The National Magazine Awards have long showcased excellence in Canadian magazines and the writers, editors, photographers, illustrators and designers behind them. As publishing has evolved, the National Media Awards Foundation has expanded its categories and programs to recognize new forms of editorial and visual achievement, including through the Digital Publishing Awards and the National Magazine Awards: B2B.
The Foundation’s work has also extended beyond awards. Through professional development, mentorship, paid internships and career resources, it has helped emerging and established creators build skills, share knowledge and connect with the publishing community. These efforts reflect an enduring commitment to supporting both exceptional work and the people who create it.
A volunteer board of directors, drawn from across the Canadian media community, guides the Foundation’s work.
Explore the awards’ legacy
The awards’ history lives on through the people and publications they have recognized. Explore these collections:
- Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement recipients — individuals whose contributions have helped shape Canadian magazine publishing.
- Magazine of the Year winners — publications recognized for their editorial and creative excellence.
How the awards began
In 1976 Andrew MacFarlane, Dean of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario (UWO), was trying to revive the university’s recently defunct President’s Medal for Canadian Magazine Journalism. His original idea was to create a new award divided into English and French counterparts. But MacFarlane eventually developed a proposal for a series of magazine awards, whose salient features were that the program would be bilingual — and therefore truly national — and would recognize individual excellence in the many aspects of the magazine industry — writers, illustrators, editors, photographers and art directors.
MacFarlane together with John S. Crosbie, president of the Magazine Association of Canada, secured the participation of the Canadian Periodical Publishers Association (CPPA), representing 193 Canadian magazines, and CPPA’s former president Michael de Pencier. MacFarlane reached out to his counterpart at Université Laval, Roger de la Garde, Alan Edmunds, head of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), and veteran newsman Pierre Berton, among others. As the collective effort began to take shape across the country, by the spring of 1977 the National Magazine Awards had developed a clear mandate.
On November 14, 1977, National Media Awards Foundation received its charter of non-profit foundation status from the Province of Ontario.
The First National Magazine Awards
There were more than 1300 entries to the first National Magazine Awards for the year 1977. 62 judges evaluated the entries and awarded winners in 14 categories. The first National Magazine Awards gala was held on Thursday, May 11, 1978 at the Hotel Toronto.
Pierre Berton emceed the event, where the 660 guests dined and danced to Jack Collins and his five-piece band. Before presenting the awards, Berton proclaimed to the audience, “In a bold departure from tradition, there are to be no thank you speeches. We can do that because we are giving money, not some cheap statuette.” True to his word, if any winner started to talk on stage, Berton reportedly waved a large hook in the speaker’s direction.
Awards were handed down in 14 categories (with separate French- and English-language winners for the President’s Award for General Magazine Articles). 11 different magazines won awards. The NMAF also honoured outstanding achievement by a magazine: L’Actualité (French) and Harrowsmith (English) took the awards.
A community effort
The magazine community has helped sustain the awards through entry fees, gala ticket sales, donations, sponsorships and contributions in kind. This collective support has enabled the Foundation to recognize outstanding work and support Canadian magazine creators.