These are the Canadian number-one albums of 1981. The charts were compiled and published by RPM every Saturday.
| † | This indicates the best performing album of the year. [1] |
| Issue date | Album | Artist | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 3 | The River | Bruce Springsteen | [2] |
| January 10 | [3] | ||
| January 17 | [4] | ||
| January 24 | Double Fantasy | John Lennon and Yoko Ono | [5] |
| January 31 | [6] | ||
| February 7 | Zenyatta Mondatta | The Police | [7] |
| February 14 | [8] | ||
| February 21 | [9] | ||
| February 28 | [10] | ||
| March 7 | [11] | ||
| March 14 | Double Fantasy | John Lennon and Yoko Ono | [12] |
| March 21 | [13] | ||
| March 28 | [14] | ||
| April 4 | Moving Pictures | Rush | [15] |
| April 11 | [16] | ||
| April 18 | [17] | ||
| April 25 | [18] | ||
| May 2 | Face Value † | Phil Collins | [19] |
| May 9 | [20] | ||
| May 16 | Arc of a Diver | Steve Winwood | [21] |
| May 23 | [22] | ||
| May 30 | [23] | ||
| June 6 | [24] | ||
| June 13 | Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap | AC/DC | [25] |
| June 20 | [26] | ||
| June 27 | Face Value † | Phil Collins | [27] |
| July 4 | Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap | AC/DC | [28] |
| July 11 | [29] | ||
| July 18 | [30] | ||
| July 25 | [31] | ||
| August 1 | [32] | ||
| August 8 | [33] | ||
| August 15 | [34] | ||
| August 22 | [35] | ||
| August 29 | Long Distance Voyager | The Moody Blues | [36] |
| September 5 | [37] | ||
| September 12 | [38] | ||
| September 19 | [39] | ||
| September 26 | [40] | ||
| October 3 | [41] | ||
| October 10 | Tattoo You | The Rolling Stones | [42] |
| October 17 | [43] | ||
| October 24 | [44] | ||
| October 31 | [45] | ||
| November 7 | [46] | ||
| November 14 | [47] | ||
| November 21 | [48] | ||
| November 28 | Ghost in the Machine | The Police | [49] |
| December 5 | [50] | ||
| December 12 | [51] | ||
| December 19 | The Great White North | Bob and Doug McKenzie | [52] |
| December 26 | [53] |
