1968 in Canada

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

Table of contents

1 Incumbents
2 Events
3 Arts and Literature
4 Births
5 Deaths

Incumbents

Events

February 1 - The three branches of the Canadian Forces are merged into one
April 1 - The CRTC is formed
April 6 - Pierre Trudeau wins 1968 Liberal Party leadership race
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 is strikes
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-S*urs premier 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-S*urs
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
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 28 - Sarah McLachlan, musician
February 1 - Mark Recchi, hockey player
February 27 - Matt Stairs, baseball player
March 30 - Céline Dion, singer
October 2 - Glen Wesley, hockey player
December 3 - Brendan Fraser, actor
December 17 - Paul Tracy, racing car driver

Deaths

September 26 - Daniel Johnson, Sr., Premier of Quebec