1998 in Canada
See also: 1997 in Canada, other events of 1998, 1999 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.
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2 Births 3 Deaths |
Events
- January 1 - Toronto and six other communites are merged to form a new megacity. The next day Mel Lastman is elected as its first mayor
- January - A massive ice storm, caused by El Niño, strikes southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and a number of deaths
- January 6 - Alan Eagleson pleads guilty to fraud
- January 7 - The federal government formally apologizes for the past mistreatment of First Nations
- February 7 - February 22 - Nagano Olympics Canada wins the fourth-most medals, but is embarrassed when their star-filled hockey team fails to win a medal.
- February 10 - Canadian National Railway merges with the Illinois Central
- February 13 - Three girls, all under 18 years of age, are found guilty in Victoria, BC of killing 14-year-old Reena Virk. Three others plead guilty of assault.
- February 18 - Controversial plans to include a Holocaust memorial in the Canadian War Museum are scrapped
- February 24 - In the 1998 Canadian budget finance minister Paul Martin delivers a balanced budget
- March 2 - Daniel Johnson, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, announces his resignation
- March 6 - Dionne Quintuplets given money and an apology by the government
- March 6 - British Columbian doctors begin the first of a series of protests against funding shortages
- March 12 - Quebec and Newfoundland resolve the long running Churchill Falls dispute
- March 12 - Mutual Life of Canada aquires MetLife to become Canada's second-largest insurace company
- March 4 - Senator Andrew Thompson is forced to resign his Senate seat after not attending for two years
- March 24 - The 1998 Nova Scotia election leaves the Liberals and NDP tied for the most seats.
- March 27 - Jean Charest announces that he will seek the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party
- March 27 - The federal government agrees to compensate hepatitis C victims of tainted blood.
- April 1 - Floods in the Saguenay region of Quebec force 2000 from their homes
- April 17 - Dafydd Rhys Williams flies aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, becoming the first non-American to serve as medical officer.
- April 25 - The United States announces large tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber
- April 26-April 28 - Prime Minister Chrétien pays an official visit to Cuba
- May 14 - Camille Thériault becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing Raymond Frenette
- May 21 The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans shuts down the B.C. Coho fishery
- June 24 - Macmillan Bloedel says that it will end clearcutting old growth forests
- July 15 - The B.C. government and the Nisga'a First Nation sign a historic, and controversial, land claims agreement
- August 11 - 8000 people are evacuated as forest fires threaten Salmon Arm, British Columbia
- August 20 - The Supreme Court of Canada states Quebec can not legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.
- September 2 - In Canada, pilots for Air Canada launch the first strike in company's history.
- September 2 - Crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggys Cove in Nova Scotia
- October 8 - Canada is elected to a seat on the United Nations Security Council
- October 14 - Canada's first diamond mine opens in the Northwest Territories
- October 27 - Conrad Black's the National Post publishes its first issue
- November 14 - Former Prime Minister Joe Clark is selected as the new leader of the Progressive Conservative Party
- November 26 - Dan Morin is forced to resign as Premier of the Northwest Territories
- November 30 - The Parti Québécois is re-elected in Quebec, despite losing the popular vote
- December 1 - Work on Canada's new gun registry begins
- December 10 - James Antoine becomes premier of the Northwest Territories, replacing Don Morin
- December 14 - Minister of Finance Paul Martin prohibits Canada's banks from merging
- Grey Cup: Calgary Stampeders win 26-24 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Vanier Cup: Saskatchewan Huskies win 24-17 over the Concordia Stingers
Arts and literature
- New Books
- The Bay of Love and Sorrows - David Adams Richards
- Greater Than Angels - Carol Matas
- The Love of a Good Woman - Alice Munro
- Prières d'un adolescent très très sage - Roch Carrier
- Broken Entries: Race Subjectivity Writing - Roy Miki
- Isaiah Berlin: A Life - Michael Ignatieff
- Coyotes Sing to the Moon - Thomas King
- Toronto Discovered - Robert Fulford
- Body Music - Dennis Lee
- Carol Shields's Larry's Party wins the Orange Prize for Fiction
- Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: Alice Munro: The Love of a Good Woman
- See 1998 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Books in Canada First Novel Award: Margaret Gibson, Opium Dreams
- Gerald Lampert Award: Mark Sinnett, The Landing
- Marian Engel Award: Sharon Butala
- Pat Lowther Award: Barbara Nickel, The Gladys Elegies
- Stephen Leacock Award: Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version
- Trillium Book Award English: André Alexis, Childhood and Alice Munro, The Love of a Good Woman
- Trillium Book Award French: Daniel Poliquin, L'homme de paille and Stefan Psenak, Du chaos et de l'ordre des choses
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Kit Pearson
- Shania Twain's Come on Over is one of the year's top selling albums in North America
- Les Chansons en or by Celine Dion is released
- Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie by Alanis Morissette
- Titanic, directed by Canadian James Cameron, wins 11 Oscars.
- Canada's Sesame Street switches to showing exclusively Canadian content, renaming itself Sesame Park, as it no longer uses any American made segments from Sesame Street
- The French government names Karen Kain as an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters
Births
Deaths
- February 25 - W.O. Mitchell, author
- March 13 - Bill Reid, Canadian artist
- April 16 - Marie-Louise Meilleur, world's oldest person
- May 28 - Phil Hartman, artist, writer, actor and comedian
- October 1 - Pauline Julien, singer and poltical activist
- October 4 - Roger Mason, author
- October 17 - Robert Dickson, Supreme Court justice
- October 17 - Mary O'Brien, feminist
- November 9 - Roland Hewgill, actor
- November 13 - Michel Trudeau, son of Pirre Trudeau
- November 22 - Jack Shadbolt, artist
- December 9 - Shaughnessy Cohen, Member of Parliament
- December 16 - John Gallagher, founder of Dome Petroleum
- December 22 - Pierre Vallieres, FLQ leader
- December 24 - Charles Apps, pole vaulter
- December 31 - Apak Angilik, film maker
- John Hayes, (b. 1917), harness racing driver