1953 in Canada
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| Years in Canada: | 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 |
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s |
| Years: | 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 |
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Canada |
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Events from the year 1953 in Canada.
Incumbents
Crown
- Head of state (monarch) – Queen Elizabeth II (consort – The Duke of Edinburgh)
Federal government
- Governor general – Vincent Massey (viceregal consort – Alice Massey)
- Prime minister – Louis Saint Laurent
- Chief Justice – Thibaudeau Rinfret (Quebec)
- Parliament – 21st (until 13 June) then 22nd (from 12 November)
Provincial governments
Lieutenant governors
- Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John J. Bowlen
- Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Clarence Wallace
- Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Roland Fairbairn McWilliams (until August 1) then John Stewart McDiarmid
- Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – David Laurence MacLaren
- Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Leonard Outerbridge
- Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Alistair Fraser
- Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Louis Orville Breithaupt
- Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Thomas William Lemuel Prowse
- Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Gaspard Fauteux
- Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – William John Patterson
Premiers
- Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning
- Premier of British Columbia – W.A.C. Bennett
- Premier of Manitoba – Douglas Campbell
- Premier of New Brunswick – Hugh John Flemming
- Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood
- Premier of Nova Scotia – Angus Macdonald
- Premier of Ontario – Leslie Frost
- Premier of Prince Edward Island – J. Walter Jones (until May 25) then Alex Matheson
- Premier of Quebec – Maurice Duplessis
- Premier of Saskatchewan – Tommy Douglas
Territorial governments
Commissioners
- Commissioner of Yukon – Wilfred George Brown
- Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Hugh Andrew Young (until November 15) then Robert Gordon Robertson
Events
- January 1 – The National Library of Canada is founded
- January 27 – The Canadian Dental Association approves the use of fluoride in drinking water
- May 25 – Alex Matheson becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing J. Walter Jones
- June 2 – Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of Canada. In Korea the Canadian Army celebrates the coronation by firing red, white, and blue smoke shells at the enemy.
- July 13 – The Stratford Festival of Canada opens
- July 27 – The Korean War ends. In total 314 Canadians were killed and 1211 wounded.
- August 10 – Federal election: Louis Saint Laurent's Liberals win a fifth consecutive majority.
- October 12 – Wilfrid Laurier Memorial unveiled
- October 15 – The Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline is completed
- October 25 – Canada's first privately owned television station, CKSO, broadcasts in Sudbury.
- The federal Immigration Act is amended to prohibit homosexuals entry into Canada. This amendment was repealed in 1977.
Arts and literature
Awards
- See 1953 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Stephen Leacock Award: Lawrence Earl, The Battle of Baltinglass
Sport
- April 16 - Montreal Canadiens won their Seventh Stanley Cup by defeating the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1. The deciding Game 5 was played at the Montreal Forum
- May 6 - Ontario Hockey Association's Barrie Flyers won their Second Memorial Cup by defeating the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's St. Boniface Canadiens 4 games to 1. The deciding Game 5 was played at Wheat City Arena in Brandon, Manitoba
- November 28 - Hamilton Tiger-Cats won their First Grey Cup by defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12-6 in the 41st Grey Cup played at Toronto's Varsity Stadium
Births
January to June
- January 7 – Dionne Brand, poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
- January 19 – Richard Legendre, tennis player and politician
- January 29 – Pierre Jacob, politician
- February 5 – Eric Robinson, politician
- February 15 – David Chomiak, politician
- February 15 – Gerald Keddy, politician
- February 16 – Lanny McDonald, ice hockey player
- February 17 – Borys Chambul, discus thrower
- February 20 – Gaëtan Dugas, early AIDS patient, the alleged and debunked Patient Zero for AIDS (d.1984)
- March 10 – Debbie Brill, high jumper
- March 13 – Stephanie Berto, track and field athlete
- April 2 – Janet Nutter, diver
- April 17 – Dany Laferrière, novelist and journalist
- April 18 – Rick Moranis, comedian, actor and musician
- May 11 – Celine Lomez, actress and singer
- May 14 – Tom Cochrane, singer-songwriter and musician
- May 21 - Kathleen Wynne, 25th premier of Ontario
- June 23 – Raymonde April, photographer
- June 23 – Albina Guarnieri, politician and Minister
July to September
- July 3 – Dave Lewis, ice hockey player and coach
- July 9 – Margie Gillis, dancer and choreographer
- July 15 – Richard Margison, operatic tenor
- July 15 – Mila Mulroney, wife of the 18th Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney
- July 22 – Paul Quarrington, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and musician
- July 25 – Barbara Haworth-Attard, children's author
- July 29 – Geddy Lee, singer, bassist and keyboardist
- August 11 – Greg Duhaime, middle-distance runner
- August 17 – Robert Thirsk, engineer and astronaut
- August 27 – Alex Lifeson, guitarist
- September 16 – Nancy Huston, novelist and essayist
- September 29 - Jean-Claude Lauzon, Quebec filmmaker (d. 1997)
- September 30 – S. M. Stirling, science fiction and fantasy author
October to December
- October 12 – Daniel Louis, film producer
- October 29 – Denis Potvin, ice hockey player
- November 26 – Pam Barrett, politician (d.2008)
- November 28 – John Majhor, radio and television host (d.2007)
- December 7 – Carmen Rinke, boxer
- December 13 – Bob Gainey, ice hockey player and coach
- December 18 – Daniel Poliquin, novelist and translator
- December 23 – Holly Dale, film and television director and film producer
Full date unknown
- Patrick LaForge, president and CEO of the Edmonton Oilers
Deaths
- January 2 – Gordon Daniel Conant, lawyer, politician and 12th Premier of Ontario (b.1885)
- January 5 – Mitchell Hepburn, politician and 11th Premier of Ontario (b.1896)
- February 16 – Norman Hipel, politician and Minister (b.1890)
- March 20 – John Livingstone Brown, politician (b.1867)
- May 4 – James Tompkins, priest and educator (b.1870)
- September 19 – Gordon Graydon, politician (b.1897)
- November 29 – Sam De Grasse, actor (b.1875)
- December 26 – David Milne, painter, printmaker and writer (b.1882)
