1978 in Canada
See also: 1977 in Canada, other events of 1978, 1979 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.
Table of contents |
Incumbents
- Premier of Alberta – Peter Lougheed
- Premier of British Columbia – W.R. Bennett
- Premier of Manitoba – Sterling Lyon
- Premier of New Brunswick – Richard Hatfield
- Premier of Newfoundland – Frank Moores
- Premier of Nova Scotia – Gerald Regan then John Buchanan
- Premier of Ontario – Bill Davis
- Premier of Prince Edward Island – Alexander B. Campbell then Bennett Campbell
- Premier of Quebec – René Lévesque
- Premier of Saskatchewan – Allan Blakeney
Events
- January 24 – Cosmos 954 a Soviet satellite breaks up over northern Canada.
- June 26 – Air Canada DC-9 overruns runway in Toronto, 2 people die.
- August 4 – 41 are killed when a bus plunges into a lake near Eastman, Quebec.
- September 18 – Bennett Campbell becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing Alexander B. Campbell
- October 5 – John MacLennan Buchanan becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Gerald Regan
- October 16 – Fifteen federal by-elections are held across the country. The Liberals lose five seats in a major defeat of the Liberal government.
- October 18 – Saskatchewan election: Allan Blakeney's NDP win a third consecutive majority
- Supreme Court of Canada declares unilingual legislatures and courts unconstitutional
- Chris Pearson becomes government leader of Yukon as responsible government is instituted
- Under the new immigration act homosexuals are no longer an inadmissible class
- VIA Rail is established
- The Commonwealth Games are held in Edmonton, Alberta
- Despite accusations of marital infidelity, Colin Thatcher, who would later become famous for his involvement in the murder of his ex-wife, is re-elected to the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.
Arts and Literature
- New Works
- Margaret Atwood – Up in the Tree
- Mordecai Richler – The Great Comic Book Heroes and Other Essays
- John Gray – Billy Bishop Goes to War
- Henry Beissel – Goya
- Awards
- Alice Munro's Who Do You Think You Are? is nominated for the Booker Prize
- See 1979 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Stephen Leacock Award: Ernest Buckler, Whirligig
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Lyn Cook
Births
- January 3 – Daryn Jones, actor
- February 26 – Kyle Hamilton, Olympic rower
- March 9 – Chris Phillips, hockey player
- April 6 – Thomas Herschmiller, Olympic rower
- April 26 – Tyler Labine, actor
- May 15 – Dwayne De Rosario, soccer player
- May 15 – Caroline Dhavernas, actress
- June 13 – Matt Bradley, hockey player
- June 14 – Steve Bégin, hockey player
- July 22 – A. J. Cook, actor
- June 28 – Simon Larose, tennis player
- September 1 – Joe Stankevicius, Olympic rower
- September 5 – Laura Bertram, actor
- September 6 – Amy Agulay, field hockey international
- September 7 – Matt Cooke, hockey player
- September 7 – Devon Sawa, actor
- September 20 – Jason Bay, baseball player
- September 21 – Paulo Costanzo, actor
- September 22 – Steve Moore, hockey player
- December 2 – Nelly Furtado, singer
- December 23 – Esthero, musician
- Rebecca Blaikie, politician
Deaths
- March 31 – Charles Best, co-discoverer of insulin
- April 13 – Jack Chambers, artist
- September 9 – Jack Warner, studio mogul
Categories: 1978 | Years in Canada