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Canada Reads

Past Canada Reads contenders and winners

Get to know the past books, panellists and authors of CBC's battle of the books.

Here are the past books, panellists and authors of CBC'sannual battle of the books.

2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016| 2017| 2018| 2019| 2020| 2021| 2022| 2023| 2024

2024

A woman with short hair wearing a flowy white top hold up the book The Future.
Award-winning author Heather O'Neill wins Canada Reads 2024. She championed the novel The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou. (Joanna Roselli/CBC)

The Future by Catherine Leroux and translated by Susan Ouriou won Canada Reads 2024. It was championed by Heather O'Neill.

The Futureis set in an alternate history of Detroit where the French never surrendered the city to the U.S. Its residents deal with poverty, pollution and a legacy of racism. When Gloria, a woman looking for answers about her missing granddaughters, arrives in the city, she finds a kingdom of orphaned and abandoned children who have created their own society.

The other 2024 contenders were:

2023

Jeopardy! champion Mattea Roach wins Canada Reads 2023. They championed the graphic memoir Ducks by Kate Beaton.
Jeopardy! champion Mattea Roach wins Canada Reads 2023. They championed the graphic memoir Ducks by Kate Beaton. (Joanna Roselli/CBC)

DucksbyKate BeatonwonCanada Reads2023. It was championed byMattea Roach.

Ducksis an autobiographical graphic memoir that recounts authorBeaton'stime spent working in the Alberta oil sands. After getting a job in the campsto pay off her student debt, she recounts her experiences with economic migration, sexism and environmental destruction through an illustrated narrative.

The other 2023 contenders were:

2022

Christian Allaire is championing Five Little Indians by Michelle Good. (Jeremy Gilbert/CBC)

Five Little IndiansbyMichelle GoodwonCanada Reads2022. It was championed byChristian Allaire.

Good's novel follows five survivors of the residential school system, as they deal with the trauma from their past while trying to build a future in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.

The other 2022 contenders were:

2021

Devery Jacobs won Canada Reads 2021 defending Joshua Whiteheads novel Jonny Appleseed. (CBC, Arsenal Pulp Press)

Jonny AppleseedbyJoshua Whiteheadwon Canada Reads 2021. It was championedby actorDevery Jacobs.

Whitehead's novel Jonny Appleseedis about Jonny,a Two-Spirit Indigiqueer young manwho has left the reserve and becomes a cybersex worker in the big city to make ends meet. But hemust reckon with his past when he returns home to attend his stepfather's funeral.

The other 2021contenders were:

2020

Amanda Brugel defended We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib on Canada Reads 2020. (CBC)

We Have Always Been Hereby Samra Habibwon Canada Reads 2020. It wasdefended by actorAmanda Brugel.

Habib's memoirWe Have Always Been Hereis an exploration of the ways we disguise and minimize ourselves for the sake of survival. As a child, Habib hid her faith from Islamic extremists in Pakistan and later, as a refugee in Canada, endured racist bullying and the threat of an arranged marriage. In travelling the world and exploring art and sexuality, Habib searches for the truth of her identity.

The other 2020 contenders were:

2019

Ziya Tong is defending Max Eisen's memoir By Chance Alone on Canada Reads 2019. (CBC)

By Chance Alone by Max Eisenwon Canada Reads 2019. It wasdefended by science journalist and broadcasterZiya Tong.

WhenEisenwas 15 years old, he and his family were taken from their home to Auschwitz, whereEisenworked as a slave labourer. He survived the Holocaust and emigrated to Canada in 1949.Eisenhas toured the world, educating people about the horrors he survived during the Second World War. He has recorded his memories in the deeply moving memoirBy Chance Alone.

The other 2019 contenders were:

2018

Jeanne Beker hosted the show FashionTelevision for 27 years. (CBC/HarperCollins Canada)

Forgiveness by Mark Sakamotowon Canada Reads 2018.It was defended by fashion journalist and broadcasterJeanneBeker.

Sakamoto's memoirForgivenesstells the true story of how his grandparents survived two very different experiences of the war. His paternal grandmother was one of many JapaneseCanadians forced into internment camps during World War II, while his maternal grandfather was a prisoner of war in Japan.These stories of survival and reconciliationshaped him as a Canadian, a man and a father.

The other 2018 contenders were:

2017

Humble The Poet is a rapper, author and spoken word artist. (Craig Cooper/Coach House Books/Fabiola Carletti)

Fifteen DogsbyAndr Alexiswon Canada Reads 2017. It was defended by spoken word artistHumble The Poet.

In the novelFifteen Dogs,the godsHermes and Apollo place a wager over pints in Toronto's Wheat Sheaf Tavernand15 dogs are given the "gift" of human intelligence.It's thefirst book to win bothCanada Readsand the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

The other 2017 contenders were:

2016

Clara Hughes is a five-time Olympic medallist. (Simon and Schuster/HarperCollins/CBC)

The Illegal by Lawrence Hill, won Canada Reads 2016. It was defended by Olympian Clara Hughes.

The Illegal is a novel thatcentres on a marathon runner, as itexamines the struggle of undocumented refugees in a dystopian future, with themes of race, discriminationand politics woven throughout.

The other 2016 contenders were:

2015

Cameron Bailey is the artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival. (Vintage Canada/Frank Gunn, CP)

Ru by Kim Thy, translated by Sheila Fischman,won Canada Reads 2015.It was defended by the Toronto International Film Festival's artistic director, Cameron Bailey.

In vignettes that shift back and forth between past and present,Rutells the story of a young woman forced to leave her Saigon home during the Vietnam War and follows the woman's journey from childhood in an affluent Saigon neighbourhood to youth in a crowded Malaysian refugee camp and then to Quebec, where she struggles to fit in.

2014

Wab Kinew is a former broadcaster and current MPP in Manitoba. He hosted Canada Reads in 2015. (Hamish Hamilton)

The Orendaby Joseph Boyden won Canada Reads 2014. It was defended by journalist, broadcaster and musicianWab Kinew.

The Orenda is a novel about the early contact between a Jesuit missionary named Christophe and the First Nations people in what is now northern Ontario in the 17th century. The novel is told from the perspective of Christophe, a young Iroquois girl named Snow Falls and a Huron elder named Bird, who kidnapped Snow Falls,asthe three cultures clash and a new world emerges.

The other 2014 contenders were:

2013

Trent McClellan is a stand-up comedian from Corner Brook, N.L. (House of Anansi Press)

February by Lisa Moore won Canada Reads 2013. It was defended by comedian Trent McClellan.

February was inspired by the true story of the sinking of an Ocean Ranger oil rig off the coast of Newfoundland on Valentine's Day in 1982.February is the story of Helen O'Mara, whose husband Cal was one of the crew members who died, and how the accident impacted her life and the Newfoundland community in the years that followed.

The other 2013 contenders were:

  • The Age of Hope by David Bergen, defended by Ron MacLean
  • Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan, defended by Jay Baruchel
  • Away by Jane Urquhart, defended by Charlotte Gray
  • Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, defended by Carol Huynh

2012

In addition to his time hosting q, Shad has also won a Juno Award and has been shortlisted for the Polaris Prize for his music. (Vintage Canada/CBC)

Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre won Canada Reads 2012. It wasdefended bymusician Shad.

Something Fierce is Aguirre's memoir. Her family fledChile after the rise ofGeneral Augusto Pinochet. Her mother later returned to Chile to set up a safe house for members of the resistance, and when Carmen grew up, she too joined the revolution.

The other 2012 contenders were:

2011

Ali Velshi is the chief business correspondent for NBC News. (Emblem Editions)

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis won Canada Reads 2011. It was defended by journalist and broadcaster Ali Velshi.

The Best Laid Plans is a humorous novel about engineering professorAngus McLintock, who agrees to run in a federal election because he knows he will lose. When he unexpectedly wins, he must navigate Canadian politics and his idealism and pragmatism makes him a unique character on Parliament Hill. The Best Laid Plans alsowon the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for humour.

The other 2011 contenders were:

2010

Defender Michel Vzina is an author, actor and clown from Quebec. (Roline Laporte/Vintage Canada/Penguin Random House)

Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner, translated by Lazer Lederhendler, won Canada Reads 2010. It was defended by writer and columnist Michel Vzina.

Nikolski is a playful novel about all the invisible and unexpected ways we are connected. It follows three people living in Montreal in the 1980s: a 20-something Acadian named Joyce, a traveller named Noah who is fascinated with garbage, and the unnamed narrator who is guided by a mysterious compass.Nikolski also won the Governor General's Literary Award for translation in 2008.

The other 2010 contenders were:

2009

Avi Lewis is a documentary filmmaker and former host on Al Jazeera and on the CBC. (CP/HarperCollins)

The Book of Negroesby Lawrence Hill won Canada Reads 2009.It was defended byfilmmaker and journalist Avi Lewis.

The Book of Negroesis a portrayal of the brutal realities of the slave trade told through one woman's life. Aminata Diallo is kidnapped from her village in Niger and brought to South Carolina to work as a slave at the age of 11. After eventually winning her freedom, Diallo goes on to face decades of struggle and adversity, but later becomes a driving force in the abolitionist movement in Britain.Its French translation version,Aminata, also won the French-language showLe combat national des livresin 2013.

The other 2009 contenders were:

2008

Dave Bidini was a founding member of the band Rheostatics. (Anchor Canada)

King Leary by Paul Quarrington won Canada Reads 2008. It wasdefended by musician Dave Bidini.

King Leary is the humorous story of Percival Leary, who was once a great hockey player but is now largely forgotten. Livingin a nursing home andreflecting on his career as a professional hockey player, hedecides to have one last go at being the"King of the Ice."

The other 2008 contenders were:

2007

John K. Samson is the frontman of the band the Weakerthans. (Leif Norman/HarperCollins)

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill won Canada Reads 2007. It wasdefended by musician John K. Samson.

Lullabies for Little Criminals is a novel about a 13-year-old girl named Baby, who lives in Montreal. Baby's mother is gone and her father is a drug addict who pays little attention to his daughter. Baby catches the eye of a local pimp and ends up caught up in his seedy world. Baby soon realizes that if she wants to get out and build a better life, it's up to her she has no one else to rely on and no one else to trust.

2007was the "all-star" edition of Canada Reads, the five defenders were the previous champions.

The other 2007contenders were:

2006

Defender John K. Samson was a bass player for the Winnipeg band Propagandhi. (Leif Norman/Vintage Canada)

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toewswon Canada Reads 2006. It wasdefended by musician John K. Samson.

A Complicated Kindnessis a novel about a 16-year-old named Nomi Nickel. Nomi wants nothing more than to live in New York, hanging out with her idols like Marianne Faithfull. Instead, she's stuck in a small town in Manitoba, where nothing ever happens and no fun is allowed thanks to Nomi's uncle Hans, who runs the town.

A Complicated Kindnessalso won the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.

The other 2006 contenders were:

2005

Donna Morrissey is an author from Newfoundland. (University of Toronto Press/Mount Alison University)

Rockbound by Frank Parker Day won Canada Reads 2005.It was defended by author Donna Morrissey.

Rockboundis a novel that was first published in 1928.Rockbound is the story of an island off the coast of Nova Scotia. The island is isolated, the weather is difficult and harsh, but the surrounding fishing is rich. Two families, the Jungs and the Krauses, live on the island but have been feuding for years. WhenDavid Jungreturns to the island to claim his inheritance, the many conflicts that define the island clashfiercely.

The other 2005 contenders were:

2004

Jim Cuddy is a founding member of the band Blue Rodeo. (Chris Young, CP/Emblem Editions/Grant McConnell)

The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe won Canada Reads 2004. It wasdefended bymusician Jim Cuddy.

The Last Crossing is about two brothers,Charles and Addington Gaunt, who set out to find their third brother, Simon. Simon has gone missing in the American West. Along the way, Charles and Addington must navigate awild and unknown landscape, and encounter several unforgettable characters who join their quest.

The other 2004 contenders were:

2003

Denise Bombardier is a journalist and media personality with Radio Canada. (New Canadian Library)

Next Episode by Hubert Aquin, translated by Sheila Fischman, won Canada Reads 2003. It was defended by journalist and broadcaster Denise Bombardier.

Next Episodeis a novel that explores the politics of contemporary Quebec. A young separatist has been detainedfor months in thepsychiatric ward of aMontreal prison, passing his timeby writing a story of espionage.Next Episodewas first published in 1965.

The other 2003 contenders were:

2002

Steven Page was a founding member of the band the Barenaked Ladies. (Vintage Canada/CBC)

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatjewon Canada Reads 2002. It wasdefended by musician Steven Page.

In the Skin of a Lionbrings togetheradventure, romance and history in a story about the immigrants that built Toronto in the 1920s and 1930s, working on projects like the R.C. Harris water treatment plant and the Prince Edward viaduct.In the Skin of a Lionweaves together true stories from Toronto's past with fictional ones to paint a compelling portrait of people who are often forgotten by history books.

The other 2002 contenders were:

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