1990 in Canada

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← 1989 1988 1987 1990 in Canada → 1991 1992 1993
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See also:	History of Canada Timeline of Canadian history List of years in Canada

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Events from the year 1990 in Canada.

Incumbents

and (senate 130)

Crown

• Monarch – Elizabeth II^[1]

Federal government

• Governor General – Jeanne Sauvé (until January 29) then Ray Hnatyshyn^[2]
• Prime Minister – Brian Mulroney
• Chief Justice – Brian Dickson (Manitoba) (until 30 June) then Antonio Lamer (Quebec)
• Parliament – 34th senate (134)

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 – Lloyd Crouse
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Lincoln Alexander
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Lloyd MacPhail (until August 16) then Marion Reid
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Gilles Lamontagne (until August 9) then Martial Asselin
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Sylvia Fedoruk

Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – Don Getty
• Premier of British Columbia – Bill Vander Zalm
• Premier of Manitoba – Gary Filmon
• Premier of New Brunswick – Frank McKenna
• Clyde Wells
• Premier of Nova Scotia – John Buchanan (until September 12) then Roger Bacon
• Premier of Ontario – David Peterson (until October 1) then Bob Rae
• 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 – Daniel L. Norris

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

Events

January to June

• January 15 – Massive cuts to Via Rail come into effect leading to the rerouting of The Canadian and many intercity trains.
• January 24 – The Tories introduce legislation that would create the
  Goods and Services Tax (GST), a national sales tax
  .
• January 24 – Jean Charest resigns from cabinet after he was found to have spoken with a judge.
• January 29 –
  governor general
  .
• January 29 – A controversial resolution is passed by the city council of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, declaring the city "English-only".
• 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 begins near Hagersville, Ontario. It takes 17 days to put out.
• February 12 – 1990 Chambly by-election.
• March 9 –
  Clyde Wells confirms he will rescind Newfoundland's approval of the Meech Lake Accord
  .
• March 15 – The federal government decides that
  Baltej Singh Dhillon
  case.
• March 22 – Canadian arms designer Gerald Bull is assassinated in Brussels.
• May 12 – The Bloc Québécois Party is formed as several MPs led by Lucien Bouchard quit the Tories and Liberals.
• May 24 – The Edmonton Oilers win the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals.
• May 29 – Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Ottawa for a 29-hour visit.^[3]
• June 6 –
  Stanley Charles Waters is the first elected senator
  .
• June 12 – Elijah Harper prevents Manitoba from accepting the Meech Lake Accord.
• June 17–30 – Nelson Mandela tours North America, visiting three Canadian and eight U.S. cities.
• June 23 – Meech Lake Accord officially dead.
• June 23 – Jean Chrétien elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada at a leadership convention held in Calgary.

July to December

• July 11 – The
  Oka crisis
  begins.
• September 6 – Bob Rae's Ontario New Democratic Party wins a surprise majority in Ontario.
• September 12 – Roger Bacon becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing John Buchanan.
• September 26 – Oka crisis ends.
• September 27 – Brian Mulroney temporarily increases the size of the Senate to ensure passage of the GST.
• October 1 – Bob Rae becomes premier of Ontario, replacing David Peterson.
• November 1 – Brian Mulroney launches the Citizen's Forum on Canada's Future to get Canadians' input on constitutional reform.
• December 10 – Jean Chrétien is returned to the
  by election for the New Brunswick riding of Beauséjour
  .
• December 13 – The Senate of Canada approves the GST..
• December 17 – The GST becomes law.

Arts and literature

• March 6 – The National Gallery of Canada acquires Barnett Newman's Voice of Fire for $1.8 million, causing a storm of controversy.

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
• W.O. Mitchell
  , According to Jake and the Kid
• Trillium Book Award: Alice Munro, Friend of My Youth
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Bernice Thurman Hunter

• May 13 – The
  Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario
• May 24 – The Edmonton Oilers win their fifth (and most recent) Stanley Cup by defeating the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1. Brandon, Manitoba's Bill Ranford is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy
• November 24 – The Saskatchewan Huskies win their first Vanier Cup by defeating the Saint Mary's Huskies 24 to 21 in the 26th Vanier Cup played at Skydome in Toronto
• November 25 – The
  Scarborough, Toronto's Warren Hudson is awarded the game's Most Valuable Canadian

• Doug Flutie returns to Canada to play with the BC Lions.

Births

• January 18
  • Brett Lawrie, Canadian baseball player
  • Alex Pietrangelo, Canadian ice hockey player
• January 24 – Mitchell Islam, ice dancer
• January 29 – Danielle Parsons, curler
• January 30 – Joe Colborne, ice hockey player
• February 14 – Brett Dier, actor
• February 23
  • Kevin Connauton, ice hockey defenceman
  • Marco Scandella, ice hockey defenceman
• March 2 – Michael Hutchinson, ice hockey player
• April 26 – Riley Voelkel, actress
• May 13 –
  Jane Creba, murder victim (d. 2005
  )
• June 3 – Jason Akeson, ice hockey player
• June 4 – Jess Moskaluke, singer
• June 5 – Junior Hoilett, footballer
• June 7 – Michael Stone, ice hockey player
• July 15 – Alexander Calvert, actor
• August 7 – Jake Allen, hockey goaltender
• August 15 – Chris Gudzowsky, Canadian born bobsledder^[4]
• September 7 – Megan McNeil, singer (d. 2011)
• September 28 – Kirsten Prout, actress
• October 23 – Dalmar Abuzeid, actor
• November 9 – Chris Di Staulo, filmmaker
• November 19 – Laura Walker, curler
• December 10 – Reda Agourram, soccer player
• December 11 – Michael Pillarella, actor, writer, film producer and spoken word artist^[5]
• December 27 – Milos Raonic, tennis player
• December 31 – Patrick Chan, figure skater

Deaths

January to June

• January 7 – Bronko Nagurski, American football player (b. 1908)
• March 16 – Dalton McGuinty Sr., politician and father of premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty and the politician David McGuinty (b. 1926)
• March 22 – Gerald Bull, engineer and artillery designer (b. 1928)
• March 24 – Jim St. James, actor and HIV/AIDS activist
• April 11 – Harold Ballard, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs (b. 1903)

July to September

• July 18
  • Johnny Wayne, comedian and comedy writer (b. 1918)
  • Gerry Boulet, Quebec rock singer (Offenbach) (b. 1946)
• August 25 – Morley Callaghan, novelist, short story writer, playwright, and television and radio personality (b. 1903)
• September 6 – Stan Roberts, politician (b. 1927)
• September 11 – Lela Brooks, speed skater and world record holder (b. 1908)

October to December

• October 22 – Carl Klinck, literary historian and academic (b. 1908)
• October 30 – Craig Russell, female impersonator (b. 1948)
• November 2 – Frederick Thomas Armstrong, politician (b. 1907)
• November 9 – Hugh MacLennan, author and professor of English (b. 1907)
• December 7 – Jean Paul Lemieux, painter (b. 1904)
• December 24 – Tammy Homolka, murder victim (b. 1975)
• December 31 – Robina Higgins, track and field athlete (b. 1915)

See also

• 1990 in Canadian television
• List of Canadian films of 1990

References