TORONTO 鈥� When Lisa Gilroy was asked to host this year鈥檚 Canadian Screen Awards, she pounced at the offer like a goalie on a rebound.
鈥淚 thought maybe they made a mistake so I said yes really fast before they could take it back,鈥� the Edmonton-born comedian says on a call from her Los Angeles home.
It鈥檚 a fitting attitude for a performer who says she鈥檚 been open to just about every opportunity lately, from cameos in Netflix鈥檚 鈥淏lack Mirror鈥� and a Blink-182 music video to helming Canada鈥檚 biggest film and television bash on Sunday.
鈥淚'm out here kind of saying yes to absolutely anything.鈥� she laughs.
Amid ongoing U.S.-Canada tensions fuelling protectionist talk around film and media production, Gilroy sees this weekend鈥檚 Screen Awards as a chance to champion homegrown talent and the offbeat Canadian voices that shaped her 鈥� and she hopes to nudge at the politics in a "positive, lighthearted" way.
鈥淲hen push comes to shove, like (Prime Minister Mark) Carney said, we're not for sale and we're our own thing. It's an amazing moment to look at, 鈥榃ho are we? What鈥檚 the kind of art we make? What鈥檚 our style of comedy?鈥欌�� she said, adding she was raised on Canadian staples such as 鈥淭railer Park Boys鈥� and 鈥淭he Red Green Show.鈥�
Gilroy is fast becoming one of Canada鈥檚 buzziest comedy breakouts, known for her cartoonish energy and taste for the absurd. Since going viral for her pandemic-era sketch videos and becoming a regular on the comedy-podcast circuit, she鈥檚 landed roles in Seth Rogen鈥檚 HBO comedy 鈥淭he Studio鈥� and Hulu dramedy 鈥淚nterior Chinatown.鈥�
Next up, she鈥檒l appear in Peacock鈥檚 post-apocalyptic series 鈥淭wisted Metal鈥� and Netflix鈥檚 Jennifer Lopez鈥搇ed rom-com 鈥淥ffice Romance.鈥�
Gilroy says live comedy is her first love, and she credits her L.A. improv shows for opening doors to her screen career.
鈥淚f you're a director or a producer and you come and see me on stage acting like a maniac and pretending to be some sort of swamp troll that lives in a sewer and eats dogs, and you want to put me in something, then absolutely, God bless you,鈥� she says.
鈥淵ou know what you鈥檝e signed up for.鈥�
Sunday's Canadian Screen Awards bash concludes three days and five awards shows of honouring the best in Canadian film, television and digital media.
Gilroy says viewers can expect "the same energy you've seen me have on podcasts, which is like, manic, unstable."
For the first time since the pandemic, the Screen Awards show won鈥檛 air on any TV channels 鈥� it will instead stream live exclusively on CBC Gem.
Tammy Frick, the CEO of Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, says moving the show to streaming makes it more 鈥渁ccessible鈥� and 鈥渇lexible.鈥�
鈥淭he way people are consuming content has changed a lot over the years, and we wanted to meet the audience at that point,鈥� she says.
鈥淚n the linear broadcast, we were committed to 60 minutes, which was very difficult for us to present the show that we wanted. Moving to CBC Gem allows the show to breathe a little bit. Now we have 90 minutes.鈥�
Leading all contenders is Citytv鈥檚 鈥淟aw & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent,鈥� with 20 nominations in the television categories, while Matthew Rankin鈥檚 Winnipeg-shot dramedy 鈥淯niversal Language鈥� tops the film side with 13 nods.
鈥淟aw & Order Toronto鈥� executive producer Amy Cameron questioned the choice to skip a traditional TV broadcast of the Screen Awards.
鈥淚 would love for it to be on TV. I find it a bit disappointing, but you can鈥檛 know why anybody鈥檚 made these decisions,鈥� she said in March after the nominations were announced.
Cameron said the lack of a broadcast is a missed opportunity to celebrate Canadian talent more widely.
鈥淚 would love for a Canadian audience to recognize just how talented we are collectively as an industry here. But if they're very interested in it, they'll come and watch the stream.鈥�
Gilroy, meanwhile, says she鈥檚 leaving the broadcast decisions to the powers that be and is just happy to be in the room.
鈥淚 wish I was a woman who wore a suit and had a briefcase and was the king of CBC, but I鈥檓 not. I just do what they tell me to do. And I don鈥檛 want to lose this job. So streaming or TV, whatever it鈥檚 going to be, I just want to celebrate Canadian talent,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 want to be able to touch one Canadian Screen Award. I鈥檓 not even going to get to take one home, but maybe I鈥檒l get to stand next to Tom Green for one second. Maybe I鈥檒l get to make eye contact with Jason Priestley. I鈥檓 trying to just stay positive and think about those moments.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
