John Drainie Award

The John Drainie Award was an award given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to broadcasting in Canada. Although meant to be presented annually, there have been years where it was not presented.

Originally created by ACTRA in 1968 as a standalone award,^[1] the award was named in memory of Canadian actor John Drainie following his death in 1966, and was presented as part of the Canadian Film Awards ceremonies for its first four years. Beginning in 1972 it was presented as part of the expanded ACTRA Awards program.

The award was transferred in 1986 to the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and presented as part of the Gemini Awards;^[2] the award was later transferred back to the ACTRA Awards in the 2000s, and presented as part of the Banff Television Festival.

Unlike other awards which are voted on by the Academy's board of directors, the recipient of the John Drainie Award was selected by a committee of previous winners. Any branch of the Academy's Television Division may put forth nominations to the Drainie Committee for consideration. The recipient receives a plaque with Drainie's likeness rather than a Gemini statuette. It was presented posthumously on some occasions but current ACTRA policy is to present this award to living people.

Winners

The following people have won the award since 1968.

Canadian Film Awards

1968: Esse Ljungh, W.O. Mitchell, Jean Murray, Tommy Tweed^[1]
1969: Andrew Allan^[3]
1970: Harry J. Boyle^[4]
1971: Lister Sinclair^[5]

ACTRA Awards

1972: Graham Spry^[6]
1973: Rupert Caplan^[7]
1974: Len Peterson^[8]
1975: Robert Weaver^[9]
1976: Jane Mallett^[10]
1977: John Reeves^[11]
1978: Wayne and Shuster^[12]
1979: Ruth Springford^[13]
1980: Norman Campbell^[14]
1981: Frances Hyland^[15]
1982: Mavor Moore^[16]
1983: Lucio Agostini^[17]
1984: Robert Christie^[18]
1985: Fred Diehl^[19]
1986: Bernard Cowan^[20]

Gemini Awards

1986: Pat Patterson^[21]
1987: Ross McLean^[22]
1988: Davidson Dunton^[23]
1989: Peter Gzowski^[24]
1990: Allan McFee^[25]
1991: not presented
1992: Gordon Pinsent^[26]
1993: Barbara Frum^[27]
1994: Max Ferguson^[28]
1995: Knowlton Nash^[29]
1996: Dodi Robb^[30]
1997: Joe Schlesinger^[31]
1998 (Mar): Peter Herrndorf^[32]
1998 (Oct): Bernie Lucht^[33]
1999: Pierre Berton^[34]
2000: Shelagh Rogers^[35]

Banff World Media Festival

2001: not presented
2002: David Suzuki^[36]
2003: Jim Murray^[37]
2004: Daryl Duke^[38]
2005: Vicki Gabereau^[39]
2006: Wendy Mesley^[40]
2008: Carol Off^[41]
2011: Barbara Budd^[42]
2014: Mack Furlong^[43]

References

^ ^a ^b "Broadcasters Honor W.O. Mitchell". Calgary Herald, October 5, 1968.
^ Tony Atherton, "Viewer curiosity behind Geminis success story". Ottawa Citizen, March 3, 1996.
^ "Award winner". Nanaimo Daily News, February 27, 1970.
^ "John Drainie Award For Harry Boyle". Ottawa Journal, October 5, 1970.
^ Marci McDonald, "Man of many titles". Vancouver Sun, July 18, 1972.
^ "Bujold, Berton win ACTRA awards". The Globe and Mail, April 17, 1972.
^ Blaik Kirby, "Radio gets most awards while TV gets barely a look in". The Globe and Mail, April 30, 1973.
^ Blaik Kirby, "Blunders by CBC in awards telecast". The Globe and Mail, March 4, 1974.
^ "William Hutt wins ACTRA best acting award". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, April 24, 1975.
^ Blaik Kirby, "CBC dominates ACTRA Awards, but show itself slips". The Globe and Mail, April 22, 1976.
^ "CBC's own artists take bows in ACTRA awards". Edmonton Journal, April 15, 1977.
^ Blaik Kirby, "Opera surprise winner". The Globe and Mail, March 23, 1978.
^ "The winners". Ottawa Citizen, April 5, 1979.
^ Rick Groen, "Drying Up the Streets cleans up on ACTRAs". The Globe and Mail, April 10, 1980.
^ Rick Groen, "Waxman, Establishment take Actras". The Globe and Mail, April 4, 1981.
^ Rick Groen, "Cadeau, Missing Kid take top ACTRAs". The Globe and Mail, May 13, 1982.
^ Rick Groen, "Air Farce, Billy Bishop big ACTRA winners". The Globe and Mail, April 18, 1983.
^ Rick Groen, "Popular mini-series dominates ACTRA awards: Empire earns big dividend". The Globe and Mail, April 4, 1984.
^ "'Chautauqua Girl' captures top Nellie". Montreal Gazette, April 4, 1985.
^ Theresa Boyle, "Announcer Bernard Cowan dies". Toronto Star, July 18, 1990.
^ Sid Adilman, "TV's movers and shakers celebrate historic event". Toronto Star, December 4, 1986.
^ John Haslett Cuff, "Donald Brittain wins two Gemini Awards". The Globe and Mail, December 9, 1987.
^ "All the 1988 Gemini winners". Vancouver Sun, December 1, 1988.
^ "Peter Gzowski to receive top broadcasting award". Toronto Star, November 22, 1989.
^ Bill Anderson, "Canadian TV industry honored with Geminis". Halifax Daily News, December 5, 1990.
^ "Pinsent wins Drainie Award". The Globe and Mail, February 25, 1992.
^ "Barbara Frum honoured". The Globe and Mail, February 24, 1993.
^ Mike Boone, "Gemini gems from Max Ferguson; Radio legend provides highlight of Canada's TV awards". Montreal Gazette, March 8, 1994.
^ "Nash to get media prize". Vancouver Sun, February 10, 1995.
^ Christopher Harris, "Due South dominates Geminis: This Hour Has 22 Minutes also big winner at 10th annual Canadian TV awards". The Globe and Mail, March 4, 1996.
^ "CBC dominates second night of Geminis". Canadian Press, March 1, 1997.
^ "TVO chief wins Drainie award". Ottawa Citizen, January 31, 1998.
^ John McKay, "Gemini weekend again praises the best Canadian TV". Canadian Press, September 29, 1998.
^ John McKay, "Milgaard, Da Vinci top Gemini winners". Kingston Whig-Standard, November 8, 1999.
^ Brenda Bouw, "Fifth estate big winner: CBC documentary program collects four Geminis on weekend". National Post, October 30, 2000.
^ "Suzuki recognized with award". Barrie Examiner, June 11, 2002.
^ "Mansbridge, Dale to co-host tribute to U.S.". Calgary Herald, May 13, 2003.
^ Alex Strachan, "Champion of Canadian broadcasting honoured at Banff fest". Montreal Gazette, June 12, 2004.
^ "Vicki Gabereau to be honoured at Banff TV fest". Canadian Press, May 25, 2005.
^ "Mesley to be honoured at Banff TV festival". Waterloo Region Record, May 17, 2006.
^ "CBC's Carol Off wins 2008 John Drainie Award". The Globe and Mail, October 30, 2000.
^ "Barbara Budd honoured". Prince George Citizen, May 3, 2011.
^ "Mack Furlong Wins Actra’s 2014 John Drainie Award". The Overcast, September 26, 2014.

Canadian Screen Awards

By year

Canadian Film Awards
(film, 1949–1978)

Genie Awards
(film, 1979–2012)

ACTRA Awards
(television, 1972–1986)

Gemini Awards
(television, 1986–2012)

Film awards
by category

Television awards
by category

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.