1939 in Canada

Events from the year 1939 in Canada.

Events

• May 17 - George VI and Queen Elizabeth begin their royal tour of Canada, eventually visiting every province.
• September 3 - The Department of Labour establishes the Wartime Prices and Trade Board to control inflation
• September 7 - Prime Minister Mackenzie King calls for a special session of Parliament, to discuss a declaration of war versus Nazi Germany. The session lasts until September 13.
• September 10 - World War II: Canada declares war on Germany, one week after Britain does so
• September 11 - World War II: Canada establishes a High Commission of Canada in Canberra, Australia. Australia reciprocates, the next day.
• September 16 - World War II: The Royal Canadian Navy escorts the first of many transatlantic convoys
• September 28 - World War II: Air training facilities are set up in Canada to train pilots from Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth.
• October 25 - The Quebec election is won by the Liberals under Joseph-Adélard Godbout.
• December 17 - World War II: The 1st Canadian Infantry Division lands in Scotland en route to England. The division is accompanied by a team of announcers and technicians, who set up Radio Canada's overseas service.
• November 9 - Adélard Godbout becomes premier of Quebec for the second time, replacing Maurice Duplessis

Full date unknown

• Canada rapidly expands its international presence by establishing High Commissions in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.

Births

January to March

• January 3 - Bobby Hull, ice hockey player
• January 11 - Anne Heggtveit, alpine skier and Olympic gold medalist

Brian Mulroney

• January 14 - Martha Gibson, actress
• January 19 - Grant Notley, politician (d.1984)
• February 3 - Ovid Jackson, politician
• February 10 - Adrienne Clarkson, journalist and 26th Governor General of Canada
• March 1 - Marlene Catterall, politician
• March 8 - Berta Seymour, ballet dancer
• March 17 - Bill Graham, politician
• March 20 - Brian Mulroney, politician and 18th Prime Minister of Canada
• March 26 - Patrick Lane, poet

April to June

Joe Clark

• April 14 - Ian Binnie, jurist and puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada
• April 20 - Wayson Choy, writer
• April 24 - Dan Hays, politician
• April 24 - Ernst Zündel, neo-Nazi,Holocaust denier and pamphleteer
• May 7 - Sidney Altman, molecular biologist, joint 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate
• May 11 - Ken Epp, politician
• May 26 - Gerry McAlpine, politician
• June 5 - Joe Clark, journalist, politician, statesman, businessman, professor and 16th Prime Minister of Canada
• June 5 - Margaret Hollingsworth, playwright

July to September

• July 12 - David Bazay, television journalist (d.2005)
• July 25 - Catherine Callbeck, politician and 30th Premier of Prince Edward Island
• August 12 - Roy Romanow, politician and 12th Premier of Saskatchewan
• August 15 - Hardial Bains, founder and leader of Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) (d.1997)
• August 21 - JoAnn Wilson, murder victim (d.1983)
• August 23 - Isabel Bassett, broadcaster and politician
• August 31 - Dennis Lee, poet and children's writer
• September 1 - Jake Epp, politician
• September 2 - Henry Mintzberg, academic and author on business and management
• September 4 - Jim Penner, businessman and politician (d.2004)
• September 30 - Len Cariou, actor

October to December

• November 6 - Joyce Fairbairn, Senator and first woman to serve as Leader of the Government in the Senate
• November 18 - Margaret Atwood, author, poet, critic, feminist and social campaigner
• November 23 - bill bissett, poet
• November 30 - Louis LeBel, jurist and puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada
• December 2 - Francis Fox, politician, Minister and Senator
• December 21 - Lloyd Axworthy, politician and Minister
• December 24 - James K. Bartleman, diplomat, author and 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Full date unknown

• Tony Parsons, journalist and television news anchor
• Robin Spry, filmmaker and television producer (d.2005)
• Michael Overs, businessman, founder and owner of Pizza Pizza Limited (d. 2010)

Deaths

• January 24 - Alfred Edmond Bourgeois, politician (b.1872)
• March 7 - Joseph Flavelle, businessman (b.1858)
• March 8 - Henry Pellatt, financier and soldier (b.1859)
• May 6 - Edward S. Rogers, Sr., inventor and radio pioneer (b.1900)
• July 12 - Fernand Rinfret, politician (b.1883)
• November 12 - Norman Bethune, physician and medical innovator (b.1890)
• November 28 - James Naismith, sports coach and innovator, inventor of basketball (b.1861)
• December 22 - Herbert James Palmer, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island (b.1851)