The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000.

The CCA have been held in different cities, most often in Toronto and London, Ontario. Between 2003 and 2015, the awards were held as part of the Canadian Comedy Awards Festival, with showcase performances by nominees and other comedic talent. The Comedy Network broadcast the first two award ceremonies and several specials of festival performances. These broadcasts have earned two Gemini Award nominations.

The awards are artist-driven with a mandate "To recognize, celebrate and promote Canadian achievements in comedy at home and abroad." They are run through a non-profit organization and volunteer committees, drawing membership from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Canadian Actors' Equity Association (CAEA), the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), and the Comedy Association. Some awards are determined by industry members while others are open to public voting.

Actor, director and producer Tim Progosh founded the Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) after touring for over 20 years in sketch, improv and stand-up comedy. He felt that there was a distance between stand-up comedians and other comedic artists, and that stand-up and comedy as a whole wasn't receiving adequate national recognition. With the establishment of The Comedy Network in late 1997, Progosh felt the time was right to create a national comedy award and comedy hall of fame.

Progosh brought together an advisory board which included himself, Mark Breslin of Yuk Yuk's comedy clubs, Andrew Alexander of The Second City, Sydd Capp, and representatives from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Canadian Actors' Equity Association (CAEA), the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) and the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC). Award categories were created for live comedy, film and television, with the mandate "To recognize, celebrate and promote Canadian achievements in comedy at home and abroad."

Philanthropist Bluma Appel helped to establish the awards, and supported a bursary for emerging comics. Breslin noted that it was the first time "that anyone from the Canadian establishment took comedy seriously." The first Canadian Comedy Awards ceremony was held in 2000 at Toronto's Masonic Temple. The Comedy Network televised the first two annual awards ceremonies, but due to lack of sponsorship the broadcast deal ended in 2001.

In 2003, non-profit organization the Canadian Comedy Foundation for Excellence (CCFE) was incorporated to organize and promote the awards, and the ceremonies moved from Toronto to London, Ontario. The CCFE also organized the Canadian Comedy Awards Festival (CCAF), with showcase performances by the nominees in sketch, stand-up and improvisational comedy, workshops, seminars and special events leading up to the awards gala. As the festival grew during the following years, The Comedy Network began broadcasting Best of the Fest variety specials.

Following sponsorship, the CCFA moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, in 2008 and Saint John, New Brunswick, in 2009. The awards then returned to Toronto, which could more easily accommodate the festival which then had 38 shows over five days. During this period, categories were also broadened and added to recognize emerging media such as podcasts and web series. In 2013, the awards moved to Ottawa and had its first francophone presence at the festival.