[1] The program first ran in 2004 during the 2004–05 NHL lockout,[2] premiering on October 16 with a triple bill of Dinosaur, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws.
[12] The brand was revived in March 2020 when the 2019–20 NHL season was suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a lineup focusing on Canadian films.
[13] After June 20, the series started airing only a single film at 10 p.m. each week, with other programming taking up the first half of the former time slot.
When the NHL announced that the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs would begin on August 1, the Movie Night in Canada block went on hiatus following the July 25 broadcast and returned on October 3 after the playoffs ended five days prior; in late November, the programming shifted to air primarily Christmas-themed films, briefly returning to general theatrical films after Christmas until ending in January 2021 to accommodate the return of Hockey Night in Canada for the 2020–21 NHL season.
The CBC has continued to air Canadian films on Saturday evenings during the summer, although the block is no longer using the Movie Night in Canada branding.