| Year | Winner | Nominated |
| 1991 | Susan Mayse, ' | |
| 1992 | Marie Wadden, ' |
- Phil Jenkins, Fields of Vision: A Journey to Canada's Family Farms
- Anne Kershaw and Mary Lasovich, Rock-a-bye Baby: A Death Behind Bars
- Sherrill MacLaren, Invisible Power: The Women Who Run Canada
- Marlene Webber, Street Kids: The Tragedy of Canada's Runaways
|
| 1993 | Liza Potvin, White Lies Elizabeth Hay, The Only Snow in Havana | |
| 1994 | Linda Johns, Sharing a Robin's Life | |
| 1995 | Denise Chong, The Concubine's Children |
- Rosalind MacPhee, Picasso's Woman: A Breast Cancer Story
- Jack Kuper, After the Smoke Cleared
- Rita Moir, Survival Gear
|
| 1996 | George G. Blackburn, The Guns of Normandy | Patricia Pitcher, Artists, Craftsmen and Technocrats: The Dreams, Realities and Illusions of LeadershipTom Connors, Stompin' Tom: Before the FameFrances Backhouse, Women of the Klondike |
| 1997 | Anne Mullens, Timely Death | William Aide, Starting from PorcupinePhil Jenkins, An Acre of Time: The Enduring Value of PlaceDouglas Chambers, Stony Ground: The Making of a Canadian Garden |
| 1998 | Charlotte Gray, Mrs. King | Elisabeth Raab, And Peace Never CameLois Sweet, God in the Classroom: The Controversial Issue of Religion in Canada's SchoolsA. C. Lewis, Nahanni Remembered |
| 1999 | Michael Poole, Romancing Mary Jane | Will Ferguson, I Was a Teenage Katima-Victim: A Canadian OdysseyJames Mahar and Rowena Mahar, Too Many to Mourn: One Family's Tragedy in the Halifax ExplosionJoni Smith, Charlevoix County: 1930 |
| 2000 | Wayson Choy, Paper Shadows | Beth Powning, Shadow Child: An Apprenticeship in Love and LossEllen Stafford, Always and AfterKevin Patterson, The Water in Between: A Journey at SeaAndrew Steinmetz, Wardlife: The Apprenticeship of a Young Writer as a Hospital Clerk |
| 2001 | Taras Grescoe, Sacré Blues | Howard Hewer, In for a Penny, In for a Pound: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Wireless Operator in Bomber CommandMary Pratt, Mary Pratt: A Personal CalligraphyTrevor Herriot, River in a Dry Land: A Prairie Passage |
| 2002 | Tom Allen, ' | Nicholas Pashley, Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It's NecessaryGabriel Bauer, Waltzing the Tango: Confessions of an Out-of-Step BoomerRon Corbett, The Last Guide: A Story of Fish and LoveCornelia Johanna Baines, Under Syndenham Skies: A Celebration of Country Life |
| 2003 | Alison Watt, The Last Island | Peter McSherry, Mean Streets: Confessions of a Night-Time Taxi DriverAdam Killick, Racing the White Silence: On The Trail of the Yukon QuestDawn Rae Downton, Seldom: A Memoir |
| 2004 | Andrea Curtis, Into the Blue | Ellen Bielawski, Rogue Diamonds: The Rush for Northern Riches on Dene LandKevin Bazzana, Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn GouldRalph Osborne, From Somewhere ElseAlex M. Hall, Discovering Eden: A Lifetime of Paddling Arctic Rivers |
| 2005 | Anne Coleman, I'll Tell You a Secret | Tilda Shalof, A Nurse's Story: Life, Death and In-Between in an Intensive Care UnitGeoff Heinricks, A Fool and Forty Acres: Conjuring a Vineyard Three Thousand Miles from BurgundyElizabeth Hudson, Snow Bodies: One Woman’s Life on the StreetsMichael Mitchell, The Molly Fire |
| 2006 | Francis Chalifour, After | Lisa Rochon, Up NorthRosalind B. Penfield, Dragonslippers: This is What an Abusive Relationship Can Look LikeJohn Vaillant, The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and GreedKim Bolan, Loss of Faith: How the Air-India Bombers Got Away with Murder |
| 2007 | Linden MacIntyre, ' | Marcello De Cintio, Poets & Pahlevans: A Journey into the Heart of IranRachel Lebowitz, HannusPatrick Friesen, Interim Essays & Mediations |
| 2008 | Bruce Serafin, Stardust | Nathan M. Greenfield, ' Chantal Hébert, ' Jane Hall, The Red Wall: A Woman in the RCMP |
| 2009 | Russell Wangersky, ' | Martin Mitchinson, The Darien Gap: Travels in the Rainforest of PanamaCathy Ostlere, 'Andrew Westoll, The Riverbones: Stumbling After Eden in the Jungles of Suriname |
| 2010 | John Leigh Walters, A Very Capable Life | Allan Casey, Else Poulsen, Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper Explores the Behaviour and Emotional Life of Bears |
| 2011 | Helen Waldstein Wilkes, Letters from the Lost | Benjamin Errett, Jew and Improved: How Choosing to be Chosen Made Me a Better Man Grant Lawrence, Adventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound |
| 2012 | Joshua Knelman, Hot Art | Robyn Michele Levy, Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown Andrew Westoll, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery |
| 2013 | Carol Shaben, Into the Abyss | Kamal Al-Solaylee, Intolerable: A Memoir of ExtremesNahlah Ayed, A Thousand Farewells: A Reporter’s Journey from Refugee Camp to the Arab Spring |
| 2014 | Arno Kopecky, The Oil Man and the Sea: Navigating the Northern Gateway | Allen Smutylo, The Memory of WaterAlison Wearing, Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad |
| 2015 | Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats | Judy McFarlane, Writing with Grace: A Journey Beyond Down SyndromeMark Sakamoto, Forgiveness: A Gift From My Grandparents |
| 2016 | Ann Walmsley, The Prison Book Club | Lorimer Shenher, That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got AwaySheila Watt-Cloutier, The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet |
| 2017 | Sonja Larsen, Red Star Tattoo | Duncan McCue, The Shoe BoyRajiv Surendra, The Elephants in My Backyard |
| 2018 | Pauline Dakin, Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood | James Maskalyk, Life on the Ground FloorAdam Shoalts, A History of Canada in Ten Maps |
| 2019 | Kate Harris, Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road | Daemon Fairless, Mad Blood StirringTerese Marie Mailhot, Heart Berries: A Memoir'' |
