The 1996 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were presented on November 13, 1996.
English
{|class="wikitable" width="100%"
!width=15%|Category
!width=30%|Winner
!width=55%|Nominated
|-
| align="center"| Fiction
| Guy Vanderhaeghe, The Englishman's Boy
|
- Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace
- Elisabeth Harvor, Let Me Be the One
- Janice Kulyk Keefer, The Green Library
- Cordelia Strube, Teaching Pigs to Sing
- Audrey Thomas, Coming Down from Wa
|-
| align="center"| Non-fiction
| John Ralston Saul, The Unconscious Civilization
|
- Roy MacGregor, The Home Team – Fathers, Sons & Hockey
- T. F. Rigelhof, A Blue Boy in a Black Dress
- Lake Sagaris, After the First Death: A Journey Through Chile, Time, Mind
- Merilyn Simonds, The Convict Lover
|-
| align="center"| Poetry
| E. D. Blodgett, Apostrophes: Woman at a Piano
|
- Elizabeth Brewster, Footnotes to the Book of Job
- Crispin Elsted, Climate and the Affections
- Charles Lillard, Shadow Weather
- Erín Moure, Search Procedures
|-
| align="center"| Drama
| Colleen Wagner, The Monument
|
- Wendy Lill, The Glace Bay Miners' Museum
- John Mighton, The Little Years
- Michael O'Brien, Mad Boy Chronicle
- Betty Quan, Mother Tongue
|-
| align="center"| Children's literature
| Paul Yee, Ghost Train
|
- Jan Andrews, Keri
- David Boyd, Bottom Drawer
- Gillian Chan, Glory Days and Other Stories
- Don Gillmor, The Fabulous Song
|-
| align="center"| Children's illustration
| Eric Beddows, The Rooster's Gift
|
- Alan Daniel and Lea Daniel, Sody Salleratus
- Wang Kui, The Wise Washerman – A Folktale from Burma
- Johnny Wales, Gruntle Piggle Takes Off
- Werner Zimmermann, Whatever You Do, Don't Go Near That Canoe!
|-
| align="center"| French to English translation
| Linda Gaboriau, Stone and Ashes (Daniel Danis, Cendres de cailloux)
|
- Sheila Fischman, Ostend (François Gravel, Ostende)
- D. G. Jones, For Orchestra and Solo Poet (Émile Martel, Pour orchestre et poète seul)
- Shelley Tepperman, In Vitro (Yvan Bienvenue, In vitro)
|}
French
{|class="wikitable" width="100%"
!width=15%|Category
!width=30%|Winner
!width=55%|Nominated
|-
| align="center"| Fiction
| Marie-Claire Blais, '
|
- Nancy Huston, '
- Roger Magini, '
- Jocelyne Saucier, '
- Lise Vaillancourt, '
|-
| align="center"| Non-fiction
| Michel Freitag, '
|
- Gérard Bouchard, '
- Gilles Lapointe, '
- Benoît Melançon, '
- Denis Vaugeois, '
|-
| align="center"| Poetry
| Serge Patrice Thibodeau /
|
- José Acquelin, '
- Jean Charlebois, '
- Herménégilde Chiasson, '
- Louise Cotnoir, '
|-
| align="center"| Drama
| Normand Chaurette, '
|
- Suzanne Lebeau, '
- Wajdi Mouawad, '
|-
| align="center"| Children's literature
| Gilles Tibo, '
|
- Sylvie Desrosiers, '
- Jacinthe Gaulin, '
- Daniel Sernine, '
- Hélène Vachon, '
|-
| align="center"| Children's illustration
| colspan=2 align=center| No award presented
|-
| align="center"| English to French translation
| Christiane Teasdale, '
|
- Pierre DesRuisseaux, '
- Hélène Le Beau, '
|}