From a media release:

SUPERSTAR COMEDIAN RUSSELL PETERS TO HOST THE 26th ANNUAL GEMINI AWARDS

• SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 AT 8 P.M. (8:30 NT) ON CBC-TV

CBC Television and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced today that global comedy star Russell Peters will host the 26th ANNUAL GEMINI AWARDS. Winner of the 2008 Gemini Award for ‘Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series’ and four-time Gemini Award nominee, Peters will return to his hometown of Toronto, Ontario to host the star-studded celebration that honours the best in Canadian television. The 26th ANNUAL GEMINI AWARDS will be broadcast live on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC Television from the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto. Special musical performances and celebrity presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I’m excited about hosting the Emmys, but since that’s not happening, these Geminis are going to be amazing. Plus this will be a great warm-up for when I do host the Emmys,” jokes Peters.

Born in Toronto, Russell Peters is a global comedy and Internet sensation. His YouTube clips have been viewed over 60 million times and he has performed to sold-out crowds from Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, to New York’s Madison Square Garden, to the Sydney Opera House to London’s O2 Arena where he established a new attendance record. Over the course of his twenty-plus-year career, he has headlined comedy festivals throughout North America and has performed sold-out arena tours worldwide. In 2009 and 2010, he made the Forbes list of top earning comedians in the United States along with Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. Peters’ first book, Call Me Russell, was a number one bestseller, and his new movie, Breakaway, will premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival on September 10th, and will be in theatres this September. In October, Peters will be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. Peters is also a Gemini Award winner (‘Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series’) for hosting the Juno Awards in 2008.

Launched by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television in 1986, The Gemini Awards honour outstanding achievements in the Canadian English-language television and new media industries. The Gemini Awards bring together over 2,500 of Canada’s most gifted craftspeople, producers and decision-makers over several evenings of special events. The 26th ANNUAL GEMINI AWARDS will be broadcast live on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC Television from the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto.

For a complete list of nominations and supporting media materials, please visit www.geminiawards.ca/ .

From Etan Vlessing of Real Screen:

• Canadian industry vets to receive special Gemini awards
  Canadian television industry veterans Christina Jennings, documentarian Mark Terry (pictured) and Lloyd Robertson are to be honored at the upcoming Gemini Awards, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television said Wednesday. Read more.

From Alex Strachan of Postmedia News:

• Geminis come of age
  By giving Flashpoint a fieldleading 17 nominations, academy members showed, too, that they may no longer be taking a snobbish view toward popularity. For many years, the constant snubs of popular – and worthy – programs like Corner Gas and Trailer Park Boys grated on the handful of people who pay attention to Canada’s TV awards. Read more.