1998 in Canada

Events from the year 1998 in Canada.

Incumbents

Crown

Monarch – Elizabeth II

Federal government

Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

Premiers

Premier of Alberta – Ralph Klein
Premier of British Columbia – Glen Clark
Premier of Manitoba – Gary Filmon
Premier of New Brunswick – Raymond Frenette then Camille Thériault
Premier of Newfoundland – Brian Tobin
Premier of Nova Scotia – 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

Premiers

Premier of the Northwest Territories – Don Morin then Goo Arlooktoo then Jim Antoine
Premier of Yukon – Piers McDonald

Events

January to March

January 1 – Toronto and six other communities are merged to form a new megacity. Mel Lastman was sworn in as its first mayor. Three other Ontario cities were similarly merged on the same date in 2001.
January 2 – Three separate avalanches in British Columbia kill a total of nine people.
January 5 – The Ice Storm of 1998, caused by El Niño, strikes southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and a number of deaths.
January 6 – Alan Eagleson pleads guilty to fraud.
January 7 – The federal government formally apologizes for the past mistreatment of First Nations.
January 23 – The Royal Bank and the Bank of Montreal announce plans to merge, which are later scuttled by the federal government.
February 6 – The Hudson's Bay Company takes over Kmart Canada, folding it into its Zellers chain.
February 10 – Canadian National Railway merges with the Illinois Central.
February 13 – Three girls, all under 18 years of age, are found guilty in Victoria, British Columbia, of killing 14-year-old Reena Virk. Three others plead guilty of assault.
February 16 – Reference Re Secession of Quebec: The Supreme Court is asked to rule on the legality of unilateral Quebec secession.
February 18 – Controversial plans to include a Holocaust memorial in the Canadian War Museum are scrapped.
February 24 – In the federal budget, Finance Minister Paul Martin delivers a balanced budget.
March 2 – Daniel Johnson, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, announces his resignation.
March 6 – The Dionne Quintuplets are given money and an apology by the Ontario government.
March 6 – British Columbia doctors begin the first of a series of protests against funding shortages.
March 12 – Quebec and Newfoundland resolve the long-running Churchill Falls dispute.
March 12 – Mutual Life of Canada acquires MetLife to become Canada's second-largest insurance company.
March 23 – Senator Andy Thompson is forced to resign his Senate seat after not attending for two years.
March 24 – The Nova Scotia election leaves the Liberals and NDP tied for the most seats.
March 27 – Jean Charest announces that he will seek the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.
March 27 – The federal government agrees to compensate hepatitis C victims of tainted blood.

April to June

April 1 – Floods in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec force 2000 from their homes.
April 2 – In the final appeal of the Delwin Vriend case, the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down an Alberta Court of Appeal ruling that barred LGBT persons from protection under the province's human rights code.
April 3 – Members of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary are permitted side arms for the first time.
April 17 – Dafydd Rhys Williams flies aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, becoming the first non-American to serve as medical officer.
April 17 – The Toronto Dominion Bank and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce announce plans to merge; however, the merger is later blocked by the government.
April 25 – The United States announces large tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.
April 26–28 – Prime Minister Chrétien pays an official visit to Cuba.
May 1 – Separatist David Levine is named head of the newly amalgamated Ottawa hospital sparking great controversy.
Early May – Wildfires burning in Alberta force the evacuation of a number of communities.
May 14 – Camille Thériault becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing Raymond Frenette.
May 21 – The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans shuts down the B.C. coho fishery.
May 29 – The Supreme Court strikes down a ban on pre-election opinion polls.
June 9 – Three are killed in a gas explosion in Montreal, Quebec.
June 10 – One person is killed by an explosion at an Irving Oil refinery.
June 11 – Eleven are killed in a plane crash at Mirabel Airport.
June 24 – Macmillan Bloedel says that it will end clear cutting of old growth forests.

July to September

July 15 – The B.C. government and the Nisga'a First Nation sign a historic, and controversial, land claims agreement.
July 20 – The Southam chain buys the Financial Post from Sun Media.
August – The Canadian dollar plunges all month.
August 11 – 8,000 people are evacuated as forest fires threaten Salmon Arm, British Columbia.
August 20 – The Supreme Court of Canada states Quebec can not legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.
August 28 – The dollar reaches 64.02 US cents.
September 2 – Pilots for Air Canada launch the first strike in company's history.
September 2 – Crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggys Cove in Nova Scotia.
September 3 – A three-week lockout begins in Ontario's Catholic school system.
September 22 – 20,000 protest Canada's new gun registry on Parliament Hill.

October to December

October 8 – Canada is elected to a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
October 14 – Canada's first diamond mine opens in the Northwest Territories.
October 27 – Conrad Black's National Post publishes its first issue.
November 14 – Former Prime Minister Joe Clark is selected as the new leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
November 26 – Don Morin is forced to resign as premier of the Northwest Territories.
November 30 – In the Quebec election the Parti Québécois is re-elected despite narrowly losing the popular vote.
December 1 – Work on Canada's new gun registry begins.
December 10 – Jim Antoine becomes premier of the Northwest Territories, replacing Don Morin.
December 14 – Minister of Finance Paul Martin prohibits Canada's banks from merging.
December – The Military Police Complaints Commission is established.

Arts and literature

New books

The Bay of Love and Sorrows: David Adams Richards
Greater Than Angels: Carol Matas
The Love of a Good Woman: Alice Munro
Prières d'un adolescent très très sage: Roch Carrier
Broken Entries: Race Subjectivity Writing: Roy Miki
Isaiah Berlin: A Life: Michael Ignatieff
Coyotes Sing to the Moon: Thomas King
Toronto Discovered: Robert Fulford
Body Music: Dennis Lee
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams: Wayne Johnston
The Wise and Foolish Virgins: Don Hannah
Kiss of the Fur Queen: Tomson Highway

Awards

Carol Shields's Larry's Party wins the Orange Prize for Fiction
Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: Alice Munro: The Love of a Good Woman
See 1998 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Books in Canada First Novel Award: Margaret Gibson, Opium Dreams
Geoffrey Bilson Award: Irene N. Watts, Good-Bye Marianne
Gerald Lampert Award: Mark Sinnett, The Landing
Marian Engel Award: Sharon Butala
Pat Lowther Award: Barbara Nickel, The Gladys Elegies
Stephen Leacock Award: Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version
Trillium Book Award English: André Alexis, Childhood and Alice Munro, The Love of a Good Woman
Trillium Book Award French: Daniel Poliquin, L'homme de paille and Stefan Psenak, Du chaos et de l'ordre des choses
Vicky Metcalf Award: Kit Pearson

Music

Shania Twain's Come on Over is one of the year's top selling albums in North America
Les Chansons en or by Céline Dion is released
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie by Alanis Morissette

Film

Titanic, directed by Canadian James Cameron, wins 11 Oscars.

Television

Canada's Sesame Street switches to showing exclusively Canadian content, renaming itself Sesame Park, as it no longer uses any American made segments from Sesame Street
Canadian children's television show Rolie Polie Olie debuts.

Dance

The French government names Karen Kain as an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters

Sport

February 7 – February 22 – At the Nagano Olympics, Canada wins the fourth-most medals but is embarrassed when their star-filled hockey team fails to win a medal.
February 12 – The Toronto Maple Leafs buy the Toronto Raptors
May 17 – The Portland Winter Hawks win their second Memorial Cup by defeating the Guelph Storm 4 games to 3.
June 16 – Cranbrook, British Columbia's Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy
November 22 – The Calgary Stampeders win their fifth Grey Cup by the defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 26 to 24 in the 86th Grey Cup played at Winnipeg Stadium. Vancouver's Vince Danielsen was awarded the game's Most Valuable Canadian
November 28 – The Saskatchewan Huskies win their third Vanier Cup by defeating the Concordia Stingers 24 to 17 in the 34th Vanier Cup played at Skydome in Toronto

Births

January 9 – Sean Day, Belgium-born ice hockey player
January 13 – Gabrielle Daleman, figure skater
January 19 – Ella Shelton, ice hockey player
February 3 – Michael McLeod, ice hockey player
February 6 – Aviva Mongillo, singer and actress
February 26 – Isaac Durnford, actor
March 12 – Annaleise Carr, swimmer
April 27 – Drake Batherson, ice hockey player
May 20 – Nam Nguyen, figure skater
July 23 – Houdini, rapper
August 8 – Shawn Mendes, singer/songwriter
August 13 – Carter Hart, ice hockey goaltender
September 17 – Richard Wang, chess player
October 26 – Mattea Roach, tutor and Jeopardy! contestant
October 29 – Lance Stroll, race car driver
November 13 – Melissa "Charlie" Storwick, singer-songwriter
December 6 – Micah Berry, actor
December 8 – Anastasia Rizikov, pianist
December 30 – Zachary Brault-Guillard, Haiti-born Canadian soccer player

Deaths

January to March

January 1 – Arthur Gelber, philanthropist
January 12 – Mark MacGuigan, academic and politician
January 23 – Donald Davis, actor
January 28 – Eddie Sargent, politician
February 1 – Sheila Watson, novelist, critic and teacher
February 20 – Bob McBride, singer
February 25 – W. O. Mitchell, writer
March 13 – Bill Reid, artist
March 16 – Yves Landry, president of Chrysler Canada

April to June

April 3 – Elmer Iseler, choir conductor and choral editor
April 7 – Nick Auf der Maur, journalist and politician
April 16 – Marie-Louise Meilleur, supercentenarian, the oldest validated Canadian ever
April 27 – John W. H. Bassett, publisher and media baron
May 22 – Eddie MacCabe, sports journalist and writer
May 23 – Grace Hartman, social activist, politician and first female mayor of Sudbury, Ontario
May 28 – Phil Hartman, actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic artist
June 4
*William Cecil Ross, politician
*David Walsh, businessman, disgraced head of Bre-X
June 20 – Bobby Gimby, orchestra leader, trumpeter and singer-songwriter
June 27 – Joyce Wieland, experimental filmmaker and mixed media artist

July to September

July 1
*Emery Barnes, Canadian football player and politician
*Florence Doane, Olympic athlete
July 6 – Loris Russell, paleontologist
July 16 – Lucien Lamoureux, politician and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
August 23 – Harold E. Johns, medical physicist
September 15 – Louis Rasminsky, third Governor of the Bank of Canada
September 28 – Eric Malling, television journalist

October to December

October 1 – Pauline Julien, singer, songwriter, actress and feminist activist
October 13 – Gérard Charles Édouard Thériault, general and Chief of the Defence Staff
October 17
*Brian Dickson, Supreme Court justice
*Mary O'Brien, feminist
November 9 – Roland Hewgill, actor
November 13 – Michel Trudeau, student
November 22 – Jack Shadbolt, painter
December 9 – Shaughnessy Cohen, politician
December 16 – John Gallagher, geologist and businessman
December 23
*David Manners, actor
*Pierre Vallières, journalist and writer
December 24 – Syl Apps, pole vaulter and ice hockey player

Full date unknown

John Hayes, harness racing driver, trainer and owner
Stanley Bréhaut Ryerson, historian, educator and political activist