Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has two different versions: the English-language Canada Reads on CBC Radio One, and the French-language Le Combat des livres on Ici Radio-Canada Première.
The English version has been on the air every year since 2002. The French version was on the air from 2004 to 2014, then stopped. It started again in 2018.
In 2021, another part of CBC, called CBC Music, launched Canada Listens. This program used a similar format, with people discussing five classic albums by Canadian musicians. In 2023, CBC Kids introduced CBC Kids Reads, a feature that uses a similar format to highlight children's picture books.
Overview
During Canada Reads, five people support five different books, each person talking about the good points of one book. The debate happens over five programs. At the end of each episode, the panelists vote to remove one book from the competition until only one book is left. This book is then called the book that all of Canada should read.
CBC Radio producer Peter Kavanagh suggested the idea of a national radio book campaign in the fall of 2001. Later that year, Talin Vartanian created Canada Reads and designed the program’s structure: an annual campaign to choose a book for the nation to read. She proposed the idea of five panelists, each supporting a different book in a national on-air debate. Vartanian was the producer of the first edition (with Kavanagh), then she became the executive producer from 2002 to 2007. In 2007, the program had an "All Star Edition," a reunion of the winning panelists from the first five years. From 2007 to 2017, Ann Jansen produced the program.
Canada Reads first aired on CBC’s Radio One in 2002 and has been broadcast every year on radio since then. The third and fourth editions were also shown on television on CBC Newsworld. These broadcasts happened from February 16 to February 20, 2004, and February 21 to February 25, 2005, respectively. The seventh edition was also shown on Bold TV, from February 25 to February 29. Starting with the third edition, the daily debates were available online and on Radio One. The fifth edition aired from April 17 to April 21, 2006. The sixth edition was broadcast from February 25 to March 2, 2007. The seventh edition of Canada Reads aired from February 25 to February 29, 2008, and for the first time, it was available as a podcast.
The books chosen for each edition of Canada Reads are announced several months before the programs air. These books must be Canadian fiction, poetry, or plays. They are promoted in bookstores, in the hope that the Canada Reads audience will buy and read them before the programs air. In some cases, publishers have created special editions of the nominated books.
The publisher of the winning Canada Reads book gives part of the money from book sales to a charity that works to improve literacy. Charities that have received donations include Frontier College, the Movement for Canadian Literacy, ABC Life Literacy Canada (formerly ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation), and Laubach Literacy of Canada.
Starting in 2004, Radio-Canada, the French-language service of the CBC, made a French version of Canada Reads called Le Combat des livres ("Battle of the Books"). It was broadcast on Première Chaîne until 2014, after which it was stopped for three years before returning in 2018.
Both the English and French versions of Canada Reads sometimes include one person who is usually associated with the other language community, who supports a translated work. One advocate, Maureen McTeer, appeared on both programs in the same year, supporting the same novel in both its original English and translated French versions. Several other books have been chosen for both programs, though their English and French editions were not supported by the same advocate or in the same year. One book, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (French title Aminata), has won both competitions.
2002
Canada Reads 2002 took place from April 16 to 19, 2002. The winning book was announced on April 23, 2002, which was Canada Book Day. Mary Walsh was the moderator of the event.
2004
The Canada Reads 2004 program was broadcast on CBC Radio and CBC Newsworld from February 16 to 20, 2004. Bill Richardson served as the moderator during this time.
2005
The Canada Reads 2005 event was aired from February 21 to February 25, 2005. Bill Richardson was the moderator again.
2007
Canada Reads 2007 took place from February 26 to March 2, 2007. Bill Richardson hosted the competition once again. For the 2007 event, five previous winners from earlier seasons returned to support new books in a special edition of the series.
2011
Canada Reads 2011 took place from February 7 to 10, 2011. The organizers changed the format for the 2011 contest. In October 2010, an online vote was held to choose the 40 "most essential" Canadian novels from the past 10 years. Panelists selected books from this list. Only novels, not short story collections, were allowed to be considered. However, novels that had previously been part of a Canada Reads competition could still be nominated again.
2012
The books in this edition were all non-fiction. In October 2011, a list of 40 non-fiction books was announced as the shortlist finalists. These included And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat, Shake Hands with the Devil by Romeo Dallaire, The Last Spike by Pierre Berton, The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs, and Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan. Listeners could vote for up to five books they wanted to be shortlisted. The debates took place from February 6 to 9, 2012, and were moderated by Jian Ghomeshi.
On the first day of discussions, panelist Anne-France Goldwater caused surprise and anger among literary people by calling Carmen Aguirre "a bloody terrorist" and claiming that Marina Nemat "tells a story that's not true." In response, Marina Nemat wrote on Facebook, "I hope [Goldwater] can provide evidence to support her claims. If not, I would like a public apology from her." Nemat’s book Prisoner of Tehran was the first to be eliminated, with Stacey McKenzie casting the tie-breaking vote. Arlene Dickinson, the panelist defending Prisoner of Tehran, said McKenzie’s vote was "the wrong choice for the wrong reason."
2013
The theme for 2013 was "Turf Wars," with each advocate and title representing one of Canada's major geographic regions: British Columbia, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces. The books and panelists for 2013 were announced on November 29, 2012, on the TV show Q. The debates took place from February 11 to 14, 2013.
2014
The theme for the year was "A Novel to Change Our Nation." On November 27, 2013, books and panelists were announced on a program called Q. Jian Ghomeshi led the event.
2015
The 2015 version of Canada Reads was led by Wab Kinew. The topic of the talks was "One Book to Break Barriers." The books and people involved were announced on January 20, 2015. The debates happened from March 16 to March 19.
2016
In 2016, Canada Reads was hosted by Gill Deacon and focused on the theme "Starting Over." The panelists and book titles were announced on January 20, 2016. The debates happened from March 21 to March 24.
2017
The 2017 edition of Canada Reads was hosted by Ali Hassan, with the theme "The Book Canadians Need Now." Panelists and book titles were announced on January 31, 2017, and the debates occurred from March 27 to March 30.
Note: Tamara Taylor was originally chosen as the advocate for Company Town but had to leave because of a scheduling conflict with her Netflix series Altered Carbon. Measha Brueggergosman was named as her replacement on March 9, 2017.
2018
The 2018 Canada Reads event was hosted by Ali Hassan, with the theme "One Book to Open Your Eyes." Panelists and book titles were announced on January 30, 2018. The debates happened from March 26 to March 29.
2019
The 2019 edition of Canada Reads was moderated by Ali Hassan with the theme "One Book to Move You." The books and panelists were announced on January 31, 2019. The debates took place from March 25 to March 28.
2020
The 2020 edition of Canada Reads was led by Ali Hassan with the theme "One Book to Bring Canada into Focus." The books and panelists were introduced on January 22, 2020. The debates were originally planned for March 16 to 19; however, because the debates usually happen in a theater with a live audience, they were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. In the meantime, the CBC created a series of five special programs, each highlighting one of the five chosen books through interviews with the author and the advocate, to replace the original debates. In July, it was announced that the debates would occur during the week of July 20 to 23.
2021
The 2021 debates happened during the week of March 8 to 11, 2021. Ali Hassan led the debates, and the theme was "One Book to Transport Us." In 2021, CBC Music started a program called Canada Listens. This program used the Canada Reads format to discuss five albums by Canadian musicians. Saroja Coelho hosted the Canada Listens debates, which were broadcast on Mornings. These debates took place during the week of April 12 to 15.
2022
The 2022 debates happened from March 28 to March 31, 2022, and were led by Ali Hassan. The theme of the debates was "One Book to Connect Us."
The second Canada Listens debates were held from April 11 to April 14, 2022, and were hosted by Saroja Coelho on CBC Music's Mornings. This event led to the first tie in the history of the Canada Reads franchise, as two albums won the final vote together.
2023
The 2023 debates happened from March 27 to March 30. Ali Hassan moderated the events, which focused on the theme "One Book to Shift Your Perspective."
In 2023, CBC Kids introduced CBC Kids Reads, a younger version of the Canada Reads program. This new edition highlighted illustrated books for younger readers. Unlike Canada Reads, CBC Kids Reads did not choose a winning book but instead recognized six titles that were important for young readers. The program aired on CBC Kids from March 27 to March 30, 2023. The six books were supported by hosts of CBC Kids morning shows.
2024
The 2024 debates occurred from March 4 to March 7 and were led by Ali Hassan. The debates focused on the theme "One Book to Carry Us Forward." Heather O'Neill became the first person to take part and win Canada Reads. She won as an author when her book Lullabies for Little Criminals was chosen in 2007. She also won as a supporter when she promoted The Future by Catherine Leroux in the 2024 competition.
A new version of CBC Kids Reads was introduced, highlighting six illustrated books for younger readers. The hosts of CBC Kids returned as supporters. Unlike the previous version, a winner was chosen among the books on March 7, 2024.
2025
The 2025 edition of CBC Kids Reads happened from March 17 to 20. The event focused on the theme "books that change how we see, share, and experience the world around us." Ali Hassan was the moderator. The books that competed and their supporters were announced on January 23.
A third edition of CBC Kids Reads was announced, showcasing five illustrated books for younger readers. The books were supported by the hosts of CBC Kids and a celebrity advocate. The winner was chosen from the list of featured books on October 4, 2025.
2026
The 2026 event took place from April 13 through 16. The theme was "one book to build bridges," and Ali Hassan was the moderator. The competing titles and advocates were announced on January 22. The winner was announced on April 16, 2026.
Success
Canada Reads is a program designed to encourage people to read and buy books. It has been very successful in achieving this goal. Even books that were already popular have sold more copies because they were part of the contest. For example, the book In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje sold 80,000 more copies in 2002, the year it was included in Canada Reads. Its publisher, Random House of Canada, said that much of this increase was because of the contest.
Books that were not well known before also saw large increases in sales. For instance, Next Episode by Hubert Aquin sold 18,500 copies in the year it won Canada Reads.
In 2005, the book Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin usually sells about 200 copies each year. However, during the time when Canada Reads nominations were announced and the shows began airing, sales increased to 7,500 copies. At the same time, 7,000 copies of Rockbound by Frank Parker Day were sent out by its publisher, the University of Toronto Press.
Many community groups have also organized local events to celebrate the books on the Canada Reads shortlist. For example, the Greater Sudbury Public Library in Sudbury created an event called "Sudbury Reads." During this event, community members discussed and debated the books on the Canada Reads list to choose the city's favorite book from the selection.
Criticism
Canada Reads has faced some criticism. One concern is the use of celebrity panelists. In 2007, a listener named John Mutford tried but failed to become the first non-celebrity panelist. Some people also disagree with the game show format, arguing that discussions about the books often lack depth.
The selection of books has also been questioned. At first, each panelist picked five books, and producers chose the final ones. In 2005, this changed, and each panelist was allowed to select only one book. Due to scheduling issues, singer Rufus Wainwright could not appear after choosing his book. Instead, singer Molly Johnson was selected to defend his chosen book.