1974 in Canada
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| Years in Canada: | 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 |
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s |
| Years: | 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 |
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Canada |
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Events from the year 1974 in Canada.
Incumbents
Crown
Federal government
- Governor general – Roland Michener (until January 14) then Jules Léger
- Prime minister – Pierre Trudeau
- Chief Justice – Bora Laskin (Ontario)
- Parliament – 29th (until 9 May) then 30th (from 30 September)
Provincial governments
Lieutenant governors
- Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Grant MacEwan (until July 2) then Ralph Steinhauer
- Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Walter Stewart Owen
- Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – William John McKeag
- Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Hédard Robichaud
- Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Ewart John Arlington Harnum (until July 2) then Gordon Arnaud Winter
- Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Clarence Gosse
- Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – William Ross Macdonald (until April 10) then Pauline Mills McGibbon
- Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – John George MacKay (until October 21) then Gordon Lockhart Bennett (from October 24)
- Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Hugues Lapointe
- Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Stephen Worobetz
Premiers
- Premier of Alberta – Peter Lougheed
- Premier of British Columbia – Dave Barrett
- Premier of Manitoba – Edward Schreyer
- 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 – Robert Bourassa
- Premier of Saskatchewan – Allan Blakeney
Territorial governments
Commissioners
Events
- January 1 – The Canadian Stock Exchange merges with the Montreal Stock Exchange.
- January 7 – Bora Laskin sworn in as Chief Justice of Canada
- January 14 – Jules Léger is sworn in as Governor General
- January 17 – Pauline McGibbon of Ontario becomes Canada's first female Lieutenant Governor of a province.
- January 26 – The Global Television network begins broadcasting.
- April 3 - A tornado strikes Windsor, Ontario, killing 9 people. The tornado was part of the 1974 Super Outbreak.
- May 23 – New Brunswick becomes the first province to be officially bilingual.
- June 29 – Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects in Toronto.
- July 2 – Ralph Steinhauer becomes the first Aboriginal person to be a Canadian Lieutenant Governor when he is appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
- July 3 – Canada first demands that its territorial waters be extended to 200 nautical miles (370.4 km).
- Vote of no-confidence in parliament forces election.
- July 8 – Federal election: Pierre Trudeau's Liberals win a majority.
- July 31 – Bill 22 is passed making French the official language of government and business in Quebec.
- August 1 – The Elections Act is passed, limiting campaign contributions.
- August 9 – Nine Canadians are killed when Buffalo 461 is shot down during a peacekeeping mission in Syria.
- September 17 – The RCMP decides to allow female members for the first time.
- November 29 – An aircraft is hijacked over Saskatchewan. It is recovered in Saskatoon.
Full date unknown
- Dorothea Crittenden of Ontario becomes Canada's first female Deputy Minister, Ministry of Community & Social Services.
- Paul Joseph Martin made president of Canada Steamship Lines.
- The Waffle disbands.
- The report of the Le Dain Commission argues marijuana should be decriminalized.
- Robert Cliche chairs a Royal Commission investigating corruption in Quebec's construction industry. Brian Mulroney, later to become prime minister, first comes to national attention as a panelist on the commission.
Arts and literature
New works
- bill bissett – Living with the vishyun
- Irving Layton – The Pole-Vaulter
- Margaret Atwood – You Are Happy
- Alice Munro – Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You
- Margaret Laurence – The Diviners
Awards
- See 1974 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Stephen Leacock Award: Donald Jack, That's Me in the Middle
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Jean Little
Sport
- March 16 – Waterloo Warriors won their first University Cup by defeating the Sir George Williams Georgians, 6 to 5. The final game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
- May 12 – Regina Pats win their fourth Memorial Cup by defeating the Quebec Remparts, 7 to 4. The final game is played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary.
- May 19 – Montreal's Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.
- September 22 - Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.
- November 21 – Western Ontario Mustangs won their second Vanier Cup by defeating the Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 19–15.
- November 24 – Montreal Alouettes won their third Grey Cup by defeating the Edmonton Eskimos, 20 to 7. The 62nd Grey Cup was played at Empire Stadium at Vancouver. Vancouver's Don Sweet won the game's Most Valuable Player award and Edmonton's Don Barker won the game's Most Valuable Canadian.
Births
January to March
- January 14 – Hugues Legault, swimmer
- January 19 – Diane Cummins, middle distance runner
- January 21 – Robert Ghiz, politician and 31st Premier of Prince Edward Island
- January 23 – Joel Bouchard, ice hockey player
- January 25 – Robert Budreau, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- January 29 – Kris Burley, artistic gymnast
- February 7 – Steve Nash, basketball player
- February 21 – Mary Fuzesi, rhythmic gymnast
- March 20 – Kevin Sullivan, runner and coach
April to June
- April 11 – Tricia Helfer, model and actress
- April 26 – Jacinthe Pineau, swimmer
- May 9 – Stéphane Yelle, Canadian ice hockey player
- May 10 – Jon Beare, rower and Olympic bronze medalist
- May 16 – Yannick Keith Lizé, water polo player and scientist
- May 18 – Chantal Kreviazuk, singer-songwriter
- May 18 – Carolyn Russell, squash player
- June 1 – Alanis Morissette, singer-songwriter, record producer and actress
- June 6 – Anson Carter, ice hockey player
- June 9 – Jackie Lance, softball player
July to September
- July 6 – Steve Sullivan, ice hockey player
- July 7 – Patrick Lalime, ice hockey player
- July 13 – Deborah Cox, singer-songwriter and actress
- August 9 – Mara Jones, rower
- August 15 – Natasha Henstridge, actress and model
- September 8 – Becky Price, field hockey player
- September 18 – Nicole Haynes, heptathlete
- September 28 – Alison Parrott, murder victim (d. 1986)
October to December
- October 6 – Madonna Gimotea, rhythmic gymnast
- October 10 – Chris Pronger, ice hockey player
- October 11 – Jason Arnott, ice hockey player
- October 16 – Paul Kariya, ice hockey player
- October 22 – Paul Duerden, volleyball player
- November 4 – Amy MacFarlane, field hockey player
- November 21 – Casey Patton, boxer
- November 22 – David Pelletier, pair skater
- November 25 – David Cadieux, boxer
Deaths
- February 21 – Tim Horton, ice hockey player and businessman (b.1930)
- April 2 – Douglass Dumbrille, actor (b.1889)
- April 5 – A. Y. Jackson, painter, one of the Group of Seven (b.1882)
- April 8 – James Charles McGuigan, Cardinal (b.1894)
- August 25 – Major James Coldwell, politician (b.1888)
