1978 in Canada
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See also: 1977 in Canada, other events of 1978, 1979 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.
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Incumbents
- Premier of Alberta - Peter Lougheed
- Premier of British Columbia - W.R. Bennett
- Premier of Manitoba - Sterling Lyon
- Premier of New Brunswick - Richard Hatfield
- Premier of Newfoundland - Frank Moores
- Premier of Nova Scotia - Gerald Regan then John Buchanan
- Premier of Ontario - Bill Davis
- Premier of Prince Edward Island - Alexander B. Campbell then Bennett Campbell
- Premier of Quebec - René Lévesque
- Premier of Saskatchewan - Allan Blakeney
Events
- January 24 - Cosmos 954 a Soviet satellite breaks up over northern Canada.
- June 26 - Air Canada DC-9 overruns runway in Toronto, 2 people die.
- August 4 - 41 are killed when a bus plunges into a lake near Eastman, Quebec.
- September 18 - Bennett Campbell becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing Alexander B. Campbell
- October 5 - John MacLennan Buchanan becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Gerald Regan
- October 16 - Fifteen federal by-elections are held across the country. The Liberals lose five seats in a major defeat of the Liberal government.
- October 18 - Saskatchewan election: Allan Blakeney's NDP win a third consecutive majority
- Supreme Court of Canada declares unilingual legislatures and courts unconstitutional
- Chris Pearson becomes government leader of Yukon as responsible government is instituted
- Under the new immigration act homosexuals are no longer an inadmissible class
- VIA Rail is established
- The Commonwealth Games are held in Edmonton, Alberta
- Despite accusations of marital infidelity, Colin Thatcher, who would later become famous for his involvement in the murder of his ex-wife, is re-elected to the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.
Arts and Literature
- New Works
- Margaret Atwood - Up in the Tree
- Mordecai Richler - The Great Comic Book Heroes and Other Essays
- John Gray - Billy Bishop Goes to War
- Henry Beissel - Goya
- Awards
- Alice Munro's Who Do You Think You Are? is nominated for the Booker Prize
- See 1979 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Stephen Leacock Award: Ernest Buckler, Whirligig
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Lyn Cook
Births
- January 3 - Daryn Jones, actor
- February 26 - Kyle Hamilton, Olympic rower
- March 9 - Chris Phillips, hockey player
- April 6 - Thomas Herschmiller, Olympic rower
- April 26 - Tyler Labine, actor
- May 15 - Dwayne De Rosario, soccer player
- May 15 - Caroline Dhavernas, actress
- June 13 - Matt Bradley, hockey player
- June 14 - Steve Bégin, hockey player
- July 22 - A. J. Cook, actor
- June 28 - Simon Larose, tennis player
- September 1 - Joe Stankevicius, Olympic rower
- September 5 - Laura Bertram, actor
- September 6 - Amy Agulay, field hockey international
- September 7 - Matt Cooke, hockey player
- September 7 - Devon Sawa, actor
- September 20 - Jason Bay, baseball player
- September 21 - Paulo Costanzo, actor
- September 22 - Steve Moore, hockey player
- December 2 - Nelly Furtado, singer
- December 23 - Esthero, musician
- Rebecca Blaikie, politician
Deaths
- March 31 - Charles Best, co-discoverer of insulin
- April 13 - Jack Chambers, artist
- September 9 - Jack Warner, studio mogul