2011 in Canada

Incumbents

Crown

• Monarch – Elizabeth II

  Federal government

• Governor General – David Johnston
• Prime Minister – Stephen Harper
• Chief Justice – Beverley McLachlin
• Parliament – 40th then 41st

  Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Donald Ethell
• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Steven Point
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Philip S. Lee
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Graydon Nicholas
• Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador – John Crosbie
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Mayann Francis
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – David Onley
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Barbara Hagerman, then Frank Lewis
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Pierre Duchesne
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Gordon Barnhart

  Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – Ed Stelmach then Alison Redford
• Premier of British Columbia – Gordon Campbell then Christy Clark
• Premier of Manitoba – Greg Selinger
• Premier of New Brunswick – David Alward
• Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador – Kathy Dunderdale
• Premier of Nova Scotia – Darrell Dexter
• Premier of Ontario – Dalton McGuinty
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – Robert Ghiz
• Premier of Quebec – Jean Charest
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Brad Wall

  Territorial governments

Commissioners

• Commissioner of Yukon – Doug Phillips
• Commissioner of Northwest Territories – George Tuccaro
• Commissioner of Nunavut – Edna Elias

  Premiers

• Premier of the Northwest Territories – Floyd Roland then Bob McLeod
• Premier of Nunavut – Eva Aariak
• Premier of Yukon – Dennis Fentie then Darrell Pasloski

  Events

January to March

• January 1
• * The Quebec Sales Tax rises 1 percentage point to 8.5%.
• * Undergrounders novel, by Canadian author David Skuy is published.
• January 12 – A stolen snowplow leads Toronto police on a chase, crashing into several cars. Toronto police officer Sergeant Ryan Russell died and the alleged thief ended in hospital with gunshot wounds.
• January 18 – Close to 12,000 people, including many Ontario Provincial Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police gather near the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the funeral of Sergeant Ryan Russell.
• January 21 – Three people die, and hundreds lose power after a winter storm strikes the Maritime Provinces.
• January 24
• * Quebec goes through a cold snap and Hydro-Québec registers a record consumption of electricity reaching 38,200 megawatts at 7:30 am
• * The former Liberal MLA Dave Taylor announces he is joining the Alberta Party, becoming the party's first MLA.
• January 25 – Ed Stelmach announces he will retire from provincial politics before the next general election of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
• February 1 – A claim at the British Columbia Worker's Compensation Board results in the SPCA and RCMP opening an investigation into a massacre of approximately 100 sled dogs at a Whistler adventure service. See Whistler sled dog cull.
• February 8 – Nearly 1,500 government lawyers and crown prosecutors go on strike in Quebec, claiming to be overworked and underpaid.
• February 19 – An explosion ruptures the Trans-Canada Pipeline in Beardmore, Ontario, forcing the temporary evacuation of the community.
• February 26 – Cult leader and killer Roch Thériault is killed at Dorchester Penitentiary in Dorchester, New Brunswick.
• February 27 – Stephen Harper announces that Canada will place additional sanctions against Libya along with those originally announced by the UN, including asset freezes and a ban on financial transactions with the Libyan government.
• March 2
• * A wind storm off the coast of the British Columbia Lower Mainland brings wind gusts up to 140 kilometres per hour, knocking out power to 55,000 residents.
• *, with a crew of 240, steams to Libya, for humanitarian assistance and evacuation.
• * Dominic Cardy is chosen as the new leader of the New Democratic Party of New Brunswick.
• March 14 – Christy Clark is sworn in as premier of British Columbia, following a leadership election, causing British Columbia to become the first province with two female premiers, and the first time in Canadian history that three provinces or territories have simultaneously had female premiers.
• March 19 – Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Chief of the Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk attend a meeting, in Paris, with leaders from France, Britain, the Arab League and the United Nations, to discuss the 2011 Libyan civil war.
• March 25 – Stephen Harper's Conservative government is defeated on a non-confidence vote by the opposition.

  April to June

• April 12 – English-language debate for federal party leaders
• April 13 – French-language debate for federal party leaders
• April 15 – Liu Qian, a Chinese exchange student to York University is found undressed and murdered in her apartment.
• April 27 – The Premier of Yukon Dennis Fentie announces his retirement.
• May 2 – The 41st federal election is held with the Conservative Party winning a majority government, the NDP becoming the official opposition, both for the first time, and Green Party leader Elizabeth May wins in Saanich—Gulf Islands, the first seat for that party in the Canadian parliament.
• May 3 – Gilles Duceppe resigns as leader and president of the Bloc Québécois, and Vivian Barbot is named as the interim president.
• May 5 – The military arrives to aid with the flooding in Quebec caused by the Richelieu River overflowing its banks.
• May 15 – 16 – Wildfires destroy a large section of Slave Lake, Alberta, forcing 7,000 residents to evacuate.
• May 25 – Michael Ignatieff resigns as leader of the Liberal Party, and Bob Rae is chosen as interim leader.
• May 27 – A fire destroys an empty building, at 4057 Richmond Road and owned by the National Capital Commission.
• June 2
• * Canada Post workers begin a rotating strike across the country after contract talks fall through.
• * The 41st Parliament convenes.
• June 3 – Senate Page Brigette DePape interrupts the Speech from the Throne, with her silent protest.
• June 6 – 120th anniversary of the death of John Alexander Macdonald.
• June 11 – Darrell Pasloski is sworn in as premier of Yukon, following the Yukon Party leadership election.
• June 15
• * Canada Post locks out the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in a labour dispute.
• * Riots break out in Downtown Vancouver after the Vancouver Canucks lose game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins.
• June 21 – Following the merger of their U.S. parent services in 2010, the satellite radio providers Sirius Canada and XM Radio Canada complete their own merger into Sirius XM Canada.

  July to September

• June 13 – August 5 – 2011 British Columbia sales tax referendum – The mail-in referendum was delayed due in part to the Canada Post lockout.
• June 30 – July 7 – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tour Canada
• July 1 – Face of Canada, an art exhibition in Vancouver is showcased.
• July 6 – Steve Cardiff, Yukon MLA for Mount Lorne killed in a two-vehicle road accident, one kilometre north of Lewes Lake on the South Klondike Highway, involving a tractor trailer and a small vehicle.
• July 21 – A heat wave across Eastern Canada peaks with temperatures reaching as high as 37.1 degrees Celsius in Toronto, Ontario.
• July 22 – Montreal city officials report at least 10 heatwave-related deaths.
• July 25 – Leader of the Opposition, Jack Layton takes a medical leave of absence, and Nycole Turmel is appointed interim leader of the New Democratic Party.
• August 13 – The federal government extends trade, travel and assets sanctions against Syria, in response to the oppression of anti-government protests.
• August 14 – A massive shooting occurs outside a casino in Kelowna, British Columbia, killing one and injuring four others, including a Hell's Angels member. Jonathan Bacon, one of the Bacon Brothers and one of the most notorious gangsters in British Columbia suspected to have been with the Red Scorpions, is the only one killed in the shooting.
• August 15 – Frank Lewis becomes Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, replacing Barbara Hagerman
• August 16 – Maritime Command, Land Force Command and Air Command are renamed to the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force, respectively.
• August 20 – First Air Flight 6560 crashes near Resolute Bay killing 12 people and injuring 3 others.
• August 21 – A powerful F3 tornado sweeps through Goderich, killing one man and causing substantial damage.
• August 22 – Jack Layton, 61, the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the NDP dies of cancer. The flag atop the Peace Tower, as well as federal buildings in Toronto, fly their flags at half-mast.
• August 23 – An earthquake, originating in the American state of Virginia, is felt in areas across the country from Sudbury, Ontario to Fredericton, New Brunswick. There were no injuries nor damage in Canada.
• August 24 – A severe thunderstorm passed through Southern Ontario, causing a significant number of damage. Severe Thunderstorm Watches were issued for parts of Southern Ontario.
• August 27
• * A state funeral is held for Jack Layton.
• * The CN Tower is illuminated in orange, the colour of Layton's NDP, overnight.
• September 3 – The first of two antiquities is stolen from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
• September 22 – A float plane crashes into a street in Yellowknife killing both pilots on board.
• September – The Tutte Institute for Mathematics and Computing is given its current name.

  October to December

• October 3
• * 2011 Prince Edward Island general election
• * 2011 Northwest Territories general election
• October 4 – 2011 Manitoba general election
• October 6 – 2011 Ontario general election
• October 7 – Alison Redford is sworn in as premier of Alberta, following a leadership election, becoming Alberta's first female premier, and the first time in Canadian history that four provinces or territories have simultaneously had female premiers.
• October 11
• * 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
• * 2011 Yukon general election
• October 26 – Bob McLeod becomes premier of Northwest Territories, replacing Floyd Roland.
• October 27 – A plane crash occurs outside of Vancouver International Airport after failing to land there. 11 people are injured as a result, and one person, the pilot, is killed.
• November 7 – 2011 Saskatchewan general election
• December 5 – Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring voluntarily leaves the Conservative caucus after being charged with refusing to provide a breath sample at a traffic stop.
• December 11 – Daniel Paillé is elected new leader of the Bloc Québécois.
• December 15 – Claresholm highway massacre: A mass shooting leaves three people dead, including two members of the Lethbridge Bulls baseball team, in a triple murder-suicide north of Claresholm, Alberta.