2021 in Canada

Events from the year 2021 in Canada.

Incumbents

The Crown

Monarch – Elizabeth II

Federal government

Governor General – Julie Payette, then Mary Simon
Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau
Parliament – 43rd, then 44th

Provincial governments

Lieutenant Governors

Premiers

Territorial governments

Commissioners

Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Margaret Thom
Commissioner of Nunavut
*Rebekah Williams
*vacant
*Eva Aariak
Commissioner of Yukon – Angélique Bernard

Premiers

Premier of Northwest Territories – Caroline Cochrane
Premier of Nunavut – Joe Savikataaq, then P. J. Akeeagok
Premier of Yukon – Sandy Silver

Events

January

December 25, 2020 – January 5, 2021 – 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Edmonton, Alberta.
January 12 – 2021 Canadian cabinet reshuffle.
January 22 – Julie Payette resigns as Governor General in the wake of the 2020–2021 Rideau Hall workplace review.

February

February 6 – 2021 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election is held. Iain Rankin is elected on second ballot.
February 17 – Canadian Nationalist Party leader Travis Patron was arrested by the RCMP and charged with wilful promotion of hate in connection to the complaint.

March

March 20 – At the Conservative Party of Canada March 2021 policy convention, delegates voted 54%-46% to reject a proposal expand the party's existing climate change policies to include a statement that climate change is real, proclaim that Conservatives were "willing to act" on the issue, and calling for more innovation in green tech.
March 25 – 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election is held, resulting in a majority government for the Liberals.
March 27 – A man stabbed multiple people in North Vancouver, British Columbia. One was killed. The man was arrested.

April

April 4 – Canada's first confirmed case of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.
April 12 – 2021 Yukon general election is held, resulting in a minority government for the Liberals, who are given support in the legislature, by the New Democrats.
April 17 – 2021 Conservative Party of Quebec leadership election is held. Eric Duhaime is elected on the first and only ballot.

May

May 11 – 2021 Canadian census.
May 12 – The CAQ Quebec government of François Legault announces Bill 96, which will strengthen Bill 101, the French language in Quebec.
May 15 – Demonstrations are held across Canada amid the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.
May 28 – The New York Times breaks the story on a Canadian Indian Residential School Cemeteries announcement, incorrectly reporting a discovery of "mass graves" of Indigenous children at a former school site. The reporting would help "spawn a new holiday, Truth and Reconciliation Day, prompt an official visit by Pope Francis, and result in Canadian flags being kept at half-mast for a record-breaking five consecutive months.”
May 31 – The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 in Game 7 of their first round series to complete the comeback from a 3–1 series deficit. An average of 7.31 million Canadians watched the game, making it the second most watched NHL game in the nation's history and the 18th most watched broadcast all-time.

June

June 6
*Juno Awards of 2021.
*A man intentionally rammed his vehicle into a family of five Muslims in London, Ontario. Four were killed and one was severely injured. The man was arrested.
June 7 – The Montreal Canadiens advance to the semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2014 after Tyler Toffoli scored the overtime winner to sweep the Winnipeg Jets.
June 21 – The Government of Canada announces the first phase to easing the COVID-19 border measures for travellers, thus lifting quarantine requirements for fully immunised travellers starting on July 5, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The quarantine exemption is only available to fully vaccinated people, who had gotten a combination of either of the following vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Janssen, at least two weeks prior to entering the Canadian border.
June 24
*2021 Canadian Indian residential schools cemeteries: 751 potential unmarked graves are found on the site of Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.
*The Montreal Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993 after Artturi Lehkonen scored the overtime winner to eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights in six games. The Canadiens became the first Canadian based team to advance to the Finals since the Vancouver Canucks ten years ago, and their 1993 win was the last time a Canadian-based team won the cup. The Canadiens also won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the first time in their history.
June 29 – Lytton, British Columbia breaks the all-time record high temperature in Canada, recording a high of, after previously breaking the national record the prior two days as well.
June 30
*2021 Western North America heat wave: Dozens of people have died amid an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed temperature records.
*Canadian Indian residential schools gravesite cemeteries: 182 potential unmarked graves are detected on the site of Kootenay Indian Residential School near Cranbrook, British Columbia.
*A wildfire sweeps through Lytton, British Columbia, destroying approximately 90% of the village and leaving at least two dead.

July

July 1 – Canadian Indian residential schools cemeteries: Canada Day marked by many across the nation as a day of reflection and mourning for Indigenous communities following the detection of more than 1000 potential unmarked graves at former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan over the past month.
July 7 – The Montreal Canadiens lose the Stanley Cup to the defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning following a 1–0 loss in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.
July 12 – A crane collapse in Kelowna, British Columbia, kills five people.
July 17 – Toronto FC plays their first home game against Orlando City SC at BMO Field, marking the first MLS game played in Canada during the 2021 season.
July 20 – British Columbia declares a state of emergency in response to the 2021 British Columbia wildfires.
July 26 – Mary Simon is sworn in as Canada's 30th Governor General. She is the first Indigenous person to hold the office.
July 30 – The Toronto Blue Jays played their first home game at the Rogers Centre since 2019. They played against the Kansas City Royals. This was the first MLB game played in Canada during the 2021 season after travel restrictions along the Canada–United States border were lifted. The Jays won the game.
July 31 – Swimmer Penny Oleksiak becomes the most decorated Canadian Olympian of all-time after she wins her seventh overall Olympic medal - a bronze in the women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

August

August 2 – SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant becomes the pre-dominant strain of COVID-19 in Canada.
August 5
*The White Rock Lake fire destroys much of Monte Lake, British Columbia.
*Little Canada, a tourist attraction containing miniature models, opens in downtown Toronto.
August 17 – 2021 Nova Scotia general election is held, resulting in a majority government for the Progressive Conservatives.

September

September 7 – A Radio-Canada article reveals that 5,000 books were burned and buried from 30 French-language school libraries of Southwestern Ontario in a "flame purification" ceremony of 2019 held by the Conseil scolaire catholique Providence over depicting racist stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacts to the book burning, stating that he disagrees with it on a personal level and that it is not up to non-Indigenous people to tell Indigenous people how to feel or act on advancing active reconciliation. Quebec Premier François Legault called the act atrocious.
September 9–18 – 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.
September 13 – Raghu Venugopal M.D. holds a one-person counter-protest next to an anti-vaccination event outside Toronto General Hospital, calling protests "un-Canadian" and "unacceptable"; Justin Trudeau announces he will criminalize blocking access to hospitals.
September 14 –The Quebec legislature would unanimously condemn a debate question as "Quebec-bashing."
September 20 – 2021 Canadian federal election is held, with the Liberal Party forming another minority government.
September 25
*Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig arrive in Canada after being detained in China for nearly three years. They were released when the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou was dropped on September 24.
*The Toronto Maple Leafs played the Montreal Canadiens at home in the Scotiabank Arena with fans for the first time in over a year, a preseason game. The Leafs won.
September 27 – The Green Party leader, Annamie Paul, announces her intention to resign as the leader of the Green Party, after the disappointing election results and leadership problems.
September 30 – A new national holiday, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is held to remember lives lost at residential schools.

October

October 4 – The Toronto Raptors played their first home game at the Scotiabank Arena in over a year against the Philadelphia 76ers, a preseason game. The Raptors won.
October 18 – 2021 Alberta municipal elections are held.
October 25 – 2021 Nunavut general election is held.

November

November 14 – Unprecedented rain caused by an atmospheric river bring a series of floods to southern British Columbia.
November 15 – Parts of Abbotsford and the entire city of Merritt, British Columbia are evacuated due to flooding. Many highways and rail lines are closed in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, cutting off land access to Greater Vancouver from the rest of Canada and Greater Victoria to the rest of Vancouver Island.
November 24 – Amita Kuttner is appointed as interim leader of the Green Party of Canada, becoming the youngest person, first transgender person, and first person of East Asian heritage to lead a federal political party.
November 28 – The Ontario Ministry of Health confirms the first case of COVID-19 Omicron variant in Canada.

December

December 6 – Canadian Ministry of Health reports that Deltacron hybrid variant is now pre-dominant strain in Canada, which is combined with Delta and Omicron variants, accounting for three-quarters of cases.
December 12 – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup in Hamilton.

Events cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 U Sports Women's Basketball Championship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
2021 U Sports Men's Basketball Championship at St. Francis Xavier University in Halifax, Nova Scotia
2021 Toronto International Boat Show
Toronto St Patrick's Day Parade
All national championships in five-pin bowling including C5PBA, Youth Bowl Canada and the Master Bowlers.
All Country Thunder events
Canadian National Exhibition and the air show
Honda Indy Toronto
The 2021 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

Deaths

January

January 1
*Paul Delorey, curler and politician
*Thomas Symons, professor and writer
January 2 – Rob Flockhart, ice hockey player
January 4
*Laurent Mailhot, historian and writer
*John Muckler, NHL executive and coach
January 6
* James Cross, British diplomat kidnapped by the Front de libération du Québec
* Gord Renwick, ice hockey administrator
January 8
* Michael Fonfara, keyboardist
* Jay W. McGee, American-born musician
January 9
*Margaret Morrison, philosopher
*George Robertson, ice hockey player
*Philip Seeman, neuropharmacologist
*Kathy Shaidle, writer
January 10 – Louis-Pierre Bougie, painter and printmaker
January 11 – Kathleen Heddle, Olympic rower
January 12
*Bruce Bennett, gridiron football player
*Shingoose, folk musician
January 13
*Michel Gravel, photographer
*Norman MacLeod, businessman and politician
January 16 – Steve Molnar, gridiron football player
January 17 – Camille Cléroux, serial killer
January 20 – Wayne Roberts, food analyst
January 24
*George Armstrong, ice hockey player
*Barbara Sullivan, politician
January 26 – Constance Isherwood, lawyer
January 28 – Rod Boll, Olympic sports shooter
January 29 – Christian Daigle, ice hockey agent
January 31 – Pierre-Paul Savoie, choreographer and dancer

February

February 1
*Umberto Bruni, artist
*Rachna Gilmore, children's writer
*Mark Jensen, luger
*Charlotte L'Écuyer, politician
*Jacqueline Shumiatcher, philanthropist
February 2 – Charan Gill, social activist
February 3
*Art Jones, ice hockey player
*Barry Pashak, politician
*Régine Robin, historian and novelist
*Henry Tarvainen, actor and theatre director
February 4
*Robert Dean, politician and unionist
*Robert Labine, politician
February 5
*Jules Bélanger, professor
*Christopher Plummer, actor
February 6 – James Eayrs, historian
February 7
*Ralph Backstrom, ice hockey player
*John Mullally, politician
*Clayton Pachal, ice hockey player
*Jackie Vautour, fisherman and activist
February 8 – Roland Berthiaume, caricaturist
February 12 – Marcia Diamond, actress
February 13 – Frank Orr, sports journalist
February 15
*Andreas Apostolopoulos, real estate developer
*Raymond Lévesque, singer-songwriter and poet
*Eva Maria Pracht, Olympic equestrian
February 16
*Don Dietrich, ice hockey player
*Wayne Giardino, gridiron football player
February 18 – Jack Vivian, ice hockey coach
February 19 – Jocelyn Hardy, ice hockey player
February 20 – Charlotte Fielden, writer and actress
February 21 – Geoffrey Ursell, writer
February 22 – Jack Whyte, writer
February 23
*Gary Inness, ice hockey player
*Yves Martin, sociologist
*Gord Miller, politician
February 25 – Maurice Tanguay, businessman
February 26
*Ronald Gillespie, chemist
*Irving Grundman, ice hockey general manager
*Janice Sarich, provincial politician from Alberta
February 28 – Ty Lund, politician

March

March 1
*Jahmil French, actor
*David Searle, politician
March 2 – Jim Hodder, politician
March 4
*Walter Gretzky, ice hockey coach
*Donald Kinney, politician
*Chris Schultz, gridiron football player
March 7 – Paul Devlin, curler
March 8 – Rhéal Cormier, baseball player
March 11 – Archie Lang, politician
March 13 – Bob McPhee, arts administrator
March 14 – Ray Cullen, ice hockey player
March 15 – Ian Waddell, politician
March 19
*Ludwig Heimrath Sr., race car driver
*Budge Wilson, writer
March 21 – Bob McKnight, ice hockey player
March 22 – Swede Knox, ice hockey referee
March 23 – John Ridpath, intellectual historian
March 24 – Bob Plager, ice hockey player
March 26 – Carole Lavallée, politician
March 27
*Todd Kabel, jockey
*Keith MacDonald, politician
*Michelle Ross, drag queen
March 28
*Marisa Ferretti Barth, politician
*Neil Merryweather, musician
*Bobby Schmautz, ice hockey player
*Neil Windsor, engineer and politician
March 30 – Guy Lelièvre, politician

April

April 4
*Paul Humphrey, musician
*Henri Lemay, politician
*Robert Mundell, economist
April 5 – Tom Gibney, television journalist
April 6
*Kittie Bruneau, painter
*Lily Oddie, politician
*Louis Siminovitch, molecular biologist
April 9
*Michel Girouard, journalist
*Ross Young, politician
April 11
*Normand Cherry, politician
*Alix Renaud, writer
April 12
* Michel Noël, writer
* Galen Weston, businessman
April 14
*Michel Louvain, singer
*Bob Maskell, politician
*Roger Soloman, educator and politician
April 15 – Clotilda Douglas-Yakimchuk, nurse
April 16
*Bob Hodges, speed skater
*Johnny Peirson, ice hockey player and broadcaster
April 18 – Douglas Bell, politician
April 19 – Bob Lanois, sound engineer, music producer, and harmonica player
April 21
*Stanley A. Milner, businessman and politician
*Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, writer
April 22 – Sharon Pollock, playwright, director, and actress
April 24
*Kent Angus, businessman
*Katherine Barber, lexicographer
*Byron Seaman, businessman and part owner of the Calgary Flames
April 27 – Jean-Guy Pilon, poet
April 28
*Thomas R. Berger, politician and jurist
*Claude Jasmin, journalist, broadcaster, and writer
April 30 – Hugh Coflin, ice hockey player

May

May 1 – Nancy McCredie, Olympic athlete
May 3
*Aurélien Boisvert, historian
*Donald Cameron, politician and 22nd Premier of Nova Scotia
May 4 – Jim Johnson, ice hockey player
May 8
*Graeme Ferguson, filmmaker and inventor who co-invented IMAX
*Jean-Luc Phaneuf, ice hockey player
May 10 – Serge Bouchard, anthropologist
May 11 – Bernard Lachance, singer-songwriter
May 14
*Barry Fry, curler
*Ward C. Pitfield Jr., financier and Thoroughbred racehorse owner
May 15 – George Little, teacher and politician
May 18
*John Gomery, jurist
*Gilles Lupien, ice hockey player
May 22 – Cornelia Oberlander, landscape architect
May 24 – Hazen Myers, politician
May 26
*Murray Dowey, ice hockey player and Olympic champion
*Paul Soles, actor and television personality
May 30 – George Tintor, rower

June

June 1 – Jacques Lacoursière, historian and television host
June 5 – George Murphy, politician
June 7 – Laszlo George, cinematographer
June 9 – Jon Hameister-Ries, football player
June 11 – Kay Hawtrey, actress
June 13 – Maurice Joncas, writer
June 15
*Howie Glover, ice hockey player
*Tim Thorney, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer
June 21 – Warren Barker, broadcaster
June 20 – Jeanne Lamon, violinist and conductor
June 22 – René Robert, ice hockey player
June 23
*Melissa Coates, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, fitness model, and actress
*Ellen McIlwaine, singer-songwriter
June 27
*Reuven Bulka, rabbi, writer, broadcaster, and activist
*Jean-Claude Dionne, geographer and geomorphologist
June 29
*Fintan Aylward, politician
*Norman Lowe, ice hockey player

July

July 2
*Naïm Kattan, writer
*Jeffrey Northrup, police officer
July 4 – Raymond Brousseau, film director, screenwriter, art collector, and artist
July 6 – Harold Kalant, pharmacologist and physician
July 7
*Michael Soles, football player
*William Stevenson, judge
*Paul C. Weiler, legal scholar
July 8
*Paul Birckel, businessman and Chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations
*Bryan Watson, ice hockey player
July 15 – Judith Keating, senator, provincial civil servant, and lawyer
July 17 – Dolores Claman, composer and pianist
July 19 – Bruce Kirby, sailboat designer, journalist, and dinghy and offshore racer
July 20
*Chuck McMann, football player and coach
*Raymond Savard, politician and Mayor of Verdun, Quebec
July 21 – Jack Cable, politician
July 22 – Michèle Lalonde, playwright and poet
July 23 – Peter Trueman, journalist and news presenter
July 24
*Kenzie MacNeil, songwriter, performer, producer and television, film, radio and stage director
*Alfie Scopp, English-born actor
July 25 – Doug Falconer, film producer, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and football player
July 27 – Jerry Pickard, politician
July 31 – Angela Bailey, track and field athlete

August

August 1 – David A. Gall, Thoroughbred horse racing jockey
August 3 – Jocelyne Bourassa, golfer
August 8
*Ken Clark, gridiron football player
*Bill Davis, politician and 18th Premier of Ontario
*Paul Hellyer, engineer, politician, writer, and commentator
*Garry Kennedy, conceptual artist and educator
August 9 – Gord Cruickshank, ice hockey player
August 10 – Tony Esposito, ice hockey player and executive
August 14
*Robin Hahn, equestrian
*R. Murray Schafer, composer, writer, music educator, and environmentalist
August 17
*Rock Demers, film producer
*Yvon Duhamel, motorcycle racer
*Jack Lamb, football player
August 19 – Rod Gilbert, ice hockey player
August 21 – Nick Volpe, football player
August 23 – Terry Driver, murderer
August 26 – Jérôme Proulx, politician
August 28 – Jacques Drouin, film director, animator, and editor

September

September 3 – Henriette Valium, comic book artist and painter
September 4 – Mort Ransen, film and television director and screenwriter
September 6 – Severian Yakymyshyn, Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch
September 9 – Jean-Paul Jeannotte, operatic tenor, teacher, and opera administrator
September 10 – Jack Egers, ice hockey player
September 11 – Catherine Sheldrick Ross, professor and dean of the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario
September 13 – Fred Stanfield, ice hockey player
September 14 – Norm Macdonald, stand-up comedian, writer, and actor
September 15 – Lou Angotti, ice hockey player and coach
September 19 – Allan Slaight, rock and roll radio pioneer, media mogul, and philanthropist
September 20 – Marcia H. Rioux, legal scholar
September 21 – Rae German, football player
September 26 – Ann Breault, teacher, nurse, journalist, and politician
September 28 – Ed Mason, newscaster
September 30 – Philip Owen, politician and 36th Mayor of Vancouver

October

October 3 – Neil Hawryliw, ice hockey player
October 4
*Roger Stuart Bacon, politician and 21st Premier of Nova Scotia
*John Paul Harney, academic and politician
*Peter Jenkins, politician
October 5
*Nadia Chaudhri, psychologist
*Pierre Légaré, humorist
October 7
*Clement Bowman, chemical engineer and the founding chairperson of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority
*Ray Charambura, gridiron football player
*Rick Jones, television presenter and musician
*Reggie Parks, professional wrestler and engraver
*Peter Silverman, broadcast journalist
*Ronald S. Stroud, historian, academic, archeologist, and epigraphist
October 8 – Jim McInally, ice hockey player
October 12 – Brian Boudreau, politician
October 14
*Clint Dunford, politician
*Raymond Setlakwe, entrepreneur, lawyer, and senator
October 16
*Leo Boivin, ice hockey player and coach
*Roger Hui, computer scientist
*Jean Rochon, politician and member of the National Assembly of Quebec
October 19
*Michel Nadeau, administrator and journalist
*Gary Summerhays, boxer
October 20 – Robert H. MacQuarrie, politician and teacher
October 21 – Martha Henry, American-born actress
October 22 – Adolfo J. de Bold, cardiovascular researcher
October 25 – Paul D. House, businessman
October 26 – Isabel Turner, British-born politician and Mayor of Kingston, Ontario
October 28
*Raymond Guy LeBlanc, musician and poet
*Jim Pollock, politician
October 30 – Tony Featherstone, ice hockey player
October 31 – Michel Robidoux, musician

November

November 4 – June Lindsey, English-born biochemist
November 5 – Charlie Burns, American-born ice hockey player
November 6 – Peter Aykroyd, actor, comedian, and writer
November 11
*Lee Maracle, Sto꞉lo writer and academic
*Phyllis Webb, poet and radio broadcaster
November 13 – David Fox, actor
November 14 – Pierre Reid, politician, educator, and member of the National Assembly of Quebec
November 17 – Tom Colley, ice hockey player
November 18 – Richard Goldbloom, pediatrician, university professor, and the fifth chancellor of Dalhousie University
November 19 – Norman Webster, journalist and an editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail and The Gazette
November 20
*Josée Forest-Niesing, lawyer and politician
*Rita Letendre, painter, muralist, and printmaker
November 23 – Rosalie Trombley, music director of the radio station CKLW
November 29 – Bob Kilger, politician
November 30 – Marie-Claire Blais, writer, novelist, poet, and playwright

December

December 1 – Abla Farhoud, Lebanese-born writer
December 4 – Hans Blohm, German-born photographer and author
December 5 – Harry Giles, educator and founder of the Toronto French School and the Giles School
December 9 – Danielle Adams, politician
December 10
*Les Emmerson, musician
*Maria Gomori, Hungarian-born pioneer in the field of systems family therapy
December 11 – Mel Lastman, businessman, politician, and 62nd Mayor of Toronto
December 12 – Len Thornson, ice hockey player
December 13 – Pete Petcoff, football player
December 14 – Bob Peters, ice hockey coach
December 15 – Huguette Lachapelle, politician
December 16
*Bill Mahoney, ice hockey coach
*Bob Speller, politician and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
December 18 – Renée Martel, country singer
December 19
*Gérard Poirier, actor
*Curt Ridley, ice hockey player
December 20 – Christopher Newton, actor and director
December 21 – Christian Ouellet, politician
December 23
*Ted Byfield, journalist, publisher, and editor
*Bob McCammon, ice hockey player, head coach, and general manager
December 25
*Candy Palmater, comedian, actress, and broadcaster
*Jean-Marc Vallée, film and television director, producer, and editor
December 26 – Jim Wiley, ice hockey player
December 27 – Howard Fredeen, animal breeding researcher
December 30 – Richard Patten, politician
December 31 – Joe Comuzzi, politician

Full date unknown

June – Andy Wells, politician