1990 in Canada
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See also: 1989 in Canada, other events of 1990, 1991 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.
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Incumbents
- Premier of Alberta - Don Getty
- Premier of British Columbia - Bill Vander Zalm
- Premier of Manitoba - Gary Filmon
- Premier of New Brunswick - Frank McKenna
- Premier of Newfoundland - Clyde Wells
- Premier of Nova Scotia - John Buchanan then Roger Bacon
- Premier of Ontario - David Peterson then Bob Rae
- Premier of Prince Edward Island - Joe Ghiz
- Premier of Quebec - Robert Bourassa
- Premier of Saskatchewan - Grant Devine
Events
- January 5 - 1300 jobs are lost in Newfoundland when Fishery Products International decides to close three plants
- January 15 - Massive cuts to VIA Rail come into effect leading to the cancelation of The Canadian
- January 24 - The Tories introduce legislation that would create the GST, a national sales tax
- January 24 - Jean Charest resigns from cabinet after he was found to have spoken with a judge
- January 29 - Ramon John Hnatyshyn replaces Jeanne Sauvé as Governor General
- February - The federal government announces that it will privatize Petro-Canada; the legislation to do so is introduced in October.
- February 12 - A massive tire fire beigns near Hagersville, Ontario. It takes 15 days to put out.
- March 6 - The National Gallery of Canada buy Barnett Newman's Voice of Fire for 1.8 million causing a storm of controversy
- March 9 - Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Clyde Wells confirms he will rescind Newfoundland's approval of the Meech Lake Accord
- March 11 - The Oka crisis begins
- March 15 - The federal government decides that Sikhs could wear a turban while serving as RCMP officers
- March 22 - Canadian arms designer Gerald Bull is assassinated in Brussels, probably by Mossad
- May 12 The Bloc Québécois Party is formed as several MPs lead by Lucien Bouchard quit the Tories and Liberals
- June 12 - Elijah Harper prevents Manitoba accepting Meech Lake
- June 23 - Meech Lake Accord officially dead
- September 6 - Bob Rae's NDP wins a surprise majority in Ontario.
- September 12 - Roger Bacon becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing John Buchanan
- September 26 - Oka crisis ends peacefully
- September 27 - Brian Mulroney temprarily increases the size of the Senate to ensure passage of the GST
- October 1 - Bob Rae become premier of Ontario, replacing David Peterson
- November 1 - Mulroney launches the Citizen's Forum on Canada's Future to get Canadians' input on constitutional reform
- December 17 - The GST becomes law
- Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup four games to one over the Boston Bruins. It is their fifth cup in seven years.
- Doug Flutie returns to Canada to play with the British Columbia Lions
- Canada Post Systems Management Limited founded
- Jean Chrétien elected leader of the opposition Liberals
- Richard Taylor wins the Nobel Prize in Physics for verifying the Quark Theory
Arts and Literature
- New Works
- Swann by Carol Shields published
- The Evening News by Arthur Hailey
- A Tenured Professor by John Kenneth Galbraith
- TekWar by William Shatner
- Magic Casement by Dave Duncan
- Golden Fleece by Robert J. Sawyer
- Medicine River by Thomas King
- The Magic Machine: A Handbook of Computer Sorcery by Alexander Dewdney
- Whylah Falls by George Elliott Clarke
- The Wild Blue Yonder by Audrey Thomas
- L'Oursiade by Antonine Maillet
- Awards
- See 1990 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Books in Canada First Novel Award: Sandra Birdsell, The Missing Child
- Geoffrey Bilson Award: Kit Pearson, The Sky is Falling
- Gerald Lampert Award: Steven Heighton, Stalin's Carnival
- Marian Engel Award: Carol Shields
- Pat Lowther Award: Patricia Young, The Mad and Beautiful Mothers
- Stephen Leacock Award: W.O. Mitchell, According to Jake and the Kid
- Trillium Book Award: Alice Munro, Friend of My Youth
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Bernice Thurman Hunter
Births
Deaths
- January 7 - Bronko Nagurski, American football player
- March 22 - Gerald Bull, arms expert
- April 11 - Harold Ballard, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs
- July 18 - Johnny Wayne, comedian
- August 25 - Morley Callaghan, writer
- November 7 - Hugh MacLennan, writer
- November 16 - Northern Dancer, racehorse
- Robert Markle, painter