1978 in Canada

"See also:"
1977 in Canada,
other events of 1978,
1979 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: Sterling Lyon
*Premier of New Brunswick: Richard Hatfield
*Premier of Newfoundland: Frank Moores
*Premier of Nova Scotia: Gerald Regan then John Buchanan
*Premier of Ontario: Bill Davis
*Premier of Prince Edward Island: Alexander B. Campbell then Bennett Campbell
*Premier of Quebec: René Lévesque
*Premier of Saskatchewan: Allan Blakeney

Events

* January 24: Cosmos 954 a Soviet satellite breaks up over northern Canada.
* June 26: Air Canada DC-9 overruns runway in Toronto, 2 people die.
* August 4: 41 are killed when a bus plunges into a lake near Eastman, Quebec.
* September 15: The Sudbury Strike of 1978 begins.
* September 18: Bennett Campbell becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing Alexander B. Campbell
* October 5: John MacLennan Buchanan becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Gerald Regan
* October 16: Fifteen federal by-elections are held across the country. The governing Liberals lose five seats, which leads to a general election the following May.
* October 18: Saskatchewan election: Allan Blakeney's NDP win a third consecutive majority
* Supreme Court of Canada declares unilingual legislatures and courts unconstitutional
* Chris Pearson becomes government leader of Yukon as responsible government is instituted
* Under the new immigration act homosexuals are no longer an inadmissible class
* VIA Rail is established
* The Commonwealth Games are held in Edmonton, Alberta
* Despite accusations of marital infidelity, Colin Thatcher, who would later become famous for his involvement in the murder of his ex-wife, is re-elected to the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.

Arts and literature

:New Works
*Margaret Atwood: "Up in the Tree"
*Mordecai Richler: "The Great Comic Book Heroes and Other Essays"
*John Newlove: "The Fat Man: Selected Poems (1962–1972)"
*John Gray and Eric Peterson: "Billy Bishop Goes to War"
*Henry Beissel: "Goya":Awards
*Alice Munro's "Who Do You Think You Are?" is nominated for the Booker Prize
* See 1979 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
*Stephen Leacock Award: Ernest Buckler, "Whirligig"
*Vicky Metcalf Award: Lyn Cook

Births

* January 3 — Daryn Jones, actor
* February 20 — Andrea Moody, freestyle swimmer
* February 26 — Kyle Hamilton, Olympic rower
* March 9 — Chris Phillips, ice hockey player
* April 6 — Thomas Herschmiller, Olympic rower
* April 26 — Tyler Labine, actor
* May 12 — Amy Sloan, actress
* May 15 — Dwayne De Rosario, soccer player
* May 15 — Caroline Dhavernas, actress
* June 2 — Shane Niemi, track and field athlete
* June 13 — Matt Bradley, ice hockey player
* June 14 — Steve Bégin, ice hockey player
* July 4 — Marie Luc Arpin, water polo player
* July 22 — A. J. Cook, actor
* June 28 — Simon Larose, tennis player
* September 1 — Joe Stankevicius, Olympic rower
* September 5 — Laura Bertram, actor
* September 6 — Amy Agulay, field hockey international
* September 7 — Matt Cooke, ice hockey player
* September 7 — Devon Sawa, actor
* September 20 — Jason Bay, baseball player
* September 21 — Paulo Costanzo, actor
* September 22 — Steve Moore, ice hockey player
* December 2 — Nelly Furtado, singer
* December 23 — Esthero, musician
* Rebecca Blaikie, politician

Deaths

* March 25: Charles Alexander Best, politician
* March 31: Charles Best, co-discoverer of insulin
* April 13: Jack Chambers, artist
* September 9: Jack Warner, studio mogul