See also:
1970 in Canada,
other events of 1971,
1972 in Canada and the
Timeline of Canadian history.
Incumbents
Events
- March 1 - Bill Davis becomes premier of Ontario, replacing John Robarts
- March 4 - Prime Minister Trudeau weds Margaret Sinclair
- March 31 - FLQ terrorist Paul Rose is sentenced to life in prison
- April 5 - The first CANDU reactor begins operation at Gentilly, Quebec
- May 4 - A sinkhole destroys much of St Jean Vianney, Québec and kills 31
- May 22 - Ontario Place opens in Toronto
- June 3 The controversial Spadina Expressway project is cancelled
- June 11 - Jack Davis becomes Canada's first Minister of the Environment, heading the new department of Environment Canada
- June 14 - The Victoria Charter proposing constitutional reforms is written by the first ministers, it is later rejected by Robert Bourassa
- June 23 - Saskatchewan election: Allan Blakeney's NDP wins a majority, defeating Ross Thatcher's Liberals
- June 30 - Allan Blakeney becomes premier of Saskatchewan, replacing Ross Thatcher
- July 29 - The Bluenose II is donated to the province of Nova Scotia
- August 15 - The first Banff Festival of the Arts opens
- August 16 - Hurricane Beth hits Nova Scotia
- August 30 - Alberta election: Peter Lougheed's PCs win a majority, defeating Harry Strom's Social Credit Party, which had governed for 36 years
- September 10 - Peter Lougheed becomes premier of Alberta, replacing Harry Strom
- October 4 - Petroleum is found under Sable Island
- October 21 - Ontario election: Bill Davis's PCs win an eighth consecutive majority
- November 1 - The Toronto Sun begins publication
- November 2 - Gerhard Herzberg wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- November 12 - Paul Joseph Cini hijacks an Air Canada plane. He is later arrested without incident
- December 1 - Two subway trains collide in Montreal killing one person
- December 26 - An Air Canada plane was hijacked and flown to Cuba
- Ontario Universities Application Centre founded
- Harold Ballard gains full control of the Toronto Maple Leafs
- The first edition of The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide is published
- Conrad Black and David Radler buy the Sherbrooke Record
- Statistics Canada is formed to replace the Dominion Bureau of Statistics
Arts and Literature
- New Works
- Awards
Births
- January 9 - Sandra Oh, actor
- January 27 - Patrice Brisebois, hockey player
- March 8 - Bob Boughner, hockey player
- March 27 - Nathan Fillion, actor
- April 9 - Jacques Villeneuve, automobile racing driver
- June 17 - Bif Naked, singer
- July 2 - Evelyn Lau, poet
- July 10 - Adam Foote, hockey player
- July 17 - Cory Doctorow, writer and activist
- June 26 - Christine Nordhagen, Olympic wrestler
- July 30 - Tom Green, actor
- September - Chris Klein-Beekman, aid worker
- September 6 - Fiona Milne, Olympic rower
- November 1 - Glen Murray, hockey player
- November 24 - Keith Primeau, hockey player
- December 9 - Petr Nedved, hockey player
- December 25 - Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister's son
Deaths
