Events from the year 1961 in Canada.
Head of state (monarch) – Queen Elizabeth II (consort – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh)
Governor general – Georges Vanier (viceregal consort – Pauline Vanier)
Prime minister – John Diefenbaker
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
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
Commissioner of Yukon – Frederick Howard Collins
Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Robert Gordon Robertson
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
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
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.
Morley Callaghan: A Passion in Rome
Max Aitken: Courage
Margaret Atwood: Double Persephone
Farley Mowat: Owls in the Family
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 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 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 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 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
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 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)
Anne Wilkinson, poet (born 1910)
1961 in Canada Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA