View source for 1997 in Canada

{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive -->
{{More citations needed|date=September 2012}}
{{Year in Canada|1997}}
{{History of Canada}}

Events from the year '''1997 in Canada'''.

==Incumbents==
{{Main|1997 Canadian incumbents}}

=== Crown ===
* [[List of Canadian monarchs|Monarch]] – [[Elizabeth II]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen Elizabeth II {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/queen-elizabeth-ii |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |access-date=4 December 2022}}</ref>

=== Federal government ===
* [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] – [[Roméo LeBlanc]]
* [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] – [[Jean Chrétien]]
* [[Chief Justice of Canada|Chief Justice]] – [[Antonio Lamer]] ([[Quebec]]) 
* [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]] – [[35th Canadian Parliament|35th]] (until 27 April) then [[36th Canadian Parliament|36th]] (from September 22)

=== Provincial governments ===

==== Lieutenant governors ====
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Alberta]] – [[Bud Olson]] 
*[[Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia]] – [[Garde Gardom]]  
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba]] – [[Yvon Dumont]]
*[[Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick]] – [[Margaret McCain]] (until April 18) then [[Marilyn Trenholme Counsell]] 
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland]] – [[Frederick Russell]] (until February 5) then [[Arthur Maxwell House]]  
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia]] – [[James Kinley]] 
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario]] – [[Hal Jackman]] (until January 24) then [[Hilary Weston]] 
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island]] – [[Gilbert Clements]]
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Quebec]] – [[Jean-Louis Roux]] (until January 30) then [[Lise Thibault]] 
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan]] – [[Jack Wiebe]]

==== Premiers ====
*[[Premier of Alberta]] – [[Ralph Klein]] 
*[[Premier of British Columbia]] – [[Glen Clark]] 
*[[Premier of Manitoba]] – [[Gary Filmon]] 
*[[Premier of New Brunswick]] – [[Frank McKenna]] (until October 14) then [[Raymond Frenette]] 
*[[Premier of Newfoundland]] – [[Brian Tobin]] 
*[[Premier of Nova Scotia]] – [[John Savage (Nova Scotia politician)|John Savage]] (until July 18) then [[Russell MacLellan]]
*[[Premier of Ontario]] – [[Mike Harris]] 
*[[Premier of Prince Edward Island]] – [[Pat Binns]] 
*[[Premier of Quebec]] – [[Lucien Bouchard]]
*[[Premier of Saskatchewan]] – [[Roy Romanow]]

=== Territorial governments ===

==== Commissioners ====
* [[Commissioner of Yukon]] –  [[Judy Gingell]] 
* [[Commissioner of Northwest Territories]] – [[Helen Maksagak]]

==== Premiers ====
*[[Premier of the Northwest Territories]] – [[Don Morin]] 
*[[Premier of Yukon]] – [[Piers McDonald]]

==Events==

===January to June===
*January 1 – Opening of the new municipality of [[Alfred and Plantagenet]].
*January 4 – The [[Government of Canada|federal government]] makes it harder to obtain [[unemployment insurance]].
*February 14 – Newsprint giants [[Abitibi-Price]] and [[Stone-Consolidated]] announce they are merging.
*March 6 – A new rigorous anti tobacco advertising law is passed.
*March 11 – [[Alberta]] election: [[Ralph Klein]]'s [[Alberta Progressive Conservatives|PC]]s win an eighth consecutive majority.
*March 15 – [[Gilles Duceppe]] is [[1997 Bloc Québécois leadership election|elected]] leader of the [[Bloc Québécois]].
*March 19 – [[Bre-X]] [[geologist]] [[Michael de Guzman]] jumps or is pushed from a helicopter in [[Indonesia]].
*March 21 – [[Nova Scotia]] Premier [[John Savage (Nova Scotia politician)|John Savage]] announces his resignation.
*March 22 – Five members of the cult the [[Order of the Solar Temple]] commit [[1997 Saint-Casimir mass suicide |mass suicide]] in [[Saint-Casimir, Quebec]].
*April 22 – Massive flooding of the [[Red River of the North|Red River]] in [[Manitoba]] leads to a state of emergency.
*May – [[Saint-Simon, New Brunswick|Saint-Simon]] and [[Saint-Sauveur, New Brunswick|Saint-Sauveur]] [[Saint-Simon and Saint-Sauveur riots|riots]].
*May 11 – [[1997 Nunavut equal representation plebiscite]].
*May 31 – [[Confederation Bridge]] opens.
*June 1 – [[Donovan Bailey]] and [[Michael Johnson (sprinter)|Michael Johnson]] have a [[Bailey–Johnson 150-metre race|150m race]] in the then [[SkyDome|Skydome]] for the title of "The World's Fastest Man".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Campigotto |first=Jesse |date=June 1, 2022 |title=Remembering the wacky Donovan Bailey vs. Michael Johnson 150m race |work=CBC Sports |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/the-buzzer-donovan-bailey-vs-michael-johnson-race-1.6474354 |access-date=November 12, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221113153224/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/the-buzzer-donovan-bailey-vs-michael-johnson-race-1.6474354 |archive-date=November 13, 2022}}</ref>
*June 2 – [[1997 Canadian federal election|Federal election]]: [[Jean Chrétien]]'s [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberals]] win a second consecutive majority, the [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] becomes the Official Opposition.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Chrétien's razor thin majority in 1997 federal election |work=The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1630562055 |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*June 18 – The [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC) introduces a television rating system.

===July to September===
*July 2 – The [[Somalia Inquiry]] is disbanded prematurely.
*July 9 – [[Danielle House]] forced to give up her [[Miss Canada International]] title after pleading guilty to assault.
*July 18 – [[Russell MacLellan]] becomes the new Premier of Nova Scotia.
*July 30 – [[Phil Fontaine]] elected head of the [[Assembly of First Nations]].
*August 7 – [[Bjarni Tryggvason]] flies aboard the [[Space Shuttle]].
*August 8 – The [[Saskatchewan Party]] is founded.
*August 10 – The director [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]] and actress [[Marie-Soleil Tougas]] dies in a plane crash near [[Kuujjuaq]].<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [http://bilan.usherbrooke.ca/bilan/pages/evenements/3782.html Bilan du Siècle]</ref>
*September 2 – [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundlanders]] vote to do away with their religion based school systems.
*September 3 – One is killed in a [[Saskatchewan]] train derailment.
*September 15 &ndash; ''[[Caillou]]'' debuts on [[Teletoon]].

===October to December===

*October 1 – [[Michel Bastarache]] is appointed to the [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court]].
*October 2 – Canada recalls its [[ambassador]] to [[Israel]] after [[Mossad]] uses forged Canadian [[passport]]s.
*October 7 – An out-of-court settlement is reached between [[Brian Mulroney]] and the federal government regarding the [[Airbus affair]].
*October 13 – [[Raymond Frenette]] becomes premier of [[New Brunswick]], replacing [[Frank McKenna]].
*October 13 – 43 are killed in Canada's worst ever traffic accident as a tour bus falls off a cliff.
*October 17 – [[CTV News Channel (Canada)|CTV News Channel]] begins broadcasting.
*October 27–November 10 – A teachers strike takes place in [[Ontario]].
*November 3 – [[Canada]] destroys the last [[land mine]]s in its arsenal.
*November 9 – The scandal-racked [[Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative Party]] is mothballed.
*November 14 – Fourteen-year-old [[Murder of Reena Virk|Reena Virk]] is beaten to death by classmates in [[Victoria, British Columbia]].
*November 17 – The [[Hibernia]] oil project pumps its first barrel of oil.
*November 21–25 – The [[APEC]] summit is held in [[Vancouver]], British Columbia.  Controversy arises when [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] use force and [[pepper spray]] to remove protesters.
*December 3 – In [[Ottawa]], Ontario, representatives from 121 countries sign a treaty prohibiting the manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel [[land mine]]s. However, the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty.

===Full date unknown===
* The [[Calgary Declaration]] from the premiers, except [[Lucien Bouchard]].
* A second [[Sacred Assembly]] is held but issues no proclamation.

==Arts and literature==

===New Books===
*[[Timothy Findley]] – ''You Went Away''

===Awards===
*[[Giller Prize|Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction]]: [[Mordecai Richler]] – ''[[Barney's Version (novel)|Barney's Version]]''
*See [[1997 Governor General's Awards]] for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
*[[Books in Canada First Novel Award]]: [[Anne Michaels]], ''Fugitive Pieces''
*[[Geoffrey Bilson Award]]: [[Janet McNaughton]], ''To Dance at the Palais Royale''
*[[Gerald Lampert Award]]: [[Marilyn Dumont]], ''A Really Good Brown Girl''
*[[Marian Engel Award]]: [[Katherine Govier]]
*[[Pat Lowther Award]]: [[Marilyn Bowering]], ''Autobiography''
*[[Stephen Leacock Award]]: [[Arthur Black (humorist)|Arthur Black]], ''Black in the Saddle Again''
*[[Trillium Book Award]] English: [[Dionne Brand]], ''Land to Light On''
*[[Trillium Book Award]] French: [[Roger Levac]], ''Petite Crapaude!''
*[[Vicky Metcalf Award]]: [[Tim Wynne-Jones]]

===Film===
* [[Atom Egoyan]]'s ''[[The Sweet Hereafter (film)|The Sweet Hereafter]]'' is released, it is nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Director]]

===Television===
*''The Arrow'', a mini-series about the [[Avro Arrow]] shows plays to great popularity and acclaim and the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]
*Teletoon is launched

===Music===
*[[Oscar Peterson]] receives a [[Grammy]] for lifetime achievement.

==Sport==
*February 7 – [[Lennox Lewis]] becomes [[heavyweight]] boxing champion.
*May 18 – [[Hull Olympiques]] win their only [[Memorial Cup]] by defeating the [[Lethbridge Hurricanes]] 5 to 1. The entire tournament was played at the [[Robert Guertin Centre]] in [[Hull, Quebec]]
*June 7 – Calgary's [[Mike Vernon (ice hockey)|Mike Vernon]] of the [[Detroit Red Wings]] is awarded the [[Conn Smythe Trophy]]
*October 26 – [[Formula One]]: [[Jacques Villeneuve]] becomes the first Canadian to become [[List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions|World Drivers Champion]].
*November 9 – The [[Montreal Screwjob]] takes place at [[Survivor Series (1997)|Survivor Series]]. [[Bret Hart]] controversially loses his [[WWE Championship|WWF Championship]] to [[Shawn Michaels]].
*November 16 – [[Toronto Argonauts]] win their fourteenth [[Grey Cup]] by defeating the [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]] in the [[85th Grey Cup]] played at [[Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)|Commonwealth Stadium]] in [[Edmonton]]. [[Hamilton, Ontario]]'s [[Paul Masotti]] was awarded the game's [[Dick Suderman Trophy|Most Valuable Canadian]]
*November 22 – [[UBC Thunderbirds]] win their third [[Vanier Cup]] by defeating the [[Ottawa Gee-Gees]] by a score of 39–23 in the [[33rd Vanier Cup]] played at [[Skydome]] in [[Toronto]]

==Births==
*January 13 – [[Connor McDavid]], hockey player
*January 15 – [[Alex Cardillo]], Irish-born actor
*January 20 – [[Death of Jeffrey Baldwin|Jeffrey Baldwin]], murder victim (died [[2002 in Canada|2002]])
*January 29 – [[Cassandra Sawtell]], actress
*March 9 – [[Niamh Wilson]], actress
*March 10 – [[Travis Konecny]], ice hockey player  
*March 11 – [[Matreya Fedor]], actress
*March 26 – [[Antoine L'Écuyer]], actor
*April 23 – [[Alex Ferris]], actor
*April 28 – [[Jason Spevack]], actor
*May 5 – [[Mitch Marner]], ice hockey player
*May 26 – [[Mathew Barzal]], ice hockey player
*June 11 – [[Mackenzie Bent]], ice dancer
*June 18 – [[Mary-Lynn Neil]], singer and songwriter
*August 1 – [[Megan McNamara]] and [[Nicole McNamara]], beach volleyball players
*August 3 – [[Ayaka Wilson]], actor
*October 27 – [[Eliana Jones]], actress and gymnast

==Deaths==

===January to March===
*January 1 – [[Hagood Hardy]], composer, pianist and vibraphonist (born [[1937 in Canada|1937]])
*January 12
**[[Charles Brenton Huggins]], physician, physiologist, cancer researcher and Nobel prize laureate (born [[1901 in Canada|1901]])
*January 14 – [[Dollard Ménard]], [[lieutenant-colonel]]
*January 17 – [[Bill Kardash]], politician (born [[1912 in Canada|1912]])
*January 26 – [[Norman Fawcett]], politician (born [[1910 in Canada|1910]])
*February 19 – [[Lois Marshall]], soprano (born [[1924 in Canada|1924]])
*March 2 – [[J. Carson Mark]], mathematician who worked on development of nuclear weapons (born [[1913 in Canada|1913]])
*March 14 – [[Ivan Romanoff]], conductor
*March 22 – [[Harry Thode]], geochemist, nuclear chemist and academic administrator (born [[1910 in Canada|1910]])
*March 27 – [[Hugh Horner]], politician, physician and surgeon (born [[1925 in Canada|1925]])

===April to June===
*April 6 – [[Jack Kent Cooke]], sports entrepreneur (born [[1912 in Canada|1912]])
*May 1 – [[Fernand Dumont]], sociologist, philosopher, theologian and poet (born [[1927 in Canada|1927]])
*May 9 – [[Marie-Thérèse Paquin]], Canadian pianist (b. [[1905]])
*June 9 – [[Stanley Knowles]], politician (born [[1908 in Canada|1908]])
*June 22
**[[Gérard Pelletier]], journalist, editor, politician and Minister (born [[1919 in Canada|1919]])
**[[Larry Grossman (politician)|Larry Grossman]], politician (born [[1943 in Canada|1943]])

===July to September===
*July 3 – [[Michael James MacDonald]], politician and union leader (born [[1909 in Canada|1909]])
*July 25 – [[George Alexander Gale]], chief justice of Ontario (born [[1906 in Canada|1906]])
*July 30 – [[Robert Bryce]], civil servant (born [[1910 in Canada|1910]])
*August 10
**[[Jean-Claude Lauzon]], Quebec filmmaker (born [[1953 in Canada|1953]])
**[[Marie-Soleil Tougas]], Quebec actress and TV host (born [[1970 in Canada|1970]])
*August 20 – [[Léon Dion]], political scientist (born [[1922 in Canada|1922]])
*August 24 – [[Hardial Bains]], founder and leader of [[Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)]] (born [[1939 in Canada|1939]])
*September 11 – [[Camille Henry]], ice hockey player (born [[1933 in Canada|1933]])
*September 12 – [[Judith Merril]], science fiction writer, editor and political activist (born [[1923 in Canada|1923]])
*September 30
**[[Rose Goldblatt]], administrator, pianist and teacher (born [[1913 in Canada|1913]]) 
**[[Pierre Granche]], sculptor (born [[1948 in Canada|1948]])

===October to December===
*October 12 – [[Rodrigue Bourdages]], politician (born [[1923 in Canada|1923]])
*November 7 – [[Clyde Gilmour]], radio broadcaster and journalist (born [[1912 in Canada|1912]])
*November 14 – [[Jack Pickersgill]], civil servant and politician (born [[1905 in Canada|1905]])
*November 20 – [[Ronald Martland]], Justice of the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] (born [[1909 in Canada|1909]])
*November 24
** [[Czeslaw Brzozowicz]], engineer (born [[1911 in Canada|1911]])
** [[John Sopinka]], lawyer and puisne justice on the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] (born [[1933 in Canada|1933]])
*November 27 – [[Yves Prévost]], politician and lawyer (born [[1908 in Canada|1908]])
*December 7 – [[George R. Gardiner]], businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of the [[Gardiner Museum]] (born [[1917 in Canada|1917]])
*December 24 – [[Pierre Péladeau]], businessman (born [[1925 in Canada|1925]])

===Full date unknown===
*[[Hilda Watson]], Leader of the [[Yukon Progressive Conservative Party]] (born [[1922 in Canada|1922]])

==See also==
* [[1997 in Canadian television]]
* [[List of Canadian films of 1997]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Canadian history}}
{{Years in Canada}}
{{Year in North America|1997}}

[[Category:1997 in Canada| ]]
[[Category:1997 by country|Canada]]
[[Category:1997 in North America|Canada]]
[[Category:1990s in Canada]]
[[Category:Years of the 20th century in Canada]]