1997 in Canada
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Events from the year 1997 in Canada.
Incumbents
- Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II
- Governor General - Roméo LeBlanc
- Prime Minister - Jean Chrétien
- Premier of Alberta - Ralph Klein
- Premier of British Columbia - Glen Clark
- Premier of Manitoba - Gary Filmon
- Premier of New Brunswick - Frank McKenna then Raymond Frenette
- Premier of Newfoundland - Brian Tobin
- Premier of Nova Scotia - John Savage then Russell MacLellan
- Premier of Ontario - Mike Harris
- Premier of Prince Edward Island - Pat Binns
- Premier of Quebec - Lucien Bouchard
- Premier of Saskatchewan - Roy Romanow
Events
January to June
- January 1 - Opening of the new municipal of Alfred and Plantagenet.
- January 4 - The federal government makes it much harder to obtain unemployment insurance.
- February 14 - Newsprint giants Abitibi-Price and Stone-Consolidated announce they are merging.
- March 6 - A new rigorous anti tobacco advertising law is passed
- March 11 - Alberta election: Ralph Klein's PCs win an eighth consecutive majority.
- March 15 - Gilles Duceppe is elected leader of the Bloc Québécois.
- March 19 - Bre-X geologist Michael de Guzman jumps or is pushed from a helicopter in Indonesia.
- March 21 - Nova Scotia Premier John Savage announces his resignation.
- April 22 - Massive flooding of the Red River in Manitoba leads to a state of emergency.
- May 31 - Confederation Bridge opens.
- June 2 - Federal election: Jean Chrétien's Liberals win a second consecutive majority, the Reform Party becomes the Official Opposition.
- June 18 - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) introduces a television rating system.
July to September
- July 2 - The Somalia Inquiry is disbanded prematurely.
- July 9 - Danielle House forced to give up her Miss Canada International title after pleading guilty to assault.
- July 18 - Russell MacLellan becomes the new Premier of Nova Scotia.
- July 30 - Phil Fontaine elected head of the Assembly of First Nations.
- August 7 - Bjarni Tryggvason flies aboard the Space Shuttle.
- September 2 - Newfoundlanders vote to do away with their religion based school systems.
- September 3 - One is killed in a Saskatchewan train derailment.
October to December
- October 1 - Michel Bastarache is appointed to the Supreme Court.
- October 2 - Canada recalls its ambassador to Israel after Mossad uses forged Canadian passports.
- October 7 - An out-of-court settlement is reached between Brian Mulroney and the federal government regarding the Airbus affair.
- October 13 - Raymond Frenette becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing Frank McKenna.
- October 13 - 43 are killed in Canada's worst ever traffic accident as a tour bus falls off a cliff.
- October 17 - CTV News Channel begins broadcasting.
- October 27-November 10 - A teachers strike hits Ontario.
- November 3 - Canada destroys the last land mines in its arsenal.
- November 9 - The scandal-racked Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative Party is mothballed.
- November 14 - Fourteen year old Reena Virk is beaten to death by classmates in Victoria, BC.
- November 17 - The Hibernia oil project pumps its first barrel of oil.
- November 21-November 25 - The APEC summit is held in Vancouver. Controversy arises when Royal Canadian Mounted Police use force and pepper spray to remove protesters.
Full date unknown
- The Calgary Declaration from the premiers, except Lucien Bouchard.
- A second Sacred Assembly is held but issues no proclamation.
Arts and literature
New Books
- Timothy Findley - You Went Away
Awards
- Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: Mordecai Richler - Barney's Version
- See 1997 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Books in Canada First Novel Award: Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces
- Geoffrey Bilson Award: Janet McNaughton, To Dance at the Palais Royale
- Gerald Lampert Award: Marilyn Dumont, A Really Good Brown Girl
- Marian Engel Award: Katherine Govier
- Pat Lowther Award: Marilyn Bowering, Autobiography
- Stephen Leacock Award: Arthur Black, Black in the Saddle Again
- Trillium Book Award English: Dionne Brand, Land to Light On
- Trillium Book Award French: Roger Levac, Petite Crapaude!
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Tim Wynne-Jones
Film
- Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter is released, it is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director
Television
- The Arrow, a mini-series about the Avro Arrow shows plays to great popularity and acclaim and the CBC
- Teletoon is launched
Music
- Oscar Peterson receives a Grammy for lifetime achievement.
Sport
- February 7 - Lennox Lewis becomes heavyweight boxing champion.
- September 25 - Chris Jericho is inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame.
- October 26 - Formula One: Jacques Villeneuve becomes the first Canadian to become World Drivers Champion.
- November 16 - The Toronto Argonauts win the Grey Cup.
Births
- January 20 - Jeffrey Baldwin, murder victim (d.2002)
- January 29 - Cassandra Sawtell, actress
- February 27 - Brieanne Jansen, actress
- March 29 - Nicholas Elia, actor
- April 13 - Luke Gair, actor and dancer
- April 23 - Alex Ferris, actor
- June 12 - William Cuddy, actor
- June 18 - Mary-Lynn Neil, singer and songwriter
- August 3 - Ayaka Wilson, actor
Deaths
January to March
- January 1 - Hagood Hardy, composer, pianist and vibraphonist (b.1937)
- January 12 - Frank Angelo, co-founder of MAC cosmetics
- January 12 - Charles Brenton Huggins, physician, physiologist, cancer researcher and Nobel prize laureate (b.1901)
- January 13 - Kate Buckman, bridge expert
- January 14 - Dollard Ménard, lieutenant colonel
- January 17 - W. A. Kardash, politician (b.1912)
- January 26 - Norman Fawcett, politician (b.1910)
- February 4 - Peter McCain, president of McCain Foods Limited
- February 19 - Lois Marshall, soprano (b.1924)
- February 25 - Francis Joubin, discovered one of world's largest uranium deposits
- March 2 - J. Carson Mark, mathematician who worked on development of nuclear weapons (b.1913)
- March 12 - Jim Bowes, newspaper mogul
- March 14 - Ivan Romanoff, conductor
- March 22 - Harry Thode, geochemist, nuclear chemist and academic administrator (b.1910)
- March 27 - Hugh Horner, politician, physician and surgeon (b.1925)
April to June
- April 6 - Jack Kent Cooke, sports entrepreneur (b.1912)
- April 8 - Albert Malouf, judge
- April 11 - Muriel Furguson, lawyer, Senate's first woman Speaker
- April 28 - Andrew Sarlos, investment counsellor, multimillionaire
- May 1 - Fernand Dumont, sociologist, philosopher, theologian and poet (b.1927)
- May 14 - Jane Musset, fashion reporter
- June 6 - Ron Collister, TV and radio journalist, talk-show host
- June 9 - Stanley Knowles, politician (b.1908)
- June 22 - Gérard Pelletier, journalist, editor, politician and Minister (b.1919)
- June 22 - Larry Grossman, politician (b.1943)
- June 29 - Art Solomon, spiritualist leader, author
July to September
- July 8 - Charles Tayler, journalist, horse breeder
- July 30 - Robert Bryce, civil servant (b.1910)
- August 10 - Marie-Soleil Tougas, Quebec actress and TV host
- August 20 - Léon Dion, political scientist (b.1922)
- August 24 - Hardial Bains, founder and leader of Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) (b.1939)
- September 11 - Camille Henry, ice hockey player (b.1933)
- September 12 - Judith Merril, science fiction writer, editor and political activist (b.1923)
- September 29 - Val Clery, writer, editor, broadcaster
October to December
- October 8 - James Ferguson, musician
- October 12 - Rodrigue Bourdages, politician (b.1923)
- November 7 - Clyde Gilmour, radio broadcaster and journalist (b.1912)
- November 14 - Jack Pickersgill, civil servant and politician (b.1905)
- November 20 - Ronald Martland, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (b.1909)
- November 24 - Czeslaw Brzozowicz, engineer (b.1911)
- November 24 - John Sopinka, lawyer and puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada (b.1933)
- November 27 - Yves Prévost, politician and lawyer (b.1908)
- December 7 - George R. Gardiner, businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of the Gardiner Museum (b.1917)
- December 13 - Catherine Keachie, magazine lobbyist
- December 24 - Pierre Péladeau, businessman (b.1925)
Full date unknown
- Pierre Granche, sculptor (b.1948)
- Hilda Watson, Leader of the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party (b.1922)
