- 1981 – F.R. Scott, The Collected Poems of F.R. Scott
- 1982 – Phyllis Webb, The Vision Tree: Selected Poems
- 1983 – David Donnell, Settlements
- 1984 – Paulette Jiles, Celestial Navigation
- 1985 – Fred Wah, Waiting for Saskatchewan
- 1986 – Al Purdy, The Collected Poems of Al Purdy
- 1987 – Gwendolyn MacEwen, Afterworlds
- 1988 – Erin Mouré, Furious
- 1989 – Heather Spears, The Word for Sand
- 1990 – Margaret Avison, No Time
- 1991 – Don McKay, Night Field
- 1992 – Lorna Crozier, Inventing the Hawk
- 1993 – Don Coles, Forests of the Medieval World
- 1994 – Robert Hilles, Cantos from a Small Room
- 1995 – Anne Szumigalski, Voice
- 1996 – E. D. Blodgett, Apostrophes: Woman at a Piano
- 1997 – Dionne Brand, Land to Light On
- 1998 – Stephanie Bolster, White Stone: The Alice Poems
- 1999 – Jan Zwicky, Songs for Relinquishing the Earth
- 2000 – Don McKay, Another Gravity
- 2001 – George Elliott Clarke, Execution Poems
- 2002 – Roy Miki, Surrender
- 2003 – Tim Lilburn, Kill-site
- 2004 – Roo Borson, Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida
- 2005 – Anne Compton, Processional
- 2006 – John Pass, Stumbling in the Bloom