1988 in Canada

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← 1987 1986 1985 1988 in Canada → 1989 1990 1991
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	History of Canada Timeline of Canadian history List of years in Canada

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Events from the year 1988 in Canada.

Incumbents

Crown

• Monarch – Elizabeth II^[1]

Federal government

• Governor General – Jeanne Sauvé^[2]
• Prime Minister – Brian Mulroney
• Chief Justice – Brian Dickson (Manitoba)
• Parliament – 33rd (until 1 October) then 34th (from December 12)

Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Helen Hunley
• David Lam
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – George Johnson
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Gilbert Finn
• Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – James McGrath
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Alan Abraham
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Lincoln Alexander
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Lloyd MacPhail
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Gilles Lamontagne
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Frederick Johnson (until September 7) then Sylvia Fedoruk

Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – Don Getty
• Premier of British Columbia – Bill Vander Zalm
• Premier of Manitoba – Howard Pawley (until May 9) then Gary Filmon
• Premier of New Brunswick – Frank McKenna
• Premier of Newfoundland – Brian Peckford
• Premier of Nova Scotia – John Buchanan
• Premier of Ontario – David Peterson
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – Joe Ghiz
• Premier of Quebec – Robert Bourassa
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Grant Devine

Territorial governments

Commissioners

• John Kenneth McKinnon
• Commissioner of Northwest Territories – John Havelock Parker

• Premier of the Northwest Territories – Dennis Patterson
• Premier of Yukon – Tony Penikett

Events

• January 28 – Canada's abortion laws are repealed by the Supreme Court.
• March 19 – Jacques Parizeau becomes leader of the Parti Québécois.
• May – HMCS Halifax, the first Halifax-class frigate, is launched in Saint John, New Brunswick.
• May 9 – Gary Filmon becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Howard Pawley.
• June 4 – The
  armorial bearings to worthy Canadians and Canadian corporations. It is the first heraldic authority in the Commonwealth of Nations
  outside the United Kingdom.
• July 21 – The War Measures Act is replaced by the Emergencies Act.
• September 1 – Several new cable channels sign-on:
  Family, WeatherNow, MétéoMédia, TV5 Québec Canada
  .
• September 1 – All rail service is terminated in
  CN Rail abandons its rail lines on the island operated by its Terra Transport
  subsidiary.
• September 22 – Prime Minister
  Japanese Canadians
  .
• November 1 – The
  Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
  is created.
• November 21 – In the
  Canada-US Free Trade Agreement
  .
• December 15 – The Supreme Court rules that Quebec's Charter of the French Language is unconstitutional.
• December 21 – The
  notwithstanding clause
  .

Full date unknown

• come out
  as homosexual.
• Maher Arar emigrates to Canada.
• Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
  .
• CHUM-City Building
  at the corner of Queen and John streets in Toronto as their headquarters.
• Conrad Black gains control of The Spectator.

Arts and literature

• May 21 – The new National Gallery of Canada building opens in Ottawa.

New works

• Timothy Findley – Stones
• Morley Callaghan – A Wild Old Man on the Road
• Jeffrey Simpson – Spoils of Power
• bill bissett
  – What We Have

Awards

• See 1988 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Books in Canada First Novel Award: Marion Quednau
  , The Butterfly Chair
• Geoffrey Bilson Award: 1988 – Carol Matas, 'Lisa
• Gerald Lampert Award: Di Brandt, Questions I Asked My Mother
• Marian Engel Award: Edna Alford
• Pat Lowther Award: Gwendolyn MacEwen, Afterworlds
• Stephen Leacock Award: Paul Quarrington
  , King Leary
• Trillium Book Award: Timothy Findley, Stones
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Barbara Smucker

• February 13–February 28 – The
  XV Olympic Winter Games are held in Calgary.^[3]
• May 14 – The Medicine Hat Tigers win their second (consecutive) Memorial Cup by defeating the Windsor Spitfires 7 to 6. The final game was played at Centre Georges-Vézina in Chicoutimi, Quebec
• May 26 – The
  Brantford, Ontario's Wayne Gretzky was awarded his second Conn Smythe Trophy
• July – The 1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics take place in Sudbury, Ontario.
• August 9 –
  Jason Miller), 1991 (Martin Ručinský), and 1993 (Nick Stajduhar
  )
• September 26 – Sprinter Ben Johnson is stripped of his Olympic gold medal and world record when he tests positive for steroids.
• Figure skater
  quadruple toe loop
  in competition.
• November 19 – The Calgary Dinos win their third Vanier Cup by defeating the Saint Mary's Huskies by a score of 52–23 in the 24th Vanier Cup
• November 27 – The
  Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. Ancaster, Ontario's Bob Cameron was awarded the game's Most Valuable Canadian

• January 6 – Andrew Robinson, water polo player
• January 19 – Tyler Breeze, pro wrestler
• February 14 – Katie Boland, actress, writer, and producer
• February 20 – Tracy Spiridakos, actress
• February 27 – Dustin Jeffrey, ice hockey player
• March 15 – James Reimer, ice hockey goaltender
• March 16 – Jessica Gregg, speed skater^[4]
• April 21 – Robbie Amell, actor
• April 29 – Jonathan Toews, hockey player
• May 3 – Kaya Turski, freestyle skier
• May 5 – Skye Sweetnam, singer-songwriter and actress
• May 9 – J. R. Fitzpatrick, race car driver
• May 16 – Amanda Asay, baseball and ice hockey player (died 2022)
• May 18 – Ryan Cooley, actor
• May 26 – Kelly MacDonald, diver
• June 6 – Keshia Chanté, singer-songwriter, model, actress, and philanthropist
• June 7 – Michael Cera, actor
• June 12 – Dakota Morton, actor and radio host
• June 16 – Keshia Chanté, singer-songwriter, model and actress
• June 18 – Yannick Riendeau, ice hockey player
• July 2 – Seanna Mitchell, swimmer
• July 6 – Mathieu Bois, swimmer
• July 12 – Melissa O'Neil, singer
• July 25 – Heather Marks, model
• July 29 – Emily Csikos, water polo player
• August 4 – Carly Foulkes, model and actress
• August 8 – Jake Goldsbie, actor
• August 16 – Tara Teng, model, activist, and television presenter
• August 23 - Alice Glass, singer
• August 28 - Rosie MacLennan, trampoline gymnast
• September 10 – Jordan Staal, hockey player
• September 24 – Kirsten Sweetland, triathlete
• September 26 – Lilly Singh, YouTuber, comedian and TV host
• October 17 –
  Cristine Rotenberg
  , crime statistics analyst and YouTube personality
• October 7 – Yvonne Chapman, actress and model
• October 21 – Mark Rendall, actor
• November 3 – Jessie Loutit, rower^[5]
• November 8 – Jessica Lowndes, actress and singer-songwriter
• November 16 – Kier Maitland, swimmer
• November 21 – Len Väljas, cross-country skier
• November 22 – Reece Thompson, actor
• December 16 – Gael Mackie, artistic gymnast

Full date unknown

• Anastasia De Sousa, student (died 2006)^[6]

Deaths

January to June

• February 2 – Louis-Marie Régis, philosopher, theologian, scholar and member of the Dominican Order (born 1903)
• March 20 – Gil Evans, jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader (born 1912)
• June 19 – Fernand Seguin, biochemist, professor and television host (born 1922)

July to December

• July 4
  • Donald MacLaren, World War I flying ace, businessman (born 1893)
  • Dave McKigney, professional wrestler (born 1932)^[7]
• July 9 – Richard Spink Bowles, lawyer and Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (born 1912)
• August 8 – Félix Leclerc, folk singer, poet, writer, actor and political activist (born 1914)
• August 28 – Jean Marchand, trade unionist and politician (born 1918)
• September 6 – Frederic McGrand, physician and politician (born 1895)
• September 8 – Joseph Algernon Pearce, astrophysicist (born 1893)
• September 25 –
  bpNichol, poet (born 1944
  )
• September 27 – George Grant, philosopher, teacher and political commentator (born 1918)
• October 15 – Victor Copps, politician and Mayor of Hamilton (born 1919)
• October 31 – Alfred Pellan, painter (born 1906)
• November 26 – John Dahmer, politician (born 1937)
• December 20 — Alphonse Ouimet, president of CBC from 1958 to 1968 (born 1908)

See also

• 1988 in Canadian television
• List of Canadian films of 1988

References