1968 in Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
Events from the year 1968 in Canada.
Contents |
[edit] Incumbents
- Monarch – Elizabeth II
- Governor General – Roland Michener
- Prime Minister – Lester B. Pearson then Pierre Trudeau
- Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning then Harry Strom
- Premier of British Columbia – W.A.C. Bennett
- Premier of Manitoba – Walter Weir
- Premier of New Brunswick – Louis Robichaud
- Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood
- Premier of Nova Scotia – George Smith
- Premier of Ontario – John Robarts
- Premier of Prince Edward Island – Alexander B. Campbell
- Premier of Quebec – Daniel Johnson, Sr. then Jean-Jacques Bertrand
- Premier of Saskatchewan – W. Ross Thatcher
[edit] Events
[edit] January to June
- February 1 – The three branches of the Canadian Forces are merged into one, adopting a common green uniform and Army-derived ranks
- February 20 – Prime Minister Pearson gives the first ever televised address to the nation as he tells Canadians that he will table a confidence motion the next day to prove his party still has control. After a week of filibustering by the Opposition, the motion passes.[1]
- April 1 – The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is formed
- April 6 – Pierre Trudeau wins 1968 Liberal Party leadership election
- April 20 – Pierre Trudeau becomes prime minister, replacing Lester Pearson
- May 14 – The grand opening of the Toronto-Dominion Centre is held
- June 1 – The flag of Alberta is authorized
- June 24 – Separatists riot in Montreal on St-Jean-Baptiste Day
- June 25 – Federal election: Pierre Trudeau's Liberals win a majority
[edit] July to December
- July 1 – The laws creating Canada's Medicare system come into effect
- July 18–August 9 – Canada Post workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers go on strike
- August 20 – Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia to end the "Prague Spring" of political liberalization. Thousands of refugees flee to Canada.
- September 26 – Daniel Johnson, Sr, Premier of Quebec, dies in office
- October 2 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand becomes premier of Quebec
- October 15 – The Mouvement Souveraineté-Association merges with the Ralliement National to create the Parti Québécois, René Lévesque is selected as the party's first leader
- December 12 – Harry Strom becomes premier of Alberta, replacing Ernest Manning
- December 31 – Quebec's Legislative Assembly is renamed the National Assembly
[edit] Full date unknown
- IMAX technique invented
- Canada's new Divorce Act introduces no fault divorce
- The Rochdale College experiment begins in Toronto
[edit] Arts and literature
[edit] New works
- Alice Munro – Dance of the Happy Shades
- Mordecai Richler – Hunting Tigers Under Glass
- Margaret Atwood – The Animals in That Country
- Robert Fulford – This Was Expo
- John Newlove – Black Night Window
- Kildare Dobbs – Reading the Time
- Mordecai Richler – Cocksure
- Robert Kroetsch – Alberta
- Marian Engel – No Clouds of Glory
- Gordon R. Dickson – Soldier, Ask Not
- Farley Mowat – This Rock Within the Sea: A Heritage Lost
- Harold Cardinal – The Unjust Society
[edit] Poetry
- Mary Alice Downie and Barbara Robertson, editors, The Wind Has Wings, anthology of 77 Canadian poems for children (anthology)
- Dennis Lee, editor, T. O. Now, anthology of 13 "apprentice poets living in Toronto" (anthology)
- Joe Rosenblatt, Winter of the Luna Moon
- Irving Layton, The Shattered Plinths, 60 new poems
- Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-1968
- Alfred Purdy, Wild Grape Wine
- Dorothy Livesay, The Documentaries, poems from the 1930s and 1940s, and including "Roots", a long poem
[edit] Awards
- David Suzuki wins UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for science writing
- See 1968 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Stephen Leacock Award: Max Ferguson, And Now...Here's Max
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Lorraine McLaughlin
[edit] Theatre
- August 28 – Michel Tremblay's Les Belles-Sœurs premiers in Montreal.
[edit] Art
- December 18 – Henry Moore donates hundreds of works to the Art Gallery of Ontario.
[edit] Sport
- May 27 – Montreal is awarded a Major League Baseball franchise that would eventually be the Montreal Expos.
[edit] Births
[edit] January to March
- January 5 – Joé Juneau, ice hockey player
- January 7 – Tara Croxford, field hockey player
- January 13 – Pat Onstad, international soccer player
- January 14 – Michael Meldrum, swimmer
- January 28 – Sarah McLachlan, musician, singer and songwriter
- February 1 – Mark Recchi, ice hockey player
- February 9 – Joel Brough, field hockey player
- February 22 – Shawn Graham, politician and 31st Premier of New Brunswick
- February 27 – Matt Stairs, baseball player
- March 17 – Patty Sullivan, television personality
- March 30 – Celine Dion, singer, songwriter and actress
[edit] April to June
- April 18 – David Hewlett, actor
- May 8 – Louise Stratten, actress and younger sister of the murdered actress Dorothy Stratten
- May 12 – Jane Kerr, swimmer
- May 20 – William Irwin, boxer
- May 30 – Jason Kenney, politician and Minister
- June 7 - Macha Grenon, actress
- June 10 – Susan Haskell, actress
- June 16 – Lyne Poirier, judoka
- June 27 – Pascale Bussières, actress
- June 29 – Theoren Fleury, ice hockey player
[edit] July to September
- July 2 – Mark Tewksbury, swimmer and Olympic gold medalist
- July 11 – Michael Cram, actor and singer-songwriter
- July 22 – Harry Taylor, swimmer
- August 20 – Jody Holden, beach volleyball player
- September 20 – Leah Pinsent, actress
- September 23 – Donna McGinnis, swimmer
[edit] October to December
- October 2 – Sandy Goss, swimmer
- October 2 – Glen Wesley, ice hockey player
- October 26 – Tom Cavanagh, actor
- November 1 – Andrea Nugent, swimmer
- November 19 – Gord Fraser, road racing cyclist
- November 25 – Jill Hennessy, actress and musician
- December 2 – Darren Ward, swimmer
- December 3 – Brendan Fraser, actor
- December 10 – Caroline Wittrin, hammer thrower
- December 17 – Paul Tracy, racing car driver
[edit] Full date unknown
- Evan Solomon, writer, magazine publisher and television host
[edit] Deaths
- January 31 – George Arthur Brethen, politician (b.1877)
- February 5 – Frances Loring, sculptor (b.1887)
- February 13 – Portia White, singer (b.1911)
- February 16 – Healey Willan, organist and composer (b.1880)
- February 17 – Ernest Charles Drury, politician, writer and 8th Premier of Ontario (b.1878)
- April 29 – Aubin-Edmond Arsenault, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island (b.1870)
- May 30 – Charles Gavan Power, politician, Minister and Senator (b.1888)
- June 14 – John B. McNair, lawyer, politician, judge and 22nd Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (b.1889)
- August 1 – Maurice Spector, Chairman of the Communist Party of Canada (b.1898)
- September 26 – Daniel Johnson, Sr., politician and 20th Premier of Quebec (b.1915)
- December 15 – Antonio Barrette, politician and 18th Premier of Quebec (b.1899)
