TORONTO — Nominees for the annual Canadian Comedy Awards were announced Wednesday with the CTV series "Corner Gas" getting a leading six nods, including best direction and a best male performance honour for Eric Peterson.

"Corner Gas" star and creator Brent Butt is named in four of the six nominations and is nominated twice in the category of best writing special or episode.

The CBC TV series "Royal Canadian Air Farce" received five nominations, including best male performance for political satirist Alan Park. He's also up for best male stand-up comedian against Mike Wilmot, Peter Kelamis, Steve Patterson and Gerry Dee.

"This Hour Has 22 Minutes," "Little Mosque on the Prairie" and "Rent-A-Goalie" were among the other TV series nominated in 20 categories, while "The Rick Mercer Report" received two nominations.

The film "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" received four nods, including best male performance for Patrick Huard and Colm Feore.

The short film "If I See Randy Again Do You Want Me To Hit Him With The Axe?" nabbed three nominations, while Catherine O'Hara got a nod for best female performance in a film for "For Your Consideration."

Debra DiGiovanni, a Toronto-based comic who recently made it to the semifinals on the NBC series "Last Comic Standing," is up for best female stand-up comedian.

Her competition includes Nikki Payne, Kristeen Von Hagen, Kate Davis and Erica Sigurdson.

Best newcomer nominees include Darren Rows, Don Wood, Graham Clark, Jeff McHenry and Sean Lacomber.

Winners will be announced on the second-last day of the Canadian Comedy Festival, which runs Oct. 9 to 13 in London, Ont.

The Canadian Comedy Awards, now into their eighth year, honour the best Canadian comedic talent in live stand-up, television and film at home and abroad.

To qualify, nominees must either be a Canadian, a landed immigrant, have been born in Canada or have done the bulk of their work in Canada.

Past winners have included Rick Mercer, Mary Walsh, Mike Myers, Eugene Levy, Cathy Jones, Mark Farrell, Ron Sparks and Brent Butt .

Comedy industry members may vote for their favourite nominee online at www.Canadiancomedyawards.ca from Aug. 15 to Sept. 15.