Circuit Gilles Villeneuve · 27 September 1981
Jacques Laffite won the 1981 Canadian Grand Prix for Ligier from 10th on the grid, 6.23s ahead of John Watson. Derek Daly gained the most places, from 20th on the grid to 8th.
| Pos | Team | Points Breakdown | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ligier Laffite 9 + Tambay 0 | Laffite 9 + Tambay 0 | 9 | |
| 2 | McLaren Watson 6 + de Cesaris 0 | Watson 6 + de Cesaris 0 | 6 | |
| 3 | Ferrari Villeneuve 4 + Pironi 0 | Villeneuve 4 + Pironi 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Alfa Romeo Giacomelli 3 + Andretti 0 | Giacomelli 3 + Andretti 0 | 3 | |
| 5 | Brabham Piquet 2 + Rebaque 0 | Piquet 2 + Rebaque 0 | 2 | |
| 6 | Team Lotus de Angelis 1 + Mansell 0 | de Angelis 1 + Mansell 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | March Daly 0 | Daly 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Theodore Surer 0 | Surer 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Williams Reutemann 0 + Jones 0 | Reutemann 0 + Jones 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Tyrrell Alboreto 0 + Cheever 0 | Alboreto 0 + Cheever 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Renault Prost 0 + Arnoux 0 | Prost 0 + Arnoux 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | ATS Borgudd 0 | Borgudd 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Osella Jarier 0 | Jarier 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | Ensign Salazar 0 | Salazar 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | Arrows Patrese 0 | Patrese 0 | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | Team | Race time / Gap | Laps | Stops | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Laffite Ligier | Ligier | 2:01:25.200 | 63 | — | 9 | |
| 2 | John Watson McLaren | McLaren | +6.230s | 63 | — | 6 | |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari | Ferrari | +1:50.270 | 63 | — | 4 | |
| 4 | Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo | +1 Lap | 62 | — | 3 | |
| 5 | Nelson Piquet Brabham | Brabham | +1 Lap | 62 | — | 2 | |
| 6 | Elio de Angelis Team Lotus | Team Lotus | +1 Lap | 62 | — | 1 | |
| 7 | Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo | +1 Lap | 62 | — | — | |
| 8 | Derek Daly March | March | +2 Laps | 61 | — | — | |
| 9 | Marc Surer Theodore | Theodore | +2 Laps | 61 | — | — | |
| 10 | Carlos Reutemann Williams | Williams | +3 Laps | 60 | — | — | |
| 11 | Michele Alboreto Tyrrell | Tyrrell | +4 Laps | 59 | — | — | |
| 12 | Eddie Cheever Tyrrell | Tyrrell | DNF Engine | 56 | — | — | |
| DNF | Andrea de Cesaris McLaren | McLaren | DNF Spun off | 51 | — | — | |
| DNF | Alain Prost Renault | Renault | DNF Collision | 48 | — | — | |
| DNF | Nigel Mansell Team Lotus | Team Lotus | DNF Collision | 45 | — | — | |
| DNF | Slim Borgudd ATS | ATS | DNF Spun off | 40 | — | — | |
| DNF | Hector Rebaque Brabham | Brabham | DNF Spun off | 35 | — | — | |
| DNF | Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella | Osella | DNF Collision | 26 | — | — | |
| DNF | Alan Jones Williams | Williams | DNF Handling | 24 | — | — | |
| DNF | Didier Pironi Ferrari | Ferrari | DNF Ignition | 24 | — | — | |
| DNF | Eliseo Salazar Ensign | Ensign | DNF Spun off | 8 | — | — | |
| DNF | Patrick Tambay Ligier | Ligier | DNF Spun off | 6 | — | — | |
| DNF | Riccardo Patrese Arrows | Arrows | DNF Spun off | 6 | — | — | |
| DNF | René Arnoux Renault | Renault | DNF Collision | 0 | — | — |