1981 in Canada

"See also:"
1980 in Canada,
other events of 1981,
1982 in Canada and the
Timeline of Canadian history.

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Incumbents

*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General - Edward Schreyer
*Prime Minister - Pierre Trudeau
*Premier of Alberta - Peter Lougheed
*Premier of British Columbia - Bill Bennett
*Premier of Manitoba - Sterling Lyon then Howard Pawley
*Premier of New Brunswick - Richard Hatfield
*Premier of Newfoundland - Brian Peckford
*Premier of Nova Scotia - John Buchanan
*Premier of Ontario - Bill Davis
*Premier of Prince Edward Island - Angus MacLean then James Lee
*Premier of Quebec - René Lévesque
*Premier of Saskatchewan - Allan Blakeney

For more see: 1981 Canadian incumbents

Events

* January 1 - Gasoline and diesel are sold by the litre rather than the gallon.
*February 5 - More than three hundred men are arrested after police sweeps of Toronto bathhouses. The arrests create an outcry among Canada's gay population, and become a historic turning point in Canadian LGBT history. See 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids.
* March 19 - Ontario election: Bill Davis's PCs win a majority
* June 4 - NABET employees at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation hold a long strike, disrupting programming for much of the Spring.
* July 17 – The government of British Columbia named a 2,639-metre (8,658 foot) peak in the Rocky Mountains after Terry Fox.
* July 30 – The 83-kilometre (52 mile) section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Ontario where Terry Fox was forced to end his run, was re-named in his honour
* September 1 - Quebec's French language sign law comes into effect
* September 1 - The Albertan and federal governments sign an energy agreement
* September 28 - Calgary is awarded the 1988 Winter Olympics
* October 16 - Canada Post becomes a crown corporation.
* November 5 - Canadian government and all provinces, except Quebec, agree on how to patriate the Canadian Constitution
* November 13 - The Canadarm is first deployed aboard the Space Shuttle
* November 17 - James Lee becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing Angus MacLean
* November 30 - Howard Pawley becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Sterling Lyon
* Power Corporation sells Canada Steamship Lines Inc. to Paul Martin and Laurence Pathy
* News media: "NOW" created
* September - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission holds pay-tv hearings in Hull, Quebec

Arts and literature

:New Works
*Margaret Atwood - "True Stories"
*Bill Bissett - "Northern Birds in Coulour"
*W.O. Mitchell - "How I Spent My Summer Holidays"
*Gordon R. Dickson - "Lost Dorsai"
*Nancy Huston - "Les Variations Goldberg":Awards
* See 1981 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
*Books in Canada First Novel Award: W.D. Valgardson, "Gentle Sinners"
*Gerald Lampert Award: Elizabeth Allan, "The Shored Up House"
*Marian Engel Award:
*Pat Lowther Award: M. Travis Lane, "Divinations and Short Poems 1973-1978"
*Stephen Leacock Award: Gary Lautens, "Take My Family...Please!"
*Vicky Metcalf Award: Monica Hughes:Film
*David Cronenberg's "Scanners" is released
*James Cameron's "", his first directing effort, is released
*"Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains" is released
*Joy Kogawa's "Obasan" is released

Births

*January 11 — Jonathan Mandick, Olympic rower
*January 20 — Owen Hargreaves, soccer player
*January 21 — Dany Heatley, ice hockey player
*March 14 — Isabelle Pearson, judoka
*May 20 — Morgan Knabe, Olympic breaststroke swimmer
*April 6 — Auburn Sigurdson, Olympic softballer
*April 19 — Hayden Christensen, actor
*August 9 — Lauren Bay, Olympic softballer
*August 19 — Taylor Pyatt, ice hockey player
*September 7 — Annie Martin, Olympic beach volleyball player
*September 26 — Kaila Holtz, Olympic softballer
*October 4 — Justin Williams, ice hockey player

Deaths

*January 5 - Lomer Brisson, politician
*May 4 - Samuel Rosborough Balcom, politician
* June 28 - Terry Fox, cancer activist
* December 28 - Allan Dwan early film director