Claude Jutra	La Dame en couleurs
1987 8th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Denys Arcand	Le Déclin de l'empire américain
	Sharon Riis	Loyalties
	Yves Simoneau, Pierre Curzi	Pouvoir intime
	Richard Nichol	Sitting in Limbo
	Michael Jones, Andy Jones	The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood
	Adapted screenplay
	Leon Marr	Dancing in the Dark
	Gordon Pinsent	John and the Missus
	Peter Row	Lost!
1988 9th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Jean-Claude Lauzon	Un Zoo la nuit
	Sally Bochner, John N. Smith, Sam Grana	Train of Dreams
	Atom Egoyan	Family Viewing
	William D. MacGillivray	Life Classes
	Patricia Rozema	I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
1989 10th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Trevor Rhone, Glen Salzman	Milk and Honey
	André Melançon, Jacques Bobet	La Grenouille et la baleine
	Marie-Jose Raymond, Claude Fournier, Michel Cournot	Les Tisserands du pouvoir
	Guy Maddin	Tales from the Gimli Hospital
	Michael Rubbo	Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller
	Adapted screenplay
	Norman Snider, David Cronenberg	Dead Ringers
	Jackie Burroughs	A Winter Tan
	Francis Mankiewicz, Jacques Savoie	The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes)
	Robin Spry, Douglas Bowie	Obsessed
	Phil Savath	The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick

1990s

Year	Nominees	Film
1990 11th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Denys Arcand	Jésus de Montréal
	Anne Wheeler	Bye Bye Blues
	Don McKellar	Roadkill
	Atom Egoyan	Speaking Parts
	Colleen Murphy	Termini Station
	Peter Mettler	The Top of His Head
	Adapted screenplay
	Richard Beattie, L. Elliot Simms	Cold Comfort
	Dany Laferrière, Richard Sadler	Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer
	John Varley	Millennium
1991 12th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Paul Quarrington, Eugene Lipinski	Perfectly Normal
	Claire Wojas	Love Crazy (Amoureux fou)
	Darrell Wasyk	H
	Pierre Falardeau	Le Party
	André Forcier, Jacques Marcotte	An Imaginary Tale (Une Histoire inventée)
	Adapted screenplay
	Brian Moore	Black Robe
	James DeFelice, Anne Wheeler	Angel Square
	Léa Pool, Laurent Gagliardi, Michel Langlois	The Savage Woman (La Demoiselle sauvage)
1992 13th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Jean-Claude Lauzon	Léolo
	Paul Donovan, Bill Fleming	Buried on Sunday
	Paul Tana, Bruno Ramirez	La Sarrasine
	Jeff Schultz	North of Pittsburgh
	Francis Damberger	Solitaire
	Adapted screenplay
	David Cronenberg	Naked Lunch
	Kelly Rebar	Bordertown Café
	Yvon Rivard, Jacques Leduc	La Vie Fantôme
	David Brandes	The Quarrel
	Gail Singer	True Confections
1993 14th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Peggy Thompson	The Lotus Eaters
	Suzette Couture, Pierre Sarrazin	La Florida
	Atom Egoyan	Calendar
	François Girard, Don McKellar	Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
	David King	Harmony Cats
1994 15th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Atom Egoyan	Exotica
	Mina Shum	Double Happiness
	Gilles Desjardins	Les Pots cassés
	Roger Cantin	Matusalem
	Léa Pool	Mouvements du désir
	Adapted screenplay
	Brad Fraser	Love and Human Remains
	Jefferson Lewis	Ordinary Magic
	Paul Quarrington, Richard J. Lewis	Whale Music
1995 16th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Gerald Wexler, Mort Ransen	Margaret's Museum
	Sylvain Guy	Black List (Liste noire)
	Clément Virgo	Rude
	Stephen Williams	Soul Survivor
1996 17th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Pierre Gang	Not Me! (Sous-sol)
	Andrew Rai Berzins	Blood and Donuts
	Gilles Carle	Poor Man's Pudding (Pudding chômeur)
	Donald Martin	Never Too Late
	Peter Wellington, Doug Smith	The Boy's Club
	Adapted screenplay
	David Cronenberg	Crash
	Noel Baker	Hard Core Logo
	Michel Marc Bouchard, Linda Gaboriau	Lilies
	John L'Ecuyer	Curtis's Charm
	Robert Lepage, Marie Brassard	Le Polygraphe
1997 18th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Thom Fitzgerald	The Hanging Garden
	Atom Egoyan	The Sweet Hereafter
	André Forcier	The Countess of Baton Rouge (La Comtesse de Bâton Rouge)
	Gabriel Pelletier, Yves Pelletier, Andrée Pelletier, Ann Burke	Karmina
	Lynne Stopkewich, Angus Fraser	Kissed
1998 19th Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	François Girard, Don McKellar	The Red Violin
	Don McKellar	Last Night
	André Morency, Robert Lepage	Nô
	Allan Scott	Regeneration
	Sooni Taraporevala	Such a Long Journey
1999 20th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Louis Bélanger	Post Mortem
	Bruce McCulloch	Dog Park
	Jeremy Podeswa	The Five Senses
	Léa Pool	Emporte-moi
	Monique Proulx	Le Grand serpent du monde
	Adapted screenplay
	Atom Egoyan	Felicia's Journey
	François Bouvier, Marc Robitaille	Histoires d'hiver
	Jean-Philippe Duval, Alexis Martin	Matroni et moi
	Kim Hogan	Heart of the Sun
	Wayne Johnston	The Divine Ryans
	Monique Proulx, Jean Beaudin	Souvenirs intimes

2000s

Year	Nominees	Film
2000 21st Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Denis Villeneuve	Maelström
	Denys Arcand, J. Jacob Potashnik	Stardom
	Frank Borg	My Father's Angel
	Michel Marc Bouchard, Gilles Desjardins	Les Muses orphelines
	Clement Virgo	Love Come Down
2001 22nd Genie Awards
	Screenplay
	Paul Apak Angilirq	Atanarjuat
	Renny Bartlett	Eisenstein
	Catherine Martin	Mariages
	Judith Thompson	Lost and Delirious
	André Turpin	Un crabe dans la tête
2002 23rd Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Deepa Mehta	Bollywood/Hollywood
	Atom Egoyan	Ararat
	Paul Gross, John Krizanc	Men with Brooms
	Robert Morin	Le Nèg'
	Jean-Phillipe Pearson, Patrice Robitaille, Ricardo Trogi	Québec-Montréal
	Adapted screenplay
	Sharon Riis	Savage Messiah
	Dominique Demers	La Mystérieuse mademoiselle C.
	Patrick McGrath	Spider
	Edward Riche	Rare Birds
	Judith Thompson	Perfect Pie
2003 24th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Denys Arcand	The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares)
	Louis Bélanger	Gaz Bar Blues
	Sébastien Rose	Comment ma mère accoucha de moi durant sa ménopause
	Ken Scott	Seducing Doctor Lewis (La Grande séduction)
	Peter Wellington	Luck
	Adapted screenplay
	Robert Lepage	La Face cachée de la lune
	Maurice Chauvet	Owning Mahowny
	Daniel MacIvor	Marion Bridge
	Charles Martin Smith	The Snow Walker
	Esta Spalding	Falling Angels
2004 25th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Francis Leclerc, Marcel Beaulieu	Mémoires affectives
	Denise Filiatrault	Ma vie en cinémascope
	Federico Hidalgo, Paulina Robles	A Silent Love
	Don McKellar, Michael Goldbach	Childstar
	David "Sudz" Sutherland	Love, Sex and Eating the Bones
	Adapted screenplay
	Luc Dionne, Sylvain Guy	Monica la mitraille
	Joël Champetier, Daniel Roby	La Peau blanche
	Jerry Ciccoritti	Blood
	Todd Klinck, Jaie Laplante, John Palmer	Sugar
	Jacob Tierney	Twist
2005 26th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Jean-Marc Vallée, François Boulay	C.R.A.Z.Y.
	Louise Archambault	Familia
	Michael Dowse	It's All Gone Pete Tong
	Deepa Mehta	Water
	Luc Picard	L'Audition
	Adapted screenplay
	Atom Egoyan	Where the Truth Lies
	Diane Cailhier	Le Survenant
	David Christensen	Six Figures
	Luc Dionne	Aurore
	Nathalie Petrowski	Maman Last Call
2006 27th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Philippe Falardeau	Congorama
	Martin Girard, Ghyslaine Côté	Le secret de ma mère
	Stéphane Lapointe	La Vie secrète des gens heureux
	Ken Scott	Guide de la petite vengeance
	Ken Scott	Maurice Richard
	Adapted screenplay
	Robert Favreau, Gil Courtemanche	Un dimanche à Kigali
	Mike Clattenburg, Robb Wells	Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
	François Létourneau	Cheech
2007 28th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Steven Knight	Eastern Promises
	Denys Arcand	Days of Darkness (L'Âge des ténèbres)
	Douglas Coupland	Everything's Gone Green
	Pierre Lamothe, Claude Lalonde	Les 3 p'tits cochons
	Marc-André Lavoie, Simon Olivier Fecteau and David Gauthier	Bluff
	Adapted screenplay
	Sarah Polley	Away From Her
	Michael Donovan	Shake Hands With the Devil
	Maureen Medved	The Tracey Fragments
2008 29th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Bernard Émond	The Necessities of Life (Ce qu'il faut pour vivre)
	Randall Cole	Real Time
	Travis McDonald	Normal
	Deepa Mehta	Heaven on Earth
	Guillaume Vigneault	Everything Is Fine (Tout est parfait)
	Adapted screenplay
	Marie-Sissi Labrèche, Lyne Charlebois	Borderline
	Richie Mehta, Shaun Mehta	Amal
	Jeremy Podeswa	Fugitive Pieces
2009 30th Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Jacques Davidts	Polytechnique
	David Bezmozgis	Victoria Day
	Atom Egoyan	Adoration
	Émile Gaudreault, Ian Lauzon	Father and Guns (De père en flic)
	Charles Officer, Ingrid Veninger	Nurse.Fighter.Boy
	Adapted screenplay
	Kari Skogland	Fifty Dead Men Walking
	Tony Burgess	Pontypool
	Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Susan Avingaq, Madeline Ivalu	Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain)

2010s

Year	Film	Filmmakers
2010 31st Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Jacob Tierney	The Trotsky
	Peter Stebbings	Defendor
	Adriana Maggs	Grown Up Movie Star
	Louis Bélanger, Alexis Martin	Route 132
	Claude Lalonde	10½
	Adapted screenplay
	Denis Villeneuve	Incendies
	Michael Konyves	Barney's Version
	Lee MacDougall	High Life
	Vic Sarin, Dennis Foon, Catherine Spear	A Shine of Rainbows
	Patrick Senécal	7 Days (Les 7 jours du Talion)
2011 32nd Genie Awards
	Original screenplay
	Ken Scott, Martin Petit	Starbuck
	Anne Émond	Nuit #1
	Eilis Kirwan, Larysa Kondracki	The Whistleblower
	Jean-Marc Vallée	Café de Flore
	Ryan Ward, Matthew Heiti	Son of the Sunshine
	Adapted screenplay
	Philippe Falardeau	Monsieur Lazhar
	Ryan Redford	Oliver Sherman
	Steven Silver	The Bang Bang Club
	David F. Shamoon	In Darkness
2012 1st Canadian Screen Awards
	Original screenplay
	Kim Nguyen	War Witch (Rebelle)
	Jason Buxton	Blackbird
	Xavier Dolan	Laurence Anyways
	Bernard Émond	All That You Possess (Tout ce que tu possèdes)
	Michael McGowan	Still Mine
	Adapted screenplay
	Salman Rushdie	Midnight's Children
	Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg	Goon
	David Cronenberg	Cosmopolis
	Anita Doron	The Lesser Blessed
	Martin Villeneuve	Mars and April (Mars et Avril)
2013 2nd Canadian Screen Awards
	Original screenplay
	Shannon Masters	Empire of Dirt
	Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais, Marc Tulin	Whitewash
	Richie Mehta	Siddharth
	Sébastien Pilote	The Dismantling (Le Démantèlement)
	Jonathan Sobol	The Art of the Steal
	Adapted screenplay
	Elan Mastai	The F Word
	Michel Marc Bouchard, Xavier Dolan	Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme)
	Javier Gullón	Enemy
	Robert Lepage	Triptyque
	Ken Scott, Michael Dowse	The Grand Seduction
2014 3rd Canadian Screen Awards
	Original screenplay
	Xavier Dolan	Mommy
	Pearl Ball-Harding, Albert Shin	In Her Place
	Atom Egoyan, David Fraser	The Captive
	Stéphane Lafleur	Tu dors Nicole
	Bruce Wagner	Maps to the Stars
	Adapted screenplay
	Nicolas Billon	Elephant Song
	Scott Abramovitch	The Calling
	Joel Thomas Hynes	Cast No Shadow
2015 4th Canadian Screen Awards
	Original screenplay
	Benjamin August	Remember
	Anne Émond	Our Loved Ones (Les Êtres chers)
	Philippe Falardeau	My Internship in Canada (Guibord s'en va-t'en-guerre)
	Matthew Hansen	Zoom
	André Turpin	Endorphine
	Adapted screenplay
	Emma Donoghue	Room
	Josh Epstein, Kyle Rideout	Eadweard
	Wiebke von Carolsfeld	The Saver

v t e Canadian Screen Awards
By year	2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Canadian Film Awards (film, 1949–1978)	1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1977 1978
Genie Awards (film, 1979–2012)	1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990/91 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
ACTRA Awards (television, 1972–1986)	1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Gemini Awards (television, 1986–2012)	1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Film awards by category	Motion Picture Lead Performance, Comedy Lead Performance, Drama Supporting Performance, Comedy Supporting Performance, Drama Director Animated Short Art Direction and Production Design Casting Cinematography Cinematography in a Documentary Costume Design Editing Editing in a Documentary Feature Length Documentary Hair Live Action Short Makeup Original Music in a Documentary Original Score Original Song Performance in a Short Film Screenplay (Original and Adapted) Short Documentary Sound Editing Sound Mixing Sound Design in a Documentary Stunt Coordination Visual Effects Golden Screen John Dunning Best First Feature Award
Television awards by category	Comedy Series Drama Series TV Movie Children's or Youth Fiction Series Children's or Youth Non-Fiction Series Pre-School Series Reality/Competition Series Leading Performance, Comedy Leading Performance, Drama Supporting Performance, Comedy Supporting Performance, Drama Direction, Children's or Youth Performance, Children's or Youth Writing, Children's or Youth Casting Academy Achievement Award Donald Brittain Award Earle Grey Award Gordon Sinclair Award Margaret Collier Award Rob Stewart Award
Discontinued awards	Bijou Awards (1981) Actor (1968-2022) Actor - Non-Feature (1969–81) Actress (1968-2022) Actress - Non-Feature (1969–81) Lead Performance in a Film (2022) Lead Actor, Comedy Series (1986-2022) Lead Actor, Drama Series (1986-2022) Lead Actress, Comedy Series (1986-2022) Lead Actress, Drama Series (1986-2022) Supporting Actor, Comedy Series (1986-2022) Supporting Actor, Drama Series (1986-2022) Supporting Actress, Comedy Series (1986-2022) Supporting Actress, Drama Series (1986-2022) Foreign Actor (1980–83) Foreign Actress (1980–83) Supporting Actor (1968-2022) Supporting Actress (1968-2022) Supporting Performance in a Film (2022) Theatrical Short (1949–96) Children's or Youth Program (1986-2002) Host, Children's or Youth Program (2008-2016) Individual or Ensemble Performance in a Comedy (1992-2000) Ensemble Performance in a Comedy (2001-2011) Individual Performance in a Comedy (2001-2010) John Drainie Award (1968-2000) Special Achievement Foster Hewitt Award (1975-1986) Wendy Michener Award (1969-1978) Diversity Award (1992-2016)
Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Note: Awards by year articles are listed here by the year of eligibility for nomination; due to variable scheduling of the ceremonies, this is not always the same year in which the awards were presented.