Canada's TV and film community gathered in Toronto this evening to celebrate their greatest successes of the year.

And by the end of the night, the biggest winners at the Canadian Screen Awards were the TV series Anne with an E and the limited TV series Cardinal: Blackfly Season. Each was honoured in seven categories.

Among Anne with an E's awards was Best Drama Series, and the star, Amybeth McNulty, won for Best Lead Actress, Drama Series. She thanked, among others, climate change activist Greta Thunberg and Pakistani girls-education advocate Malala Yousafzai for inspiring youths like her.

Cardinal: Blackfly Season's male star, Billy Campbell, won as Best Lead Actor, Dramatic Program or Limited Series. His costar, Karine Vanasse, won as Best Lead Actress in this category.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture went to Une Colonie, about a troubled 12-year-old girl attending a new school. It also won Best Canadian Feature at last year's Whistler Film Fest.

The film's star, Émilie Bierre, won the Canadian Screen Award for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

The award for Achievement in Direction went to Jasmin Mozaffari for Firecrackers.

The winner for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role was Théodore Pellerin for Chien de Garde.

And Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky won the Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary for their stunning Anthropocene: The Human Epoch.

The Best Comedy Series award was given to Schitt's Creek, which is about to enter its final season. Its female star, Catherine O'Hara, won for Best Lead Actress, Comedy, taking home her fourth consecutive Canadian Screen Award.

The Best Lead Actor, Comedy award went to Jared Keeso of Letterkenny. He also shared the award for Best Writing, Comedy with Jacob Tierney for Letterkenny Spelling Bee.

Bad Blood's Kim Coates won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Actor, Drama Series.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to director Deepa Mehta, whose films include the trilogy about India: Fire, Water, and Earth. Mehta. An immigrant from India, she said that the award was not only a pat on the back for a job well done, but also "an embrace of belonging".

Mehta revealed that the first time she truly felt Canadian was when she returned home after the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra created havoc over the filming of Fire, which was about a lesbian relationship. Movie theatres were torched and her movie sets were vandalized in India because of opposition from this extremist political party. She told the audience that in Canada, she felt safe.

The Academy Icon Award was presented to the Kids in the Hall; the Earle Grey Award was presented to Mary Welsh, and the Radius Award winner was Stephan James.