The Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded every year to Canada’s top athlete. The winner is picked by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters across the country. The trophy was first awarded in 1937 in memory of Toronto sports writer Louis Edwin Marsh. Marsh was a widely respected journalist. He wrote a daily sports column in the Toronto Star from 1925 to his death in 1936. In his youth he excelled at many sports, including track and field, and swimming. He played football for Toronto, raced sailboats and iceboats, and later was a boxing and hockey referee.

Recent winners of the award include Russ Jackson, Wayne Gretzky, and Donovan Bailey. Jacques Villeneuve received the award in 1995 and 1997 for winning, first the Indianapolis 500, and then the Formula 1.