The Canadian Screen Awards (French: Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) productions.

In April 2012, the Academy announced that it would merge the Geminis and the Genies into a new awards show that would better recognize Canadian accomplishments in film, television, and digital media.

[9] The inaugural ceremony, hosted by comedian Martin Short and broadcast by CBC Television, took place on 3 March 2013.

On the night of the main gala, the ceremony also starts approximately two hours earlier than the telecast, with additional awards being presented whose winners are recognized in short montages during the main ceremony, and only the most important film and television categories are presented during the live broadcast.

[16][15] While in-person presentations were reinstated for 2023, the broadcast on CBC Television remained a pre-recorded special featuring highlights from the non-televised galas, linked by host Samantha Bee, rather than a live event.

No change was introduced in television acting categories, which already feature a genre separation for drama and comedy.

[2] Many Canadian television and film critics and others have suggested potential nicknames, including the straightforward abbreviation "Screenies";[2] tributes to film and television legends including "Candys" in memory of actor John Candy,[20] "Pickfords" in honour of actress Mary Pickford and "Normans" in honour of director Norman Jewison;[20] "Angels" as a descriptive reference to the trophy's "wings";[21] and "Gemininies" as a portmanteau of the awards' former names.

[20] No formal nickname was announced at the time; numerous media outlets settled on the informal "Screenies".

[25] Macdonald had not sought input from the Academy itself prior to his monologue, although he ran the idea past the ceremony's broadcast producer Barry Avrich.

A feature film must have received at least one full week of commercial theatrical screenings in at least two of the Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Saskatoon, St. John's, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and/or Winnipeg markets between 1 January of the qualifying year and the date of the awards ceremony in the presentation year.