1878 in Canada

Events from the year 1878 in Canada.

Incumbents

March 7 – Both the Université de Montréal and the University of Western Ontario are incorporated.
March 8 – Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière becomes premier of Quebec, replacing Sir Charles-Eugène de Boucherville.
May 1 – In the Quebec election, Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau's Conservatives win a minority.
June – The 1878 [New Brunswick general election|New Brunswick election].
June 25 – George Walkem becomes premier of British Columbia for the second time, replacing Andrew Elliott.
July 20 – The 1878 [British Columbia general election|British Columbia election].
September 17
*In the federal election, Sir John A. Macdonald's Conservatives win a majority, defeating Alexander Mackenzie's Liberals.
*In the 1878 [Nova Scotia general election|Nova Scotia election], Simon Hugh Holmes's Conservatives win a majority, defeating Philip Carteret Hill's Liberals.
October 16 – John Norquay becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Robert A. Davis.
October 17 – Sir John A. Macdonald becomes prime minister for the second time, replacing Alexander Mackenzie.
October 22 – Simon Holmes becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Philip Hill.
December 18 – The Manitoba election.

Anti-Chinese sentiment in British Columbia reaches a high point as the government bans Chinese workers from public works.
John James Fraser becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing George King.
The Newfoundland election.

[Image:Ernest Drury.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Ernest Charles Drury]

January 11 – Percy Chapman Black, politician
January 13 – Lionel Groulx, priest, historian, Quebec nationalist and traditionalist
January 22 – Ernest Charles Drury, politician, writer and 8th Premier of Ontario
February 27 – William Herbert Burns, politician
February 28 – Arthur Roebuck, politician and labour lawyer
April 14 – John Walter Jones, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island
April 29 – Fawcett Taylor, politician
June 14 – Lewis Stubbs, judge and politician
June 20 – Seymour Farmer, politician

July 14 – Ernest Frederick Armstrong, politician
July 23 – James Thomas Milton Anderson, politician and 5th Premier of Saskatchewan
August 15 – Thomas Laird Kennedy, politician and 15th Premier of Ontario
September 18 – William Sherring, marathon runner and Olympic gold medalist
December 8 – Henry Herbert Stevens, politician and businessman
December 30 – William Aberhart, politician and 8th Premier of Alberta

February 23 – William Workman, businessman and municipal politician
April 3 – Louis-Philippe Turcotte, historian
April 12 – John Young, politician
May 13 – George Moffat, Sr., businessman and politician
May 20 – Lemuel Allan Wilmot, lawyer, politician, judge, and 3rd Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
November 3 – Pierre Bachand, politician
November 28 – Francis Evans Cornish, politician
December 6 – Jean-Baptiste Meilleur, doctor, educator and politician