1974 in Canada

Crown

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

Federal government

Governor general – Roland Michener (until January 14) then Jules Léger (viceregal consort – Norah Michener then Gabrielle Léger)

Prime minister – Pierre Trudeau

Lieutenant governors

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Grant MacEwan (until July 2) then Ralph Steinhauer

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Walter Stewart Owen

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – William John McKeag

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Hédard Robichaud

Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Ewart John Arlington Harnum (until July 2) then Gordon Arnaud Winter

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Clarence Gosse

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – William Ross Macdonald (until April 10) then Pauline Mills McGibbon

Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – John George MacKay (until October 21) then Gordon Lockhart Bennett (from October 24)

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Hugues Lapointe

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Stephen Worobetz

Premiers

Premier of Alberta – Peter Lougheed

Premier of British Columbia – Dave Barrett

Premier of Manitoba – Edward Schreyer

Premier of New Brunswick – Richard Hatfield

Premier of Newfoundland – Frank Moores

Premier of Nova Scotia – Gerald Regan

Premier of Ontario – Bill Davis

Premier of Prince Edward Island – Alexander B. Campbell

Premier of Quebec – Robert Bourassa

Premier of Saskatchewan – Allan Blakeney

Commissioners

Commissioner of Yukon – James Smith

Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Stuart Milton Hodgson

Events

January 1 - The Canadian Stock Exchange merges with the Montreal Stock Exchange

January 7 - Bora Laskin sworn in as Chief Justice of Canada

January 14 - Jules Léger is sworn in as Governor General

January 17 - Pauline McGibbon of Ontario becomes Canada's first female Lieutenant Governor of a province.

January 26 - The Global Television network begins broadcasting

May 23 - New Brunswick becomes the first province to be officially bilingual

June 29 - Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects in Toronto

July 2 - Ralph Steinhauer becomes the first Aboriginal person to be a Canadian Lieutenant Governor when he is appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

July 3 - Canada first demands that its territorial waters be extended to 200 nautical miles (370.4 km)

vote of no-confidence in parliament forces election

July 8 - Federal election: Pierre Trudeau's Liberals win a majority

July 31 - Bill 22 is passed making French the official language of government and business in Quebec

August 1 - The Elections Act is passed limiting campaign contributions

August 9 - Nine Canadians are killed when their plane is shot down by Syria

September 17 - The RCMP decides to allow female members for the first time

November 29 - An aircraft is hijacked over Saskatchewan. It is recovered in Saskatoon

Full date unknown

Dorothea Crittenden of Ontario becomes Canada's first female Deputy Minister, Ministry of Community & Social Services.

Paul Joseph Martin made president of Canada Steamship Lines

The Waffle disbands

The report of the Le Dain Commission argues marijuana should be decriminalized

Robert Cliche chairs a Royal Commission investigating corruption in Quebec's construction industry. Brian Mulroney, later to become Prime Minister, first comes to national attention as a panelist on the commission.

New works

bill bissett - Living with the vishyun

Irving Layton - The Pole-Vaulter

Margaret Atwood - You Are Happy

Alice Munro - Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You

Margaret Laurence - The Diviners

Awards

See 1974 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

Stephen Leacock Award: Donald Jack, That's Me in the Middle

Vicky Metcalf Award: Jean Little

January to March

January 14 - Hugues Legault, swimmer

January 19 - Diane Cummins, middle distance runner

January 21 - Robert Ghiz, politician and 31st Premier of Prince Edward Island

January 23 - Joel Bouchard, ice hockey player

January 25 - Robert Budreau, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter

February 6 - Layne Roland, ice hockey player

February 7 - Steve Nash, basketball player

March 20 - Kevin Sullivan, runner and coach

April to June

April 11 - Tricia Helfer, model and actress

April 26 - Jacinthe Pineau, swimmer

May 9 - Stéphane Yelle, Canadian ice hockey player

May 10 - Jon Beare, rower and Olympic bronze medalist

May 16 - Yannick Keith Lizé, water polo player and scientist

May 18 - Chantal Kreviazuk, singer-songwriter

May 18 - Carolyn Russell, squash player

June 1 - Alanis Morissette, singer-songwriter, record producer and actress

June 6 - Anson Carter, ice hockey player

June 9 - Jackie Lance, softball player

July to September

July 6 - Steve Sullivan, ice hockey player

July 7 - Patrick Lalime, ice hockey player

July 13 - Deborah Cox, singer-songwriter and actress

August 9 - Mara Jones, rower

August 15 - Natasha Henstridge, actress and model

September 8 - Becky Price, field hockey player

September 18 - Nicole Haynes, heptathlete

September 28 - Alison Parrott, murder victim (d. 1986)

October to December

October 6 - Madonna Gimotea, rhythmic gymnast

October 10 - Chris Pronger, ice hockey player

October 11 - Jason Arnott, ice hockey player

October 16 - Paul Kariya, ice hockey player

October 22 - Paul Duerden, volleyball player

November 4 - Amy MacFarlane, field hockey player

November 21 - Casey Patton, boxer

November 25 - David Cadieux, boxer

Deaths

February 21 - Tim Horton, ice hockey player and businessman (b.1930)

April 2 - Douglass Dumbrille, actor (b.1889)

April 5 - A. Y. Jackson, painter, one of the Group of Seven (b.1882)

April 8 - James Charles McGuigan, Cardinal (b.1894)

August 25 - Major James Coldwell, politician (b.1888)