1963 in Canada

See also: 1962 in Canada, other events of 1963, 1964 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Prime Minister – John Diefenbaker then Lester B. Pearson
• 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

• February 4 – Defence Minister Douglas Harkness resigns after Prime Minster Diefenbaker refuses to accept nuclear weapons from the United States
• February 5 – The Diefenbaker government collapses over the missile issue and an election is called
• March 1 – Simon Fraser University is founded
• April 8 – Federal election: Lester Pearson's Liberals win a minority, defeating John Diefenbaker's PCs
• April 20 – The Front de libération du Quebec sets off its first bombs in Quebec
• April 22 – Lester Pearson becomes Prime Minister, replacing John Diefenbaker
• May 27 – The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology opens
• June 17 – Alberta election: Ernest Manning's Social Credit Party wins an eighth consecutive majority
• July 22 – The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is announced
• September 21 – Place des Arts opens in Montreal
• September 25 – Ontario election: John Robarts's PCs win a sixth consecutive majority
• November 29 – 118 are killed in a TCA plane crash near Ste-Thérèse-de-Blainville, Québec
• December 23 – plans to build the National Arts Centre are approved
• Future hall of fame baseball player Ferguson Jenkins plays his first major league game

Arts and Literature

New Works

• W.L. Morton – The Kingdom of Canada
• Milton Acorn – Jawbreakers
• Leonard Cohen – The Favorite Game
• Farley Mowat – Never Cry Wolf

Awards

• See 1963 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Donald Jack, Three Cheers for Me
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Kerry Wood

Births

• January 1 – Cheryl Dick,netball player
• January 9 – Larry Cain, Olympic canoeist
• January 19 – Steve Peters, Ontario politician
• February 12 – Ron Schuler, Manitoba politician
• March 1- Ron Francis, hockey player
• March 26 – Roch Voisine, musician
• April 4 – Vince Ditrich, politician
• April 4 – Dale Hawerchuk, hockey player
• April 4 – Jim Wilson, politician
• April 18 – Eric McCormack, actor
• April 27 – Joe Peschisolido, politician
• April 27 – Cali Timmins, actor
• May 5 – Susan Whelan, politician
• May 25 – Mike Myers, comedian and actor
• June 24 – Barbara Underhill, figure skater
• June 25 – Doug Gilmour
• June 25 – Yann Martel, author
• July 11 – Al MacInnis, hockey player
• July 11 – Sandra Schmirler, Olympic and World champion curler
• July 12 – Andy Savoy, politician
• September 2 – Gerard Gallant, hockey player
• September 29 – Dave Andreychuk, hockey player
• October 17 – Norm MacDonald, comedian
• October 20 – Julie Payette, astronaut
• November 25 – Holly Cole, signer
• December 9 – Dave Hilton, Jr., boxer
• December 29 – Liisa Savijarvi, skier
• Russell Smith, author

Deaths