1977 in Canada

"See also:"
1976 in Canada,
other events of 1977,
1978 in Canada and the
Timeline of Canadian history.

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Incumbents

*Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General: Jules Léger
*Prime Minister: Pierre Trudeau
*Premier of Alberta: Peter Lougheed
*Premier of British Columbia: W.R. Bennett
*Premier of Manitoba: Edward Schreyer and then Sterling Lyon
*Premier of New Brunswick: Richard Hatfield
*Premier of Newfoundland: Frank Moores
*Premier of Nova Scotia: Gerald Regan
*Premier of Ontario: Bill Davis
*Premier of Prince Edward Island: Alexander B. Campbell
*Premier of Quebec: René Lévesque
*Premier of Saskatchewan: Allan Blakeney

Events

* January 1: Canada's offshore exclusive economic zone is extended to 200 nautical miles (370 km).
* February 6: René Lévesque is embroiled in scandal after he, while driving in a car with a woman who is not his wife, hits and kills a homeless man .
* February 27: Royal Canadian Mounted Police raid Keith Richards's Toronto hotel suite while he is sleeping and seize 22 grams of heroin, 5 grams of cocaine, and narcotics paraphernalia.
* February 28: Canadian passenger rail services are amalgamated into VIA Rail.
* April 7: The Toronto Blue Jays play their first game, defeating the Chicago White Sox.
* May 5: Willie Adams becomes the first Inuk to enter Parliament when he is appointed to the Senate.
* May 9: The final report of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry is released.
* June: Queen Elizabeth II tours Canada as part of her Jubilee goodwill tour.
* June 9: Ontario election: Bill Davis's PCs win a second consecutive minority.
* August: Murder of Emanuel Jaques.
* August 26: The Charter of the French Language is passed by the Parti Québécois.
* September 3 to September 5: All Canadian road signs are converted to metric units.
* October 18: Deliberations of the House of Commons are televised for the first time making Canada the first country to broadcast the complete proceedings of its national legislature.
* November 21: Gerald Hannon's controversial article "Men Loving Boys Loving Men" is published in "The Body Politic"
* November 24: Sterling Lyon becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Edward Schreyer.
* The Eaton Centre opens in Toronto.
* Prime Minister Trudeau separates from his wife Margaret Sinclair.
* Quebec becomes the first jurisdiction (larger than a city or county) in the world to prohibit discrimination in the public and private sectors based on sexual orientation.

Arts and literature

:New works
*Margaret Atwood: "Dancing Girls"
*Elizabeth Smart: "A Bonus"
*Timothy Findley: "The Wars"
*Irving Layton: "The Covenant"
*Roch Carrier: "Il n'ya pas de pays sans grand-père"
*Gabrielle Roy: "Ces Enfants de ma vie"
*Morley Callaghan: "Close to the Sun Again"
*Antonine Maillet: "La Veuve enragée"
*Mordecai Richler: "Home Sweet Home"
*Marshall McLuhan: "City as Classroom: Understanding Language and Media":Awards
* See 1977 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
*Books in Canada First Novel Award: Michael Ondaatje, "Coming Through Slaughter"
*Stephen Leacock Award: Ray Guy, "That Far Greater Bay"
*Vicky Metcalf Award: James Houston

Births

* February 11: Stephanie Richardson, swimmer
* March 13: Barney Williams, rower
* March 27: Buffy-Lynne Williams, Olympic rower
* March 28: Trevor Stewardson, boxer
* May 4: Emily Perkins, actor
* May 16: Jean-Sébastien Giguère, ice hockey goaltender
* April 5: Zach Whitmarsh, track and field athlete
* April 21: Jamie Salé, figure skater
* April 26: Craig Adams, hockey player
* June 12: Wade Redden, ice hockey player
* June 27: Kristen Taunton, field hockey forward
* July 1: Jarome Iginla, ice hockey player
* August 1: Marc Denis, ice hockey goaltender
* August 14: Tonya Verbeek, Olympic wrestler
* August 15: Martin Biron, ice hockey goalie
* August 24: Murray Grapentine, volleyball player
* September 17: Kim Sarrazin, Olympic softballer
* September 29: Wade Brookbank, ice hockey player
* October 3: Kristy Odamura, Olympic softballer
* October 6: Daniel Brière, ice hockey player
* October 18: Paul Stalteri, soccer player
* October 27: Erin White, Olympic softballer
* October 29: Matt Higgins, ice hockey player
* December 16: Éric Bélanger, ice hockey player
* December 29: Christin Petelski, breaststroke swimmer

Deaths

* January 24: Jack Bush, painter
* February 17: Edward LeRoy Bowerman, politician
* June 24: André-Gilles Fortin, politician
* November 3: William Korelek, artist
* November 5 : Guy Lombardo, bandleader
* November 25: Tommy Prince, Second World War hero
* Alfred Henry Bence, politician