1990 in Canada

"See also:"
1989 in Canada,
other events of 1990,
1991 in Canada and the
list of 'years in Canada'.

Incumbents

* Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II
* Governor General: Jeanne Sauvé then Ray Hnatyshyn
* Prime Minister: Brian Mulroney
* Premier of Alberta: Don Getty
* Premier of British Columbia: Bill Vander Zalm
* Premier of Manitoba: Gary Filmon
* Premier of New Brunswick: Frank McKenna
* Premier of Newfoundland: Clyde Wells
* Premier of Nova Scotia: John Buchanan then Roger Bacon
* Premier of Ontario: David Peterson then Bob Rae
* Premier of Prince Edward Island: Joe Ghiz
* Premier of Quebec: Robert Bourassa
* Premier of Saskatchewan: Grant Devine

Events

* January 5: 1300 jobs are lost in Newfoundland when Fishery Products International decides to close three plants
* January 15: Massive cuts to VIA Rail come into effect leading to the rerouting of "The Canadian" and many intercity trains
* January 24: The Tories introduce legislation that would create the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a national sales tax
* January 24: Jean Charest resigns from cabinet after he was found to have spoken with a judge
* January 29: Ramon John Hnatyshyn replaces Jeanne Sauvé as governor general
* January 29: A controversial resolution is passed by the city council of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, declaring the city "English-only"
* February: The federal government announces that it will privatize Petro-Canada; the legislation to do so is introduced in October.
* February 12: A massive tire fire begins near Hagersville, Ontario. It takes 15 days to put out.
* March 6: The National Gallery of Canada acquires Barnett Newman's "Voice of Fire" for $1.8 million causing a storm of controversy
* March 9: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Clyde Wells confirms he will rescind Newfoundland's approval of the Meech Lake Accord
* March 11: The Oka crisis begins
* March 15: The federal government decides that Sikhs may wear turbans while serving as Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers
* March 22: Canadian arms designer Gerald Bull is assassinated in Brussels, probably by Mossad
* May 12: The Bloc Québécois Party is formed as several MPs led by Lucien Bouchard quit the Tories and Liberals
* June 6: Stanley Charles Waters is the first elected senator
* June 12: Elijah Harper prevents Manitoba accepting the Meech Lake Accord
* June 23: Meech Lake Accord officially dead
* September 6: Bob Rae's Ontario New Democratic Party wins a surprise majority in Ontario.
* September 12: Roger Bacon becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing John Buchanan
* September 26: Oka crisis ends peacefully
* September 27: Brian Mulroney temporarily increases the size of the Senate to ensure passage of the GST
* October 1: Bob Rae become premier of Ontario, replacing David Peterson
* November 1: Mulroney launches the Citizen's Forum on Canada's Future to get Canadians' input on constitutional reform
* November 25: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup, defeating the Edmonton Eskimos 50 to 11.
* December 17: The GST becomes law
* Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup four games to one over the Boston Bruins. It is their fifth cup victory in seven years.
* Doug Flutie returns to Canada to play with the British Columbia Lions
* Canada Post Systems Management Limited founded
* Jean Chrétien elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
* Richard Taylor wins the Nobel Prize in Physics for verifying the Quark Theory

Arts and literature

: Music
* RPM number-one hits of 1990
* RPM number-one albums of 1990

: New works
* "Swann" by Carol Shields published
* "The Evening News" by Arthur Hailey
* "A Tenured Professor" by John Kenneth Galbraith
* "TekWar" by William Shatner
* "Magic Casement" by Dave Duncan
* "Golden Fleece" by Robert J. Sawyer
* "Medicine River" by Thomas King
* "The Magic Machine: A Handbook of Computer Sorcery" by Alexander Dewdney
* "Whylah Falls" by George Elliott Clarke
* "The Wild Blue Yonder" by Audrey Thomas
* "L'Oursiade" by Antonine Maillet: Awards
* See 1990 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

* Books in Canada First Novel Award: Sandra Birdsell, "The Missing Child"
* Geoffrey Bilson Award: Kit Pearson, "The Sky Is Falling"
* Gerald Lampert Award: Steven Heighton, "Stalin's Carnival"
* Marian Engel Award: Carol Shields
* Pat Lowther Award: Patricia Young, "The Mad and Beautiful Mothers"
* Stephen Leacock Award: W.O. Mitchell, "According to Jake and the Kid"
* Trillium Book Award: Alice Munro, "Friend of My Youth"
* Vicky Metcalf Award: Bernice Thurman Hunter

Births

Deaths

* January 7: Bronko Nagurski, American football player
* March 22: Gerald Bull, arms expert
* April 11: Harold Ballard, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs
* July 18: Johnny Wayne, comedian
* July 18: Gerry Boulet, Quebec rock singer (Offenbach)
* August 25: Morley Callaghan, writer
* October 30: Craig Russell, female impersonator
* November 2: Frederick Thomas Armstrong, politician
* November 7: Hugh MacLennan, writer
* November 16: Northern Dancer, racehorse