[1] The award has been inclusive of short films in the live action drama, animated and documentary genres.
Originally presented by the Canadian Film Awards from their creation in 1949, the award was presented annually until 1964 with the exceptions of 1955, when an honourable mention was given but no formal winner was named, and 1957, when the award was not presented.
This continued for three years until 1971, when the single award for Best Theatrical Short was reinstituted.
After 1985, however, the Academy's presentation of the award varied from year to year, with a single award for Best Theatrical Short presented in some years, while separate awards for Best Live Action Short Drama, Best Animated Short and Best Short Documentary were presented in others.
This variability continued until the 17th Genie Awards in 1996; since then, the separate genre categories have been consistently presented at all subsequent Genie or Canadian Screen Award ceremonies, and the Best Theatrical Short category is no longer in use.