1999 in Canada
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See also: 1998 in Canada, other events of 1999, 2000 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.
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Incumbents
- Head of State - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister - Jean Chrétien
- Premier of Alberta - Ralph Klein
- Premier of British Columbia - Glen Clark then Dan Miller
- Premier of Manitoba - Gary Filmon then Gary Doer
- Premier of New Brunswick - Camille Thériault then Bernard Lord
- Premier of Newfoundland - Brian Tobin
- Premier of Nova Scotia - Russell MacLellan then John Hamm
- Premier of Ontario - Mike Harris
- Premier of Prince Edward Island - Pat Binns
- Premier of Quebec - Lucien Bouchard
- Premier of Saskatchewan - Roy Romanow
See also: 1999 Canadian incumbents
Events
- January 1 - An avalanche destroys a school gymnasium during New Year's celebrations in Kangiqsualujjuaq in far northern Quebec, killing 9.
- February 9 - Brian Tobin's Liberals are re-elected in Newfoundland
- February 13 - the last hockey game is played at Maple Leaf Gardens as the team moves to the new Air Canada Centre
- April 1 - Nunavut becomes the newest territory. Paul Okalik becomes its first premier
- April 6 - A disgruntled employee kills four in Ottawa before killing himself
- April 16 - Wayne Gretzky retires from hockey
- April 28 - In Taber, Alberta, a 15-year-old boy, who has recently been withdrawn from public school to escape bullying, walks into W.R. Myers High School and shoots two students with a .22 rifle, killing one (Jason Lang) and injuring the other.
- May 1 - Sponsorship scandal: The federal government issues a $615,000 contract for a report from Groupaction into its own activities.
- May 11 - Chevron announces a major natural gas find in the Northwest Territories
- May 17 - The Saskatchewan government awards David Milgaard after he was jailed for 23 years for a murder he did not commit
- May 20 the Supreme Court expands gay spousal rights
- May 27 - Julie Payette becomes the first Canadian to board the International Space Station
- June 3 - Ontario election: Mike Harris's PCs win a second consecutive majority
- June 3 - Canada and the United States sign a treaty to divide the Pacific salmon fishery
- June 4 - An agreement on split-run magazines prevents looming trade war with the United States
- June 7 - Bernard Lord's Conservatives win a surprise election victory in New Brunswick
- June 10 - The Reform Party of Canada votes to become the Canadian Alliance
- June 17 - Canadian citizen Stanley Faulder is executed in Texas, despite diplomatic complaints by the Canadian government
- June 21 - Bernard Lord becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing Camille Thériault
- June 30 - A British Columbia court strikes down Canada's child pornography laws
- July 23 - August 8 - The Pan-American games are held in Winnipeg
- July 27 - The Conservatives win a majority government in Nova Scotia
- August 16 - John Hamm becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Russell MacLellan
- August 20 - The Supreme Court rules that Quebec cannot secede unilaterally, but that Canada is obligated to recognize a clear yes vote
- August 20 - Eaton's files for bankruptcy
- August 24 - Onex announces a plan to buy and merge Air Canada and Canadian Airlines
- August 25 - Dan Miller, as interim leader of the NDP, becomes premier of British Columbia, replacing Glen Clark who resigned on the 21st
- September 15 - Louise Arbour appointed to the Supreme Court replacing Antonio Lamer
- September 19 - Saskatchewan election: Roy Romanow's NDP wins only a minority but forms a coalition with the Liberals to maintain control of the Legislative Assembly
- September 25 - The federal government refuses requests for aid by the six remaining Canadian NHL franchises
- October 5 - Gary Doer of the NDP becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Gary Filmon of the Conservatives
- October 7 - Adrienne Clarkson becomes Governor General
- October 8 - Bill Clinton dedicates the new United States embassy in Ottawa
- October 15 - Robert Mundell wins the Nobel Prize for economics
- October 19 - Air Canada, backed by other airlines, announces a takeover bid for Canadian Airlines
- November 3 - Beverley McLachlin becomes the first female chief justice of the Supreme Court
- November 5 - A Quebec court decides that Onex's bid for Air Canada is illegal
- November 5 - Quebec sign law is overturned
- November 13 - Lennox Lewis defeats Evander Holyfield to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World
- November 21 - Nimiq 1 Canada's first direct broadcast digital TV satellite launched by a Proton K Blok DM-3 rocket from the Tyuratam launch centre in Kazakhstan.
- December 8 - Air Canada takes over Canadian Airlines
- December 11 - The verdict in the Just Desserts shooting case is handed down. Two of the accused are found guilty, the third is acquitted.
- December 14 - Montreal resident Ahmed Ressam is arrested in Seattle and found with large quantities of explosives
Arts and literature
- New Works:
- Russell Smith - Young Men
- Bonnie Burnard - A Good House
- Antonine Maillet - Chronique d'une sorcière de vent
- Awards
- Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: Bonnie Burnard, A Good House
- See 1999 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Books in Canada First Novel Award: Andre Alexis, Childhood
- Gerald Lampert Award: Stephanie Bolster, White Stone: The Alice Poems
- Geoffrey Bilson Award: Iain Lawrence, The Wreckers
- Marian Engel Award: Janice Kulyk Keeger
- Norma Fleck Award: Andy Turnbull and Debora Pearson, By Truck to the North: My Winter Adventure
- Pat Lowther Award: Hilary Clark, More Light
- Stephen Leacock Award: Stuart McLean, Home from the Vinyl Cafe
- Trillium Book Award English: Alistair MacLeod, No Great Mischief
- Trillium Book Award French: Andrée Christensen and Jacques Flamand, Lithochronos ou le premier vol de la pierre
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Joan Clark
- Music
- Céline Dion, Alanis Morissette, and Shania Twain win major Grammy Awards
Births
Deaths
- January 10 - Walter Harris, politician
- February 18 - Neil Gaudry, Manitoba politician
- March 3 - Gerhard Herzberg, scientist
- March 9 - Harry Somers, composer
- April 4 - Greg McConnell, indie rock musician (Lost Dakotas)
- May 23 - Owen Hart, WWF wrestler
- June - Gordon Towers, politician
- June 17 - Stanley Faulder, murderer
- June 30 - Tyrell Dueck
- July 16 - Alan Macnaughton, politician
- August 12 - Jean Drapeau, mayor of Montreal
- September 24 - Robert Bend, Manitoba politician
- October 31 - Greg Moore, racing car driver
- December 2 - Matt Cohen, author
- December 11 - Big Ben, race horse
- December 20 - Hank Snow, country singer
- December 30 - Rick Danko, musician