1956 in Canada
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See also: 1955 in Canada, other events of 1956, 1957 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.
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Incumbents
- 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 - Henry Hicks then Robert Stanfield
- Premier of Ontario - Leslie Frost
- Premier of Prince Edward Island - Alex Matheson
- Premier of Quebec - Maurice Duplessis
- Premier of Saskatchewan - Tommy Douglas
Events
- February 10 - William Coffin is hanged
- May 1 - The Trades and Labor Congress of Canada merges with the Canadian Congress of Labour to form the Canadian Labour Congress.
- May 8 - The controversial bill to create the Trans Canada Pipeline is introduced in the House of Commons.
- May 15 - A CF-100 crashes into a Grey Nuns convent outside of Ottawa killing fifteen.
- June 20 - Saskatchewan election: Tommy Douglas's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation wins a fourth consecutive majority
- November 1 - The second Springhill Mining Disaster occurs killing 36.
- November 4 - Lester B. Pearson proposes a successful resolution to the Suez Crisis, this will win him a Nobel Peace Prize.
- November 20 - Robert Stanfield becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Henry Hicks
- December 14 - John Diefenbaker is elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
- René Lévesque begins hosting Point de Mire
Arts and literature
- New Books
- Milton Acorn - In Love and Anger
- Pierre Berton - The Mysterious North
- Max Aitken - Men and Power
- Leonard Cohen - Let Us Compare Mythologies
- Harold Innis - Essays in Canadian Economic History
- Farley Mowat - Lost in the Barrens
- Literary Awards
- See 1956 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Stephen Leacock Award: Eric Nicol, Shall We Join The Ladies?
- Music
- Walter Susskind replaces Sir Ernest MacMillan as the director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
- Pianist Glenn Gould tours the Soviet Union
Births
- January 6 - Peter Stoffer, politician
- January 9 - Gregory Dewar, politician
- January 28 - David Faurschou, politician
- February 7 - Murray Downing, farmer
- February 28 - Guy Maddin, filmmaker
- February 29 - Steve Ashton, politician
- February 29 - Bob Speller, politician
- April 4 - Evelyn Hart, ballet dancer
- May 7 - Jean Lapierre, politician
- May 9 - Wendy Crewson, actor
- May 19 - James Gosling, computer scientist (Java)
- May 29 - Claude Drouin, politician
- June 10 - Hugh MacMillan, musician
- June 22 - Blake Debassige, artist
- July 8 - Terry Puhl, baseball player
- July 15 - Barry Melrose, hockey player and commentator
- July 17 - Bryan Trottier, hockey player
- August 12 - Bruce Greenwood, actor
- August 12 - Jane Siberry, singer
- October 7 - Brian Sutter, hockey player and coach
- October 23 - Geoffrey Kelly, musician
- December 10 - Marie Bountrogianni, politician
- December 31 - Paul Zed, politician
Deaths
- February 10 - William Coffin, alleged murderer
- September 11 - Billy Bishop, fighter pilot
- December 7 - Huntley Gordon, actor