The two-time champion made the most of the 44th pole position of his career to lead from the lights to the chequered flag, finishing the 70 laps contest at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 2.2 seconds clear of the 29-year-old German.
His victory ended Rosberg's run of two wins and confirmed his own full recovery from the disappointment of the Mercedes pit-stop fiasco in Monaco, where Hamilton was deprived of a near-certain victory in the closing laps.
"Did I need this (after Monaco)? Yes, I think I did," said Hamilton, adding: "I love Montreal, I love this track and love this city. And it really feels good to be back on the top step again"
Rosberg was unable to mount a serious challenge as he came home second ahead of Finns Valtteri Bottas of Williams and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.
Brazilian Felipe Massa finished sixth in the second Williams after another strong drive ahead of Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado who completed his first race of the season in seventh for Lotus.
The race proved disastrous for McLaren with both their cars driven by Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button failing to finish.
On a mild and dry afternoon Hamilton oozed confidence and revelled in the pre-race 'Hollywood' build-up with screen stars Michael Douglas and Al Pacino in attendance.
Before the start, he thanked his Mercedes team for "all the hard work this weekend putting the car back together again," a reference to his crash in Friday's rain.
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