1962 in Canada

See also: 1961 in Canada, other events of 1962, 1963 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Queen – Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister – John Diefenbaker
• Governor General – Georges Vanier

• Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia – W.A.C. Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba – Duff Roblin
• Premier of New Brunswick – Louis Robichaud
• Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia – Robert Stanfield
• Premier of Ontario – John Robarts
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – Walter Shaw
• Premier of Quebec – Jean Lesage
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Woodrow Lloyd

Events

• March 21 – The birth-defect-causing drug thalidomide is banned
• May 2 – The Canadian dollar is pegged to the U.S. currency
• June 15 – Canada is the third power to reach space with the launch of scientific satellite
• June 18 – In the 1962 Federal election John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives are reduced to a minority government
• July 1 – First medicare plan is launched in Saskatchewan to great protest by doctors
• July 30 – Trans-Canada Highway opens
• August 6 – A Premiers Conference is held in Victoria, British Columbia
• September 1 – Place Ville Marie opens in Montreal
• September 29 – Alouette 1, Canada's first sattelite is launched.
• October 25 – The Bedford Institute of Oceanography opens in Nova Scotia
• October 25-November 12 – The Cuban Missile Crisis occurs. An indecisive Diefenbaker refuses to put Canadian forces on alert, angering the U.S. government.
• December 1-December 2 – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup in the famous fog bowl
• December 11 – The last three hangings in Canada take place.
• The Globe and Mail adds the Report on Business section

Arts and literature

New books

• Max Aitken – The Decline and Fall of Lloyd George
• W. O. Mitchell – The Kite
• Marshall McLuhan – The Gutenberg Galaxy
• George Woodcock – Anarchism
• Farley Mowat – The Black Joke
• Thomas B. Costain – The Last Plantagenets

Awards

• See 1962 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: W. O. Mitchell, Jake and the Kid

Television

• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood premieres on CBC

Theatre

• The first Shaw Festival opens

Births

• January 17 – Jim Carrey, comedian and actor
• January 22 – Kevin Lamoureux, Manitoba politician
• March 27 – Jann Arden, musician
• July 1 – Michelle Wight, singer
• August 27 – Adam Oates, hockey player
• September 18 – John Mann, musician
• September 24 – Nia Vardalos, filmmaker
• September 28 – Grant Fuhr, hockey goalie
• October 16 – Dan McTeague, politician
• October 30 – Rex Harrington, ballet dancer
• November 8 – Cliff Cullen, Manitoba politician
• November 21 – Martin Cauchon, politician

Deaths