| Year |
Winner |
Nominated |
| 1980 |
Bob Clark, Murder by Decree |
- Peter Carter, Klondike Fever
- Anne-Claire Poirier, Mourir à tue-tête
- Donald Shebib, Fish Hawk
- Eric Till, Wild Horse Hank
|
| 1981 |
Francis Mankiewicz, Les bons débarras (Good Riddance) |
- Bob Clark, Tribute
- Zale Dalen, Hounds of Notre Dame
- Jean-Claude Labrecque, L'Affaire Coffin
- Micheline Lanctôt, L'Homme à tout faire
|
| 1982 |
Gilles Carle, Les Plouffe |
- David Cronenberg, Scanners
- Allan King, Silence of the North
- Donald Shebib, Heartaches
- Ralph L. Thomas, Ticket to Heaven
|
| 1983 |
Phillip Borsos, The Grey Fox |
- Rex Bromfield, Melanie
- Jean-Pierre Lefebvre, Les fleurs sauvages
- Robert Ménard, Une journée en taxi
- Eric Till, If You Could See What I Hear
|
| 1984 |
Bob Clark, A Christmas Story
David Cronenberg, Videodrome |
- Bruno Carrière, Lucien Brouillard
- Jack Darcus, Deserters
- André Forcier, Au clair de la lune
- Brigitte Sauriol, Rien qu'un jeu
|
| 1985 |
Micheline Lanctôt, Sonatine |
- Atom Egoyan, Next of Kin
- Jean-Pierre Lefebvre, Le Jour S...
- Don Owen, Unfinished Business
- Léa Pool, La Femme de l'hôtel
|
| 1986 |
Sandy Wilson, My American Cousin |
- Jean Beaudin, Le Matou
- Claude Jutra, La Dame en couleurs
- Ted Kotcheff, Joshua Then and Now
- Giles Walker, 90 Days
|
| 1987 |
Denys Arcand, Le Déclin de l'empire américain (The Decline of the American Empire) |
- Leon Marr, Dancing in the Dark
- Yves Simoneau, Pouvoir intime
- John N. Smith, Sitting in Limbo
- Anne Wheeler, Loyalties
|
| 1988 |
Jean-Claude Lauzon, Un zoo la nuit |
- Atom Egoyan, Family Viewing
- Marquise Lepage, Marie s'en va-t-en ville
- Patricia Rozema, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
- John N. Smith, Train of Dreams
|
| 1989 |
David Cronenberg, Dead Ringers |
- Roger Cardinal, Malarek
- Louise Clark, Jackie Burroughs, John Walker, Aerlyn Weissman and John Frizzell, A Winter Tan
- Francis Mankiewicz, Les Portes tournantes
- Anne Wheeler, Cowboys Don't Cry
|
| 1990 |
Denys Arcand, Jésus de Montréal (Jesus of Montreal) |
- François Bouvier and Jean Beaudry, Les Matins infidèles
- Atom Egoyan, Speaking Parts
- John N. Smith, Welcome to Canada
- Anne Wheeler, Bye Bye Blues
|
| 1991 |
Bruce Beresford, Black Robe |
- Phillip Borsos, Bethune: The Making of a Hero
- Atom Egoyan, The Adjuster
- André Forcier, Une histoire inventée
- Darrell Wasyk, H
|
| 1992 |
David Cronenberg, Naked Lunch |
- Jean Beaudin, Being at Home with Claude
- Eli Cohen, The Quarrel
- Jean-Claude Lauzon, Léolo
- Robert Morin, Requiem pour un beau sans-coeur
|
| 1993 |
François Girard, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould |
- Paule Baillargeon, Le Sexe des étoiles
- Atom Egoyan, Calendar
- George Mihalka, La Florida
- Sandy Wilson, Harmony Cats
|
| 1994 |
Atom Egoyan, Exotica |
- André Forcier, Le Vent du Wyoming
- Micheline Lanctôt, Deux actrices
- Richard J. Lewis, Whale Music
- Léa Pool, Mouvements du désir
- Mina Shum, Double Happiness
|
| Jan. 1996 |
Robert Lepage, Le Confessionnal (The Confessional) |
- Charles Binamé, Eldorado
- Mort Ransen, Margaret's Museum
- Jean-Marc Vallée, Liste Noire
- Clement Virgo, Rude
|
| Nov. 1996 |
David Cronenberg, Crash |
- John Fawcett, The Boys Club
- John Greyson, Lilies
- Robert Lepage, Le Polygraphe
- Bruce McDonald, Hard Core Logo
|
| 1997 |
Atom Egoyan, The Sweet Hereafter |
- Thom Fitzgerald, The Hanging Garden
- André Forcier, La Comtesse de Baton Rouge
- Gabriel Pelletier, Karmina
- Lynne Stopkewich, Kissed
|
| 1999 |
François Girard, The Red Violin |
- Sturla Gunnarsson, Such a Long Journey
- Don McKellar, Last Night
- Gillies MacKinnon, Regeneration
- Jonathan Tammuz, Rupert's Land
|
| 2000 |
Jeremy Podeswa, The Five Senses |
- Louis Bélanger, Post Mortem
- Atom Egoyan, Felicia's Journey
- Léa Pool, Emporte-moi (Set Me Free)
- Istvan Szabo, Sunshine
|
| 2001 |
Denis Villeneuve, Maelström |
- Gary Burns, waydowntown
- Alain DesRochers, La Bouteille
- Robert Favreau, Les Muses Orphelines
- Robert Lepage, Possible Worlds
|
| 2002 |
Zacharias Kunuk, Atanarjuat |
- Denis Chouinard, L'ange de goudron
- Renny Bartlett, Eisenstein
- Bernard Émond, La Femme qui boit
- William Phillips, Treed Murray
|
| 2003 |
David Cronenberg, Spider |
- Jean Beaudin, Le collectionneur
- Sturla Gunnarsson, Rare Birds
- Ricardo Trogi, Québec-Montréal
- Anne Wheeler, Suddenly Naked
|
| 2004 |
Denys Arcand, Les Invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions) |
- Robert Lepage, La Face cachée de la lune (Far Side of the Moon)
- Jean-François Pouliot, Seducing Doctor Lewis
- Guy Maddin, The Saddest Music in the World
- Charles Martin Smith, The Snow Walker
|
| 2005 |
Francis Leclerc, Mémoires affectives (Looking for Alexander) |
- Denise Filiatrault, Ma vie en cinémascope
- Pierre Houle, Monica la mitraille
- Bronwen Hughes, Stander
- David "Sudz" Sutherland, Love, Sex and Eating the Bones
|
| 2006 |
Jean-Marc Vallée, C.R.A.Z.Y. |
- Louise Archambault, Familia
- Michael Dowse, It's All Gone Pete Tong
- Deepa Mehta, Water
- Luc Picard, L'Audition
|
| 2007 |
Charles Binamé, The Rocket |
- Érik Canuel, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
- Robert Favreau, A Sunday in Kigali
- Stéphane Lapointe, La Vie secrète des gens heureux (The Secret Life of Happy People)
- Jean-François Pouliot, Guide de la Petite Vengeance (Book of Revenge)
|
| 2008 |
Sarah Polley, Away From Her |
- Denys Arcand, L'Âge des ténèbres (Days of Darkness)
- David Cronenberg, Eastern Promises
- Bruce McDonald, The Tracey Fragments
- Roger Spottiswoode, Shake Hands With the Devil
|
| 2009 |
Benoît Pilon, Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (The Necessities of Life) |
- Carl Bessai, Normal
- Lyne Charlebois, Borderline
- Yves-Christian Fournier, Tout est parfait (Everything Is Fine)
- Richie Mehta, Amal
|
| 2010 |
Denis Villeneuve, Polytechnique |
- Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu, Before Tomorrow
- Bruce McDonald, Pontypool
- Charles Officer, Nurse.Fighter.Boy
- Kari Skogland, Fifty Dead Men Walking
|
| 2011 |
Denis Villeneuve, Incendies |
- Xavier Dolan, Les Amours imaginaires (Heartbeats)
- Richard J. Lewis, Barney's Version
- Vincenzo Natali, Splice
- Podz, 10½
|
| 2012 |
Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar |
- David Cronenberg, A Dangerous Method
- Larysa Kondracki, The Whistleblower
- Steven Silver, The Bang Bang Club
- Jean-Marc Vallée, Café de Flore
|