1968 in Canada

"See also:"
1967 in Canada,
other events of 1968,
1969 in Canada and the
Timeline of Canadian history.

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Incumbents

*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General - Roland Michener
*Prime Minister - Lester B. Pearson then Pierre Trudeau
*Premier of Alberta - Ernest Manning then Harry Strom
*Premier of British Columbia - W.A.C. Bennett
*Premier of Manitoba - Walter Weir
*Premier of New Brunswick - Louis Robichaud
*Premier of Newfoundland - Joey Smallwood
*Premier of Nova Scotia - George Smith
*Premier of Ontario - John Robarts
*Premier of Prince Edward Island - Alexander B. Campbell
*Premier of Quebec - Daniel Johnson, Sr. then Jean-Jacques Bertrand
*Premier of Saskatchewan - W. Ross Thatcher

Events

* February 1 - The three branches of the Canadian Forces are merged into one
* April 1 - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is formed
* April 6 - Pierre Trudeau wins 1968 Liberal Party leadership convention
* April 20 - Pierre Trudeau becomes prime minister, replacing Lester Pearson
* May 14 - The grand opening of the Toronto-Dominion Centre is held
* May 27 - Montreal is awarded a Major League Baseball franchise that would eventually be the Montreal Expos
* June 24 - Separatists riot in Montreal on St-Jean-Baptiste Day
* June 25 - Federal election: Pierre Trudeau's Liberals win a majority
* July 1 - The laws creating Canada's Medicare system come into effect
* July 18 - August 9 - Canada Post workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers go on strike
* August 20 - Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia to end the "Prague Spring" of political liberalization. Thousands of refugees flee to Canada.
* August 28 - Michel Tremblay's "Les Belles-Sœurs" premiers in Montreal
* September 26 - Daniel Johnson, Sr, Premier of Quebec, dies in office
* October 2 - Jean-Jacques Bertrand becomes premier of Quebec
* October 15 - The Mouvement Souveraineté-Association merges with the Ralliement National to create the Parti Québécois, René Lévesque is selected as the party's first leader
* December 12 - Harry Strom becomes premier of Alberta, replacing Ernest Manning
* December 18 - Henry Moore donates hundreds of works to the Art Gallery of Ontario
* December 31 - Quebec's Legislative Assembly is renamed the National Assembly
* IMAX technique invented
* Canada's new Divorce Act introduces no fault divorce
* The Rochdale College experiment begins in Toronto

Arts and literature

:New works
*Alice Munro - "Dance of the Happy Shades"
*Michel Tremblay - "Les Belles-Sœurs"
*Mordecai Richler - "Hunting Tigers Under Glass"
*Margaret Atwood - "The Animals in That Country"
*Robert Fulford - "This Was Expo"
*John Newlove - "Black Night Window"
*Kildare Dobbs - "Reading the Time"
*Mordecai Richler - "Cocksure"
*Robert Kroetsch - "Alberta"
*Marian Engel - "No Clouds of Glory"
*Gordon R. Dickson - "Soldier, Ask Not"
*Farley Mowat - "This Rock Within the Sea: A Heritage Lost"
*Harold Cardinal - "The Unjust Society":Awards
*David Suzuki wins UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for science writing
*See 1968 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
*Stephen Leacock Award: Max Ferguson, "And Now...Here's Max"
*Vicky Metcalf Award: Lorraine McLaughlin

Births

* January 5 — Joe Juneau, ice hockey player
* January 7 — Tara Croxford, field hockey player
* January 13 — Pat Onstad, soccer player
* January 14 — Michael Meldrum, medley swimmer
* January 28 — Sarah McLachlan, musician
* February 1 — Mark Recchi, hockey player
* February 7 — Mark Tewksbury, breaststroke swimmer
* February 9 — Joel Brough, field hockey player
* February 22 — Shawn Graham, actor
* February 27 — Matt Stairs, baseball player
* March 30 — Céline Dion, singer
* April 18 — David Hewlett, actor
* May 5 — Jane Kerr, butterfly and freestyle swimmer
* May 20 — William Irwin, boxer
* May 30 — Jason Kenney, politician
* June 10 — Susan Haskell, actor
* June 16 — Lyne Poirier, judoka
* June 27 — Pascale Bussières, actor
* June 29 — Theoren Fleury, ice hockey player
* July 22 — Harry Taylor, freestyle swimmer
* August 20 — Jody Holden, beach volleyball player
* September 20 — Leah Pinsent, actor
* September 23 — Donna McGinnis, medley and butterfly swimmer
* October 2 — Sandy Goss, Canadian swimmer
* October 2 — Glen Wesley, ice hockey player
* October 26 — Tom Cavanagh, actor
* November 1 — Andrea Nugent, butterfly and freestyle swimmer
* November 25 — Jill Hennessy, actor
* December 2 — Darren Ward, freestyle swimmer
* December 3 — Brendan Fraser, actor
* December 17 — Paul Tracy, racing car driver
* Evan Solomon

Deaths

* January 31 - George Arthur Brethen, politician
* September 26 - Daniel Johnson, Sr., Premier of Quebec