1960 in Canada

"See also:"
1959 in Canada,
other events of 1960,
1961 in Canada and the
Timeline of Canadian history.

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Incumbents

* Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II
* Governor General: Georges Vanier
* Prime Minister: John Diefenbaker
* Premier of Alberta: Ernest Manning
* Premier of British Columbia: W.A.C. Bennett
* Premier of Manitoba: Duff Roblin
* Premier of New Brunswick: Hugh John Flemming then Louis Robichaud
* Premier of Newfoundland: Joey Smallwood
* Premier of Nova Scotia: Robert Stanfield
* Premier of Ontario: Leslie Frost
* Premier of Prince Edward Island: Walter Shaw
* Premier of Quebec: Paul Sauvé then Antonio Barrette then Jean Lesage
* Premier of Saskatchewan: Tommy Douglas

Events

* January: The Board of Broadcast Governors begins hearings in Winnipeg to determine alternatives to CBC Television. Hearings were conducted throughout the country. Eventually, numerous licences were given to: Halifax—the Finlay MacDonald group—CJCH-TV; Montreal—the Canadian Marconi Co.—CFCF-TV; Ottawa—Ernie Bushnell's group—CJOH-TV; Toronto—Baton—the Bassett group—CFTO-TV; Winnipeg—the Moffat group—CJAY-TV (CKY-TV); Edmonton—the CBC (CBXT), (which would relieve CFRN-TV of its CBC affiliation); Calgary—the Love organization—CFCN-TV; Vancouver—the Vantel group—CHAN-TV (BCTV).
* January 2: Paul Sauvé, Premier of Quebec, dies in office
* January 8: Antonio Barrette becomes premier of Quebec
* January 16: Gordie Howe becomes the leading scorer in NHL history, passing Maurice Richard
* February 16: The new National Gallery of Canada building opens in Ottawa
* April 14: The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs to win their fifth Stanley Cup in a row
* April 24: Television station CBWFT signs on for the first time as Radio-Canada Winnipeg.
* June 8: Saskatchewan election: Tommy Douglas's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation wins a fifth consecutive majority
* July 1: Status Indians are given the right to vote
* July 12: Louis Robichaud becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing Hugh John Flemming
* July 22: Jean Lesage becomes premier of Quebec, replacing Antonio Barrette
* July 22: Vincent Massey becomes the first Canadian to receive the Royal Victorian Chain
* July 25–27: The first First Ministers conference is held
* August 10: The Canadian Bill of Rights is given royal assent
* September: York University's first class begins learning
* September 19: The University of Calgary is founded
* October 6: Maurice Richard's number is retired by the Montreal Canadiens
* November 2: The National Theatre School opens in Montreal
* December 17: Quebec becomes the last province to agree to the National Health Act
* The Quiet Revolution is usually said to begin in Quebec
* The Canadian Bill of Rights is approved by Parliament
* French beginning to be recognized as language taught in schools outside of Quebec
* L'Anse aux Meadows, evidence of Viking colonization of North America is discovered in Newfoundland
* Seven-year-old Roger Woodward became the first person to accidentally fall over the Horseshoe Falls and survive.

Arts and literature

: New books
* Milton Acorn: "Against a League of Liars"
* Farley Mowat: "Ordeal by Ice"
* Gordon R. Dickson: "Necromancer": Awards
* See 1960 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
* Stephen Leacock Award: Pierre Berton, "Just Add Water and Stir"

Births

* January 12: Oliver Platt, actor
* January 25: John Anderson Alleyne, choreographer
* February 2: Grant Main, rower
* February 12: George Elliott Clarke, author
* February 14: Meg Tilly, actor
* February 17: Lindy Ruff, ice hockey player and coach
* February 28: Dorothy Stratten, actor
* March 7: Gail Greenough, author
* March 15: Carole Rouillard, long-distance runner
* April 10: Drew Caldwell, politician
* April 28: John Cerutti, baseball pitcher
* April 29: Robert J. Sawyer, science fiction writer
* May 23: Cheryl Gallant, politician
* July 19: Atom Egoyan, filmmaker
* July 21: Dale Hunter, ice hockey player
* July 22: Jane Patterson, judoka
* July 25: Alain Robidoux, snooker player
* August 27: Mike Mahovlich, javelin thrower
* August 30: Mark Eyking, politician
* September 14: Callum Keith Rennie, actor
* September 21: David James Elliott, actor
* November 6: Kevin Neufeld, rower
* November 8: Anne Dorval, actress
* December 28: Ray Bourque, ice hockey player
* John Greyson: film director

Deaths

* January 2: Paul Sauvé, Premier of Quebec
* February 22: Paul-Émile Borduas, abstract painter
* November 5: Mack Sennett, comedian
* December 12: Louis Orville Breithaupt, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario