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
- 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 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 is 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
- 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, hockey player
- January 13 - Pat Onstad, soccer player
- January 28 - Sarah McLachlan, musician
- February 1 - Mark Recchi, hockey player
- February 22 - Shawn Graham, actor
- February 27 - Matt Stairs, baseball player
- March 30 - Céline Dion, singer
- April 18 - David Hewlett, actor
- may 30 - Jason Kenney, politician
- June 10 - Susan Haskell, actor
- June 27 - Pascale Bussières, actor
- June 29 - Theoren Fleury, hockey player
- September 20 - Leah Pinsent, actor
- October 2 - Glen Wesley, hockey player
- October 26 - Tom Cavanagh, actor
- November 25 - Jill Hennessy, actor
- December 3 - Brendan Fraser, actor
- December 17 - Paul Tracy, racing car driver
- Evan Solomon
Deaths
- September 26 - Daniel Johnson, Sr., Premier of Quebec