The 1953 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were the seventeenth such awards. The awards in this period had no monetary prize and were just an honour for the authors.

Fiction: David Walker , Digby

Poetry or Drama: Douglas LePan, The Net and the Sword

Non-Fiction: N.J. Berrill , Sex and the Nature of Things

Non-Fiction: J.M.S. Careless, Canada, A Story of Challenge

Juvenile: John F. Hayes , Rebels Ride at Night

Other Governor General's Awards: