1961 in Canada

Crown

Head of state (monarch) – Queen Elizabeth II (consort – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh)

Federal government

Governor general – Georges Vanier (viceregal consort – Pauline Vanier)

Prime minister – John Diefenbaker

Lieutenant governors

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John Percy Page

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – George Pearkes

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Errick Willis

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Joseph Leonard O'Brien

Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Campbell Leonard Macpherson

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Edward Chester Plow

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – John Keiller MacKay

Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Frederick Walter Hyndman

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Onésime Gagnon (until October 12) then Paul Comtois

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Frank Lindsay Bastedo

Premiers

Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning

Premier of British Columbia – W.A.C. Bennett

Premier of Manitoba – Dufferin Roblin

Premier of New Brunswick – Louis Robichaud

Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood

Premier of Nova Scotia – Robert Stanfield

Premier of Ontario – Leslie Frost (until November 8) then John Robarts

Premier of Prince Edward Island – Walter Shaw

Premier of Quebec – Jean Lesage

Premier of Saskatchewan – Tommy Douglas (until November 7) then Woodrow Lloyd

Commissioners

Commissioner of Yukon – Frederick Howard Collins

Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Robert Gordon Robertson

January to June

February 3 – The Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

June 1 – Census Day for the 1961 Census of Canada, which finds Canada has a population of 18,238,247.

June 6 – CUSO is formed

June 13 – The NCC study of Ottawa's new Green Belt is completed

June 14 – James Elliott Coyne, the Governor of the Bank of Canada resigns due to disagreements with the federal government's fiscal policies

July to December

August 3 – Tommy Douglas is elected leader of the newly formed New Democratic Party

August 14 – 15 – The Premiers meet in Charlottetown

August 26 – The new home for the Hockey Hall of Fame opens in Toronto, at the Canadian National Exhibition.

October 1 – CTV, Canada's second major television network, begins broadcasting

November 7 – Woodrow Lloyd becomes premier of Saskatchewan, replacing Tommy Douglas

November 8 – John Robarts becomes premier of Ontario, replacing Leslie Frost

November 17 – Saskatchewan passes a bill creating Canada's first government run health system

December 28 – Canada's first BOMARC Missile squadron is formed

Full date unknown

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation becomes the New Democratic Party

The Massey Lectures are created

The transatlantic telephone system is officially launched with a call from Elizabeth II to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.

The Canadian Conference of the Arts is established.

New books

Morley Callaghan: A Passion in Rome

Max Aitken: Courage

Margaret Atwood: Double Persephone

Farley Mowat: Owls in the Family

Awards

See 1961 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

Stephen Leacock Award: Norman Ward, Mice in the Beer

January to March

January 11 – Graham Welbourn, swimmer

January 15 - Yves Pelletier, film director and actor

January 18 – Mark Messier, ice hockey player

January 26 – Wayne Gretzky, ice hockey player and coach

January 27 – Tony Clement, politician and Minister

January 28 – Normand Rochefort, ice hockey player and coach

February 4 – Connor O'Brien, Canadian skier

February 10 – Steve Pagendam, boxer

February 21 – Paul Edwards, politician and lawyer

February 23 – Sylvia Ruegger, long-distance runner

February 27 – Ann Peel, race walker

February 28 - René Simard, singer

March 16 – Todd McFarlane, cartoonist, comic book artist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur

March 24 – Pat Turner, rower and Olympic gold medalist

April to June

April 6 – Gene Eugene, actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musician (died 2000)

April 10 – Barb Tarbox, anti-smoking activist (died 2003)

May 1 – Clint Malarchuk, ice hockey player

May 8 – Greg Thomey, comedian

May 9 – Darren Praznik, politician

May 10 – Randy Cunneyworth, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

June 1 – Paul Coffey, ice hockey player

June 9 – Michael J. Fox, actor, author and voice over artist

July to September

July 1 – Michelle Wright, singer-songwriter

July 17 – Blair Horn, rower and Olympic gold medalist

July 23

André Ducharme, author, comedian and humorist

Richard Martineau, journalist

Rob Stewart, actor

July 24 – Brian McMahon, coxswain and Olympic gold medalist

July 26 – Alan Lowe, politician

August 12 – Peter Szmidt, swimmer

August 20 – Lizanne Bussières, long-distance runner

August 23 – François Lapointe, racewalker

August 25 – Dave Tippett, ice hockey player and coach

September 12 – Mylène Farmer, singer, songwriter, actress and author

September 16 – Jen Tolley, voice actress

September 18 – Denis Lambert, boxer

September 24

Nancy Garapick, swimmer and Olympic bronze medalist

Luc Picard, actor

September 27 – Randy Vancourt, composer and entertainer

September 30 – Erica Ehm, video jockey, songwriter and actress

October to December

October 16 - Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor Inc., Quebecor Media Inc. and Sun Media Corporation

October 25 – Alison Webb, judoka

November 2 – k.d. lang, singer-songwriter

November 23 – Floyd Roland, politician and 11th Premier of the Northwest Territories

December 8 – André Bachand, politician

December 10 – Mark McKoy, hurdler and Olympic gold medalist

December 11 - Michel Courtemanche, actor

December 13 – Ranza Clark, middle distance runner

December 18 – Brian Orser, figure skater, double Olympic silver medalist and World Champion

December 30

Douglas Coupland, novelist

Ben Johnson, Jamaica-born sprinter, double Olympic bronze medalist, Olympic gold medal rescinded as disqualified for doping

January to June

May 12 - Janis Babson (born 1950)

May 14 – Albert Sévigny, politician (born 1881)

May 28 – Frank Boyes, politician (born 1874)

May 29 – Gilbert Layton, businessman and politician (born 1899)

June 6 – William Anderson, politician and businessman (born 1905)

June 19 – Richard Ernest William Turner, soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross (born 1871)

July to December

July 12 – Mazo de la Roche, author (born 1879)

July 15 – John Edward Brownlee, politician and 5th Premier of Alberta (born 1884)

September 12 – Joseph-Arthur Bradette, politician (born 1886)

September 16 – Percy Chapman Black, politician (born 1878)

September 21 – William Duncan Herridge, politician and diplomat (born 1888)

September 30 - Onésime Gagnon, politician and the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (born 1888)

October 15 – Peter Dickinson, architect (born 1925)

October 22 – Harry Nixon, politician and 13th Premier of Ontario (born 1891)

Full date unknown

Anne Wilkinson, poet (born 1910)