The bestselling Canadian books of the week

Here are the bestselling Canadian books from Jan. 15-21, 2023.

Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores.

Canadian fiction | Canadian nonfiction | Canadian Kids

Canadian fiction

The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr is the #1 Canadian fiction book this week.

The Sleeping Car Porter tells the story of Baxter, a Black man in 1929 who works as a sleeping car porter on a train that travels across the country. He smiles and tries to be invisible to the passengers, but what he really wants is to save up and go to dentistry school. On one particular trip out west, the train is stalled and Baxter finds a naughty postcard of two gay men. The postcard reawakens his memories and longings and puts his job in jeopardy. 

The Sleeping Car Porter won the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

• Suzette Mayr explores Black queerness & joy in The Sleeping Car Porter — and won the Giller Prize for it

See the full Canadian fiction list below.

1. The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr
2. A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
3. Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
4. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
5. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
6. Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald
7. Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
8. The Maid by Nita Prose
9. Sea of Tranquillity by Emily St. John Mandel
10. All the Quiet Places by Brian Thomas Isaac

Canadian nonfiction

The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté is the #1 Canadian nonfiction book this week.

The Myth of Normal examines why chronic illness and general health problems are on the rise in Western countries with good healthcare systems. Maté explains how Western medicine, while technologically advanced, fails to treat the whole person and ignores cultural stressors. With his son Daniel, Maté untangles common myths about what makes us sick and offers a guide on health and healing.

• Treating addiction requires both science and compassion, says Dr. Gabor Maté

 See the full Canadian nonfiction list below.

1. The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté
2. Ducks by Kate Beaton
3. True Reconciliation by Jody Wilson-Raybould
4. Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard
5. 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
6. Where to From Here by Bill Morneau
7. Healing Through Words by Rupi Kaur
8. Embers by Richard Wagamese
9. Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
10. Permanent Astonishment by Tomson Highway

Canadian kids

The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson is the #1 Canadian kids book this week.

The Barren Grounds is the first book of Robertson's new middle-grade series. It is set in Winnipeg where two Indigenous kids, Morgan and Eli, are placed in a new foster home. The pair feel out of place and disconnected in their new surroundings — until they uncover a secret portal in the attic that opens up to a magical reality. The frozen barren grounds they find set the pair on a mission of survival and self-determination.

• How David A. Robertson manages to write as much as he does

See the full Canadian kids book list below.

1. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
2. Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie, illustrated by Julie Flett
3. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
4. Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks
5. Sharon, Lois and Bram's Skinnamarink by Sharon Hampson, Lois Lilienstein & Bram Morrison with Randi Hampson, illustrated by Qin Leng
6. With Our Orange Hearts by Phyllis Webstad, illustrated by Emily Kewageshig 
7. Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova
8. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
9. Carson Crosses Canada by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Kass Reich
10. Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince, illustrated by Carla Joseph