2nd Genie Awards

The 2nd Genie Awards were held March 12, 1981, honouring Canadian films released in 1980. The ceremony, which was broadcast live by the CBC, was held at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and was hosted by television host Brian Linehan.

The most notable sight of the evening was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau escorting starlet Kim Cattrall; the moment received renewed media attention in March 2016 when 60 Minutes, in a profile of Justin Trudeau, ran a photo of the appearance while mis-identifying Cattrall as Margaret Trudeau.

The films Good Riddance (Les Bons débarras) nd Tribute tied for the most nominations overall. Les bons débarras won most of the major awards, including Best Picture.

For the first time, screenings for academy members were held in western Canada, in Edmonton and Vancouver. Later in the year the Academy of Canadian Cinema held the Bijou Awards, a one-time ceremony to honour non-feature and non-theatrical films, and to present some of the specialized categories that had been dropped from the Genies in their transition from the Canadian Film Awards.