1986 in Canada

"See also:"
1985 in Canada,
other events of 1986,
1987 in Canada and the
list of 'years in Canada'.

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Incumbents

* Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II
* Governor General - Jeanne Sauvé
* Prime Minister - Brian Mulroney
* Premier of Alberta - Don Getty
* Premier of British Columbia - Bill Bennett then Bill Vander Zalm
* Premier of Manitoba - Howard Pawley
* Premier of New Brunswick - Richard Hatfield
* Premier of Newfoundland - Brian Peckford
* Premier of Nova Scotia - John Buchanan
* Premier of Ontario - David Peterson
* Premier of Prince Edward Island - James Lee then Joe Ghiz
* Premier of Quebec - Robert Bourassa
* Premier of Saskatchewan - Grant Devine

See 1986 Canadian incumbents for more

Events

* January 22 - An investigation determines that a bomb caused the crash of Air India flight 182
* January 31 - The Canadian dollar hits an all-time low of 70.2 U.S. cents on international money markets
* February 8 - Hinton train collision: 23 people are killed when a VIA Rail train collides with a Canadian National Railway train near Hinton, Alberta
* March 15 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium (England) Canada beats England 3 – 1.
* May 1 - Shirley Carr becomes the first female head of the Canadian Union of Public Employees
* May 2 - Joe Ghiz becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing James Lee
* May 2 - The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver opens.
* May 8 - Alberta election: Don Getty's PCs win a fifth consecutive majority, but a smaller majority than before
* May 24 - In Calgary, the Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup against the Calgary Flames
* May 25 - In Vancouver an attempt is made to assassinate Malkiat Singh Sidhu, a cabinet minister in the Indian state of Punjab
* June 14 - An accident involving the "Mindbender" roller coaster at West Edmonton Mall kills three people and seriously injures a fourth
* June 19 - The new Competition Act comes into force
* June 20 - Jean Drapeau resigns as mayor of Montreal
* August 5 - Canada adopts sanctions against South Africa for its apartheid policies
* August 6 - Bill Vander Zalm becomes premier of British Columbia, replacing Bill Bennett
* August 11 - Tamil refugees are found drifting off the coast of Newfoundland
* September 16 - Queen Elizabeth II augments the Coat of Arms of Saskatchewan with a crest and supporters
* September 30 - MPs elect the Speaker by secret ballot for the first time.
* October 6 - Canada receives a United Nations award for sheltering refugees
* October 20 - Saskatchewan election: Grant Devine's PCs win a second consecutive majority
* December 8 - The University of Toronto's John C. Polanyi shares the Nobel Prize for chemistry for the development of the chemical laser
* Negotiators begin work on what would eventually be the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement
* The birds series of Canadian banknotes is released
* Supreme Court rules on the RWDSU v. Dolphin Delivery Ltd. case
* Conrad Black buys "The Daily Telegraph"
* Dinosaur fossils are found near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
* The Canadian Amateur Football Association is renamed Football Canada

Arts and literature

:New works:
* Margaret Atwood - "Freeforall"
* W.P. Kinsella - "The Fence Post Chronicles"
* Robert Munsch - "Love You Forever"
* Alice Munro - "The Progress of Love"
* Antonine Maillet - "Garrochés en paradis"
* Hugh Hood - "The Motor Boys in Ottawa"
* William Gibson - "Count Zero"

:Awards:
* See 1986 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
* Books in Canada First Novel Award: Wayne Johnson, "The Story of Bobby O'Mally"
* Gerald Lampert Award: Joan Fern Shaw, "Raspberry Vinegar"
* Marian Engel Award: Alice Munro
* Pat Lowther Award: Erin Mouré, "Domestic Fuel"
* Stephen Leacock Award: Joey Slinger, "No Axe too Small to Grind"
* Vicky Metcalf Award: Dennis Lee

:New music:
* Leonard Cohen - "First We Take Manhattan"
* Neil Young - "First We Take Manhattan"

:New movies:
* James Cameron's "Aliens" is released
* David Cronenberg's "The Fly"
* Denys Arcand's "The Decline of the American Empire"

Births

* January 8 — Jaclyn Linetsky, actor
* January 20 — Krystina Alogbo, water polo player
* December 12 — Marie-Pier Beaudet, archer

Deaths

* February 27 - Jacques Plante, hockey star
* March 4 - Elizabeth Smart, poet and novelist
* August 20 - Milton Acorn, poet
* November 5 - Claude Jutra, filmmaker