Foe by Iain Reid is the first book to be eliminated on Canada Reads

Canada Reads 2026: daytime ace

hither ar the five titles aiming to be the winner of this year's Canada Reads. While you don't need to read all the books before watching the show, it helps to know what they're about. Here's a summary of each.

A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt is an experimental novel about an unnamed queer, Indigenous academic who abandons his thesis and goes back to his hometown in northern Alberta. 

Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard is a novel about Adam, a failing sports journalist who has one shot at a Sports Illustrated profile of a notorious hockey goon — his estranged and reclusive father. 

The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor is a historical fiction novel about Kit McNair, who struggles to fit the expectations set out for them as an Ontario farm girl. When they meet Rebekah, everything falls into place, but a love triangle and the Second World War force them to go their separate ways. 

Foe by Iain Reid is a speculative thriller about Junior and his wife Henrietta, whose peaceful existence living in an isolated farmhouse is upended when a mysterious man shows up, claiming Junior has been randomly selected for a scientific program and will be leaving home for the indefinite future. 

It's Different This Time by Joss Richard is a romance novel about June Heyward, an actor who, in a twist of fate, finds herself back at the New York City brownstone she never thought she'd return to, with the one person she swore she'd never see again.

Shayla Stonechild vs. The Canada Reads bell

On Canada Reads 2025, panellist Shayla Stonechild was cut off during one of her arguments by the Canada Reads bell, for running over her time.

It's not Canada Reads until someone gets cut off by the iconic bell. 

Designed to keep the panellists to their allotted time, the sound of the bell signifies the start and end of their arguments. 

In a funny moment from last year's show, winner Shayla Stonechild was cut off just as she was saying the book she chose "makes space for voices that are often silenced." It doesn't get much more ironic than that!

We’re now at the part of the debate when the panellists have to say which of their competitors’ books they enjoyed the least.

Steve (Dangle) Glynn said everyone should read Searching for Terry Punchout because it’s a book they probably haven’t read yet. He mentioned that the novel is by a first-time author, from an independent publisher, and only sold 20 books in 2025. 

“To say this is just a book about hockey is to say Heated Rivalry is just a book about tuna melts,” he joked. 

“Yes, many of the themes are hockey-flavoured, but the nutrients it provides readers with are introspection, honesty and laughter.”

A Minor Chorus centres on the remarkable yet ordinary lives of people often overlooked in rural northern Alberta, but its themes are universal in a world that’s increasingly intolerant of difference, Elle-Maija Tailfeathers said in her opening argument.

“This is a call to the power of softness, vulnerability and human connection. It urges us to bask in the chaos and beauty of what makes all human - to remember, to regret, to dream, to hope, to yearn, to lust, to grieve, to laugh, and to love,” she added.

Morgann Book says the power in It’s Different This Time is in its honesty.

“June goes to therapy, she struggles to have a relationship with her mum, and she questions whether the life she’s told she should have is the one she actually wants,” Book said.

 “That experience of feeling lost and unsure is something that so many people can relate to, including probably all of us at this table right now.”

Book also said that It’s Different This Time highlights a Filipina-Canadian’s perspective, in a way that feels "natural and integrated into the story, reflecting Canada’s diversity without making it the sole focus.”

Foe didn’t just get Josh Dela Cruz back into reading — it pulled him all the way in. 

At its heart, the novel is an intimate family drama about a married couple living a quiet, isolated life, trying to keep a dystopian future at bay — until it quite literally comes knocking at their door.

As Josh puts it, Foe “meets us at a pivotal moment in our time where the lines between corporation and government are blurred, where consent, freewill [and] individuality are called into question, and asked … ‘If you could save your relationship before it was too late, could you break free from your programmed routine or would you just continue to comply?”In many ways, “Foe feels like George Orwell’s 1984 for the 21st century,” said Dela Cruz.

Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard | Canada Reads 2026 trailer

Hockey YouTube personality and podcaster Steve “Dangle” Glynn will champion Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard on Canada Reads. The debates take place April 13 to 16.

In Searching for Terry Punchout, Adam Macallister has one final chance to save his sportswriting career: a Sports Illustrated profile of the notorious hockey goon Terry Punchout. To complicate matters, Terry is Adam's estranged father, and writing this piece requires Adam to return to his small, Nova Scotia hometown and dredge up old feelings and frustrations.

As he spends more time with family and friends, Adam begins to realize the sleepy town and people he left behind deserve more credit than he ever gave them.

"If they can connect with the characters or relate to their relationships in a way that sticks, that's wonderful. But I just want the experience of reading it to be a pleasant one."

“I chose The Cure for Drowning because I loved it. Simple, but true,” said Tegan Quin in her opening statement. “I fell in love with the characters, rooted for them, and in the end, felt like I understood them.”

She described the book as one where the characters are all grappling with their identity, and as a novel that people can relate to no matter what how they personally identify. 

“Who among us hasn’t struggled with who we are, or has had to make an impossible choice?”

A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt | Canada Reads 2026 trailer

Filmmaker and actor Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers will champion A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt. The debates take place April 13 to 16.

A Minor Chorus is a novel that follows an unnamed narrator who abandons his thesis and goes back to his hometown. While there, he has a series of conversations that bring modern queer and Indigenous experiences into focus.

"I was compelled to depict the kinds of people and lived experiences specific to that region," he said. 

"I wanted not to write about a singular character but a whole cast — or chorus — so that I could speak to an array of histories. I wanted, ultimately, to fill a gap in the literary landscape in Canada."

It's Different This Time by Joss Richard | Canada Reads 2026 trailer

BookTok star and podcast host Morgann Book will champion It's Different This Time by Joss Richard on Canada Reads 2026. The debates take place April 13 to 16.

This romance novel follows the story of an actor named June Wood. When her TV show gets cancelled, she has no excuse to not follow up on the mysterious email that invites her back to the New York City brownstone where she lived before moving to Los Angeles. 

The expensive property has been left to her and her former roommate, Adam, by the previous owner. It will soon be theirs — they just have to live together for four weeks while they finish the paperwork. One catch: June and Adam haven't spoken in five years and aren't on great terms.

"I wondered if time heals, if we really do get wiser, and if love is something that ever really goes away."

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