1963 in Canada

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

----

Incumbents

*Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General: Georges Vanier
*Prime Minister: John Diefenbaker then Lester B. Pearson
*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 Minister 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 general election, 1963: Ernest Manning's Alberta 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 general election, 1963: John Robarts's PCs win a sixth consecutive majority
* November 29: 118 are killed in the Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 crash near Ste-Thérèse-de-Blainville, Quebec
* 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 12 – Ken Fitzpatrick, breaststroke swimmer
* January 19 – Steve Peters, Ontario politician
* February 12 – Ron Schuler, Manitoba politician
* March 1 – Ron Francis, ice hockey player
* March 26 – Roch Voisine, musician
* March 30 – Wayne Gordon, boxer
* March 30 – Carol Klimpel, freestyle swimmer
* April 4 – Vince Ditrich, politician
* April 4 – Dale Hawerchuk, ice hockey player
* April 4 – Jim Wilson, politician
* April 14 – John Kalbhenn, boxer
* April 18 – Eric McCormack, actor
* April 27 – Joe Peschisolido, politician
* April 27 – Cali Timmins, actor
* May 5 – Susan Whelan, politician
* May 17 – Michelle Conn, field hockey player
* May 25 – Mike Myers, comedian and actor
* May 26 – Richard Crouse, film critic
* June 4 – Carey Nelson, long-distance runner
* June 17 – Sandra Greaves, judoka
* June 24 – Barbara Underhill, figure skater
* June 25 – Doug Gilmour
* June 25 – Yann Martel, author
* July 11 – Al MacInnis, ice hockey player
* July 11 – Sandra Schmirler, Olympic and World champion curler
* July 12 – Andy Savoy, politician
* July 28 – Gregory Henriquez, architect
* August 2 – Russell Smith, author
* September 2 – Gerard Gallant, ice hockey player
* September 29 – Dave Andreychuk, ice hockey player
* October 17 – Norm Macdonald, comedian
* October 20 – Julie Payette, astronaut
* November 19 – Bill Dunlop, boxer
* November 25 – Holly Cole, singer
* December 9 – Dave Hilton, Jr., boxer
* December 29 – Liisa Savijarvi, skier

Deaths

* September 8: Leslie Gordon Bell, politician