Canada Reads
This is the home page for Canada Reads, CBC's annual battle of the books.
www.cbc.caHere’s the latest you can use about Canada Reads 2019:
- The five books and their celebrity defenders for Canada Reads 2019 were announced on January 31, 2019, with debates held March 25–28, 2019. This event format features celebrities championing each book and voting to eliminate titles until one winner remains.[1]
- The finale aired March 27, 2019, with the winner determined on the final day of the debates; CBC Gem hosted the full episodes for streaming.[2][3]
- The 2019 lineup included Homes by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah with Winnie Yeung, Brother by David Chariandy, By Chance Alone by Max Eisen, Suzanne by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette (translated by Rhonda Mullins), and The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong.[4]
- Canada Reads has a history of highlighting impactful Canadian books; 2019 continued that trajectory under the theme One Book to Move You, with Ali Hassan as moderator. For context, Canada Reads has run since 2002 in various formats and remains CBC’s flagship literary debate.[5][6]
If you’d like, I can pull direct excerpts or assemble a brief timeline of the 2019 debates and each defender’s key arguments. Also happy to provide links to the CBC pages or the official YouTube finale for viewing.[3][1][2]