1969 in Canada

Crown

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

Federal government

Governor general – Roland Michener (viceregal consort – Norah Michener)

Prime minister – Pierre Trudeau

Lieutenant governors

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Grant MacEwan

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – John Robert Nicholson

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Richard Spink Bowles

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Wallace Samuel Bird

Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Fabian O'Dea (until April 2) then Ewart John Arlington Harnum

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Victor de Bedia Oland

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – William Ross Macdonald

Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Willibald Joseph MacDonald (until October 6) then John George MacKay

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Hugues Lapointe

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Robert Hanbidge

Premiers

Premier of Alberta – Harry Strom

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

Premier of Manitoba – Walter Weir (until July 15) then Edward Schreyer

Premier of New Brunswick – Louis Robichaud

Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood

Premier of Nova Scotia – G.I. Smith

Premier of Ontario – John Robarts

Premier of Prince Edward Island – Alexander B. Campbell

Premier of Quebec – Jean-Jacques Bertrand

Premier of Saskatchewan – Ross Thatcher

Commissioners

Commissioner of Yukon – James Smith

Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Stuart Milton Hodgson

Events

January 29 – February 11 – The Sir George Williams Computer Riot occurs as students occupy the computer centre of Sir George Williams University to protest alleged racism on campus

February 13 – FLQ terrorists bomb the Montreal Stock Exchange

February 19 – An 18-month-long strike by Quebec teachers comes to an end

March 7 – Pierre-Paul Geoffroy pleads guilty to charges connected to 31 FLQ bombings

May 2 – Telesat Canada formed

June 2 – The National Arts Centre in Ottawa opens

July 7 – The Official Languages Act makes French and English equal throughout the Canadian government

July 15 – Edward Schreyer becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Walter Weir

August 24 – The oil tanker Manhattan becomes the first such ship to travel through the Northwest Passage

September 27- The Ontario Science Centre in Toronto opens

October 23 – at 8:21 AM HMCS Kootenay (DDE 258) suffers the worst peacetime accident in the history of the navy during routine full-power trials when her starboard gearbox reaches an estimated temperature of 650 degrees Celsius and explodes. The explosion and the ensuing fire killed 9 crew members and injured at least 53 others.

New works

Margaret Atwood - The Edible Woman

Timothy Findley - The Butterfly Plague

Robert Kroetsch - The Studhorse Man

Mordecai Richler - The Street

Milton Acorn - I've Tasted My Blood

Farley Mowat - The Boat Who Wouldn't Float

Gilles Archambault - Le tendre matin

Marshall McLuhan - Counterblast

Awards

See 1969 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

Stephen Leacock Award: Stuart Trueman, You're Only as Old as You Act

Vicky Metcalf Award: Audrey McKim

Music

Karel Ančerl replaces Seiji Ozawa as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Sport

April 14 - The Montreal Expos baseball team plays their first home game.

January to March

January 2 - Patrick Huard, actor

January 3 - Tom Petryshen, wrestler

January 11 - Andrew Griffiths, field hockey player

January 23 - Brendan Shanahan, ice hockey player

January 27 - Michael Kulas, singer-songwriter and producer (James)

February 4

Duncan Coutts, bass player and songwriter (Our Lady Peace)

Dallas Drake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

February 16 - Claude Lambert, boxer

February 22 - Kathy Tough, volleyball player

April to June

April 3 - Lance Storm, wrestler

April 7 - Gary Anderson, swimmer

May 6 - Raymond Brown, swimmer

May 15 - Mark Jackson, hurdler

May 16 - Yannick Bisson, actor (Murdoch Mysteries)

May 19

Dan Lee, animator (d.2005)

Rochelle Low, field hockey player

May 28 - Rob Ford, politician and 64th Mayor of Toronto

June 12 - Kelvin Goertzen, politician

July to September

July 7 - Joe Sakic, ice hockey player

July 7 - Cree Summer, actress, musician and voice actress

July 13 - Ewan Beaton, judoka

July 16 - Turlough O'Hare, swimmer

July 17 - Tom Glesby, boxer

July 17 - Laurelee Kopeck, field hockey player

July 23 - Andrew Cassels, ice hockey player

July 24 - Rick Fox, basketball player and actor

August 6 - Kristyn Dunnion, writer and performance artist

August 15 - Mark Heese, beach volleyball player and Olympic bronze medalist

August 19 - Matthew Perry, actor

August 23 - Hari Kant, field hockey player

August 28 - Pierre Turgeon, ice hockey player

September 16 - Andy Borodow, wrestler

September 23 - Donald Audette, ice hockey player

October to December

October 6 - Jeffrey Lay, rower and Olympic silver medalist

October 8 - Dylan Neal, actor

October 17 - Rick Mercer, comedian, television personality and political satirist

November 1 - Tie Domi, ice hockey player

November 7 - Tanya Dubnicoff, track cyclist

November 15 - Helen Kelesi, tennis player

December 4 - Jacques Landry, cyclist

December 10 - Rob Blake, ice hockey player

December 12 - Iain Sydie, badminton player

December 12 - Debra Wurzburger, swimmer

December 15 - Chantal Petitclerc, wheelchair racer and multiple Paralympic gold medalist

December 22 - Myriam Bédard, biathlete and double Olympic gold medalist

December 30 - Shane McConkey, extreme skier and base jumper (d.2009)

January to June

January 31 - Gail Miller, murder victim (b. circa 1948)

February 27 - Marius Barbeau, ethnographer and folklorist (b.1883)

March 18 - John Bracken, politician and 11th Premier of Manitoba (b.1883)

March 23 - Arthur Lismer, painter and member of the Group of Seven (b.1885)

June 16 - Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, military commander and Governor General of Canada (b.1891)

July to December

September 8 - Frederick Varley, artist and member of the Group of Seven (b.1881)

September 12 - Charles Foulkes, general and first Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff (b.1903)

October 10 - Robert Winters, politician and businessman (b.1910)

November 3 - Parr, artist (b.1893)

November 11 - John Sissons, barrister, author, judge and politician (b.1892)

November 14 - Bobbie Rosenfeld, athlete and Olympic gold medalist (b.1904)