Launched in 2000, Canada’s Top Ten is the brainchild of Toronto International Film Festival CEO Piers Handling.  Each year, TIFF enlists two separate panels of filmmakers, critics and industry professionals to select the ten finest Canadian features and the ten best Canadian shorts made that year. Created to showcase Canada’s film artists, Canada’s Top Ten was also originally intended to commemorate key developments in the Canadian film industry (similar to the lists published annually by the American Film Institute) as well as specific films. The program quickly morphed into a list of the best films made in Canada, however, primarily because panelists preferred to focus on the films themselves as opposed to ancillary developments. Initially, the list could include feature length co-productions directed by non-Canadians as long as there was significant Canadian involvement. To wit, Sarah Polley’s extraordinary performance in Isabel Coixet’s My Life Without Me helped propel that film on to the list in 2003. Significantly, this only happened once. Since that year, production has boomed in Canada especially in terms of fictional features – a development which has made it increasingly difficult for Canadian productions directed by non-Canadians to make Canada’s Top Ten.

The list has, on one occasion, included a film directed by a Canadian but produced outside the country: A History of Violence. That year’s panel felt Cronenberg’s status as a Canadian artist trumped the production details of the film. Currently, only films directed by Canadian citizens or long term residents -- and produced with Canadian money (at least partially) -- can be considered for Canada’s Top Ten. From the outset, the panelists have worked anonymously and privately, without any discussion of the eligible films with the other panelists (or even knowing who the other members of the panel were).  In addition, the films are listed alphabetically rather than ranked.  Short films were given their own panel in 2008. Originally, the panels selected features and shorts but the bump in feature production made a separate list necessary. Top Ten eligibility is determined by the year of domestic release or whether a film is programmed at a key Canadian film festival.

Since 2003, TIFF has been screening the films both in Toronto and in selected cities across the country.

CANADA’S TOP TEN HISTORY

2014 FEATURES
1. Corbo – Mathieu Denis
2. Félix et Meira (Felix and Meira)– Maxime Giroux
3. In Her Place – Albert Shin
4. Maps to the Stars – David Cronenberg
5. Mommy – Xavier Dolan
6. Monsoon – Sturla Gunnarsson
7. Sol– Susan Avinuq and Marie-Hélène Cousineau
8. The Price We Pay – Harold Crooks
9. Tu dors Nicole – Stéphane Lafleur
10. Violent – Andrew Huculiak

2013 FEATURES
1. Asphalt Watches – Seth Scriver and Shayne Ehman
2. Enemy – Denis Villeneuve
3. The F Word – Michael Dowse
4. Gabrielle – Louise Archambault
5. Rhymes for Young Ghouls – Jeff Barnaby
6. Sarah préfère la course (Sarah Prefers to Run) – Chloé Robichaud
7. Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm) – Xavier Dolan
8. Vic + Flo Saw A Bear – Denis Côté
9. Watermark – Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky
10. When Jews Were Funny – Alan Zweig

2013 SHORTS
1. A Grand Canal – Johnny Ma
2. Quelqu’un extraordinaire (An Extraordinary Person) – Monia Chokri
3. In guns we trust – Nicolas Lévesque
4. Noah – Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg
5. Nous Avions – Stéphane Moukarzel
6. Paradise Falls – Fantavious Fritz
7. Subconscious Password – Chris Landreth
8. The Chaperone 3D – Fraser Munden and Neil Rathbone
9. The End of Pinky – Claire Blanchet
10. Yellowhead – Kevan Funk

2012 FEATURES
1. Cosmopolis – David Cronenberg
2. The End of Time – Peter Mettler
3. GOON – Michael Dowse
4. Laurence Anyways – Xavier Dolan
5. Midnight’s Children – Deepa Mehta
6. My Awkward Sexual Adventure – Sean Garrity
7. Rebelle – Kim Nguyen
8. Still – Michael McGowan
9. Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley
10. The World Before Her – Nisha Pahuja

2012 SHORTS
1. Bydlo – Patrick Bouchard
2. Chef de meute (Herd Leader) – Chloé Robichaud
3. Crackin’ Down Hard – Mike Clattenburg
4. Kaspar – Diane Obomsawin
5. Lingo – Bahar Noorizadeh
6. Malody – Phillip Barker
7. Ne crâne pas sois modeste (Keep a Modest Head) – Deco Dawson
8. Old Growth – Tess Girard
9. Paparmane (Wintergreen) – Joëlle Desjardins Paquette
10. Reflexions – Martin Thibaudeau

2011 FEATURES
1. Café de Flore – Jean Marc Vallée
2. A Dangerous Method – David Cronenberg
3. Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster – Nathan Morlando
4. Hobo with a Shotgun – Jason Eisener
5. Keyhole – Guy Maddin
6. Marécages – Guy Édoin
7. Monsieur Lazhar – Philippe Falardeau
8. Starbuck – Ken Scott
9. Take This Waltz – Sarah Polley
10. Le Vendeur – Sébastien Pilote

2011 SHORTS
1. Choke – Michelle Latimer
2. Doubles with Slight Pepper– Ian Harnarine
3. The Fuse: or How I Burned Simon Bolivar – Igor Drljaca
4. Hope – Pedro Pires
5. No Words Came Down – Ryan Flowers and Lisa Pham
6. Ora – Philippe Baylaucq
7. Rhonda’s Party– Ashley McKenzie
8. La Ronde – Sophie Goyette
9. Trotteur – Arnaud Brisebois and Francis Leclerc
10. We Ate the Children Last – Andrew Cividino

2010 FEATURES
1. Les Amours imaginaires (Heartbeats) – Xavier Dolan
2. Barney's Version – Richard J. Lewis
3. Curling – Denis Côté
4. The High Cost of Living – Deborah Chow
5. Incendies – Denis Villeneuve
6. Last Train Home – Lixin Fan
7. Modra – Ingrid Veninger
8. Splice – Vincenzo Natali
9. Trigger – Bruce McDonald
10. Trois temps après la mort d'Anna (Mourning for Anna) – Catherine Martin

2010 SHORTS
1. Above the Knee – Greg Atkins
2. Les fleurs de l’âge (Little Flowers) – Vincent Biron
3. I Was a Child Of Holocaust Survivors – Ann Marie Fleming
4. The Legend of Beaver Dam – Jerome Sable
5. The Little White Cloud That Cried – Guy Maddin
6. Lipsett Diaries – Theodore Ushev
7. Marius Borodine – Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais
8. Mokhtar – Halima Ouardiri
9. On The Way to The Sea – Tao Gu
10. Vapor – Kaveh Nabatian

2009 FEATURES
1. Cairo Time – Ruba Nadda
2. Carcasses – Denis Côté
3. Crackie – Sherry White
4. Defendor – Peter Stebbings
5. La Donation – Bernard Émond
6. J’ai Tué Ma Mère (I Killed My Mother) – Xavier Dolan
7. Passenger Side – Matthew Bissonnette
8. Polytechnique – Denis Villeneuve
9. The Trotsky – Jacob Tierney
10. The Wild Hunt – Alexandre Franchi

2009 SHORTS
1. The Armoire – Jamie Travis
2. The Cave – Helen Haig-Brown
3. Danse Macabre – Pedro Pires
4. Five Hole: Tales of Hockey Erotica – Cam Christiansen
5. Naissance – Anne Émond
6. Out in that Deep Blue Sea – Kazik Radwanski
7. Runaway – Cordell Barker
8. The Spine – Chris Landreth
9. La Vie commence (Life Begins) – Émile Proulx-Cloutier
10. Vive la rose – Bruce Alcock

2008 FEATURES
1. Adoration – Atom Egoyan
2. Le jour avant le lendemain (Before Tomorrow) – Marie-Hélène Cousineau & Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
3. Ce qu’il faut pour vivre (The Necessities of Life) – Benoît Pilon
4. C’est pas moi, je le jure! (It’s Not Me, I Swear!) – Philippe Falardeau
5. Fifty Dead Men Walking – Kari Skogland
6. Heaven on Earth – Deepa Mehta
7. Lost Song – Rodrigue Jean
8. Maman est chez le coiffeur (Mommy Is at the Hairdresser’s) – Léa Pool
9. La Mémoire des anges (Memories of Angels) – Luc Bourdon
10. Pontypool – Bruce McDonald

2008 SHORTS
1. La Battue (Battered) – Guy Édoin
2. Block B – Chris Chong Chan Fui
3. Drux Flux – Theodore Ushev
4. Ghosts and Gravel Roads – Mike Rollo
5. Green Door – Semi Chellas
6. Next Floor – Denis Villeneuve
7. Nikamowin (Song) – Kevin Lee Burton
8. Passages – Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
9. Princess Margaret Blvd – Kazik Radwanski
10. Mon nom est Victor Gazon (My Name is Victor Gazon) – Patrick Gazé

2007 FEATURES
1. L’Âge des ténèbres (Days of Darkness) – Denys Arcand
2. Amal – Richie Mehta
3. Continental, un film sans fusil (Continental, a Film Without Guns) – Stéphane Lafleur
4. Eastern Promises – David Cronenberg
5. Fugitive Pieces – Jeremy Podeswa
6. My Winnipeg – Guy Maddin
7. A Promise to The Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman – Peter Raymont
8. The Tracey Fragments – Bruce McDonald
9. Up the Yangtze – Yung Chang
10. Young People Fucking – Martin Gero

2006 FEATURES
1. Journals of Knud Rasmussen – Zacharias Kunuk
2. Trailer Park Boys – Mike Clattenberg
3. Monkey Warfare – Reginald Harkema
4. Sharkwater – Rob Stewart
5. Radiant City – Gary Burns and Jim Brown
6. Manufactured Landscapes – Jennifer Baichwal
7. Sur la trace d'Igor Rizzi (On the trail of Igor Rizzi) – Noel Mitrani
8. Congorama – Philippe Falardeau
9. Away From Her – Sarah Polley
10. Un dimanche à Kigali (A Sunday in Kigali) – Robert Favreau

2005 FEATURES
1. C.R.A.Z.Y – Jean-Marc Vallée
2. Familia – Louise Archambault
3. The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico – Michael Mabbott
4. A History of Violence – David Cronenberg
5. Horloge biologique (Biological Clock) – Ricardo Trogi
6. Memory for Max, Claire Ida & Company – Allan King
7. La Neuvaine (The Novena) – Bernard Emond
8. A Simple Curve – Aubrey Nealon
9. Water – Deepa Mehta
10. Where the Truth Lies – Atom Egoyan

2004 FEATURES
1. Childstar – Don McKellar
2. I, Claudia – Chris Abraham
3. It’s All Gone Pete Tong – Michael Dowse
4. La Peau Blanche (White Skin) – Daniel Roby
5. Ryan – Chris Landreth
6. Saint Ralph – Michael McGowan
7. ScaredSacred – Velcrow Ripper
8. Shake Hands With The Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire – Peter Raymont
9. Elles étaient cinq (The Five of Us) – Ghyslaine Coté
10. What Remains of Us – Hugo Latulippe and Francois Prévost

2003 FEATURES
1. 20h17, rue Darling – Bernard Émond
2. The Corporation – Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott
3. Dying at Grace – Allan King
4. La Face cachée de la lune (The Far Side of the Moon) – Robert Lepage
5. Falling Angels – Scott Smith
6. Les Invasions barbares (Barbarian Invasions) – Denys Arcand
7. Love, Sex and Eating the Bones – Sudz Sutherland
8. My Life Without Me – Isabel Coixet
9. On The Corner – Nathaniel Geary
10. The Saddest Music in the World – Guy Maddin

2002 FEATURES
1. Ararat – Atom Egoyan
2. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary – Guy Maddin
3. Flower & Garnet – Keith Behrman
4. Gambling, Gods and LSD – Peter Mettler
5. Marion Bridge – Wiebke von Carolsfeld
6. Le Nèg' – Robert Morin
7. Océan – Catherine Martin
8. Spider – David Cronenberg
9. Tom – Mike Hoolboom
10. La Turbulence des fluides (Chaos And Desire) – Manon Briand

2001 FEATURES
1. Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) – Zacharias Kunuk
2. La Femme qui boit (The Woman Who Drinks) – Bernard Émond
3. Ginger Snaps – John Fawcett
4. The Heart of The World –Guy Maddin
5. Khaled – Asghar Massombagi
6. Last Wedding – Bruce Sweeney
7. Mariages – Catherine Martin
8. Parsley Days – Andrea Dorfman
9. Un crabe dans la tête (Soft Shell Man) – André Turpin
10. The Uncles – Jim Allodi