# 1948 in Canada

Events from the year 1948 in Canada.

## Incumbents
### Crown

* Monarch – George VI

### Federal government

* Governor General – the Viscount Alexander of Tunis
* Prime Minister – William Lyon Mackenzie King (until November 15) then Louis St. Laurent
* Chief Justice – Thibaudeau Rinfret (Quebec)
* Parliament – 20th

### Provincial governments
#### Lieutenant governors

* Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John C. Bowen
* Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Charles Arthur Banks
* Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Roland Fairbairn McWilliams
* Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – David Laurence MacLaren
* Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy
* Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Ray Lawson
* Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Joseph Alphonsus Bernard
* Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Eugène Fiset
* Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Reginald John Marsden Parker (until March 23) then John Michael Uhrich (from March 24)

#### Premiers

* Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning
* Premier of British Columbia – Boss Johnson
* Premier of Manitoba – Stuart Garson (until November 13) then Douglas Campbell
* Premier of New Brunswick – John McNair
* Premier of Nova Scotia – Angus Macdonald
* Premier of Ontario – George A. Drew (until October 19) then Thomas Laird Kennedy
* Premier of Prince Edward Island – J. Walter Jones
* Premier of Quebec – Maurice Duplessis
* Premier of Saskatchewan – Tommy Douglas

### Territorial governments
#### Commissioners

* Commissioner of Yukon – John Edward Gibben
* Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside

## Events

* June 7 – Ontario election: George Drew's PCs win a second consecutive majority
* June 24 – Saskatchewan election: Tommy Douglas's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation wins a second consecutive majority
* July 22 – A second runoff referendum is held in the 1948 Newfoundland referendums; confederation with Canada is approved, leading to the eventual union between Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland in March 1949.
* August 17 – Alberta election: Ernest Manning's Social Credit Party wins a fourth consecutive majority
* September 6 – The oil well Atlantic No. 3 (near Devon, Alberta), which had been running wild since March 21, catches fire. Smoke affects the atmosphere for hundreds of kilometres until the blaze is put out in November by a team led by Myron M. Kinley and Red Adair.
* October 19 – Thomas Kennedy becomes premier of Ontario, replacing George Drew
* November 13 – Douglas Campbell becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Stuart Garson
* November 15 – Louis Saint Laurent becomes prime minister, replacing Mackenzie King

## Arts and literature
### Awards

* See 1948 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
* Stephen Leacock Award: Paul Hiebert, Sarah Binks

## Sport

* February 2 – Barbara Ann Scott becomes the first Canadian to win the figure skating gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland
* April 14 – The Toronto Maple Leafs win their seventh Stanley Cup by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 0.
* April 30 – The Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League's Port Arthur West End Bruins win their only Memorial Cup by defeating the Ontario Hockey Association's Barrie Flyers 4 games to 0. All games were played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto
* November 27 – The undefeated Calgary Stampeders win their first Grey Cup by defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders 12 to 7 in the 36th Grey Cup played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. This Cup is notable for the Stampeders' fans making a party out of the game and launching the Grey Cup festival that precedes the championship game.

## Births
### January to March

* January 10 – Craig Russell, female impersonator (d. 1990)
* January 12 – Gordon Campbell, politician and 34th Premier of British Columbia
* January 13 – Pat O'Brien, politician
* January 15 – Andy Jones, comedian, writer, actor and director
* January 16 – Cliff Thorburn, snooker player, former world number one
* January 19 – Frank McKenna, businessman, politician, 27th Premier of New Brunswick and diplomat
* January 25 – Sarkis Assadourian, politician
* February 11 – Shaughnessy Cohen, politician (d. 1998)
* February 13 – Allan Legere, serial killer, rapist, and arsonist
* February 21 – Chuck Cadman, politician (d. 2005)
* March 14
** Pierre Granche, sculptor (d. 1997)
** Maria Minna, politician
* March 20 – Bobby Orr, ice hockey player
* March 31 – Gary Doer, politician and 20th Premier of Manitoba

### April to June

* April 14 – Claude Vivier, composer (d. 1983 in France)
* April 16 – Reg Alcock, politician, minister, MP for Winnipeg South (1993–2006); President of the Treasury Board (2003–2006) (d. 2011)
* April 17 – Wilf Wedmann, high jumper (d. 2021)
* April 20 – Rémy Trudel, academic and politician
* May 11 – John Plohman, politician
* May 16 – Clif Evans, politician
* May 24 – Lorna Crozier, poet and essayist
* June 4
** Margaret Gibson, novelist and short story writer (d. 2006)
** Sandra Post, golfer, first Canadian to play on the LPGA Tour
* June 5 – Bill Smart, middle-distance runner and judge
* June 7 – Welwyn Wilton Katz, children's author
* June 23 – Myles Goodwyn, musician (d. 2023)
* June 29 – Leo Burke, wrestler (d. 2024)

### July to September

* July 4 – Katherine Govier, novelist
* July 8 – Raffi, children's entertainer, music producer, author and entrepreneur
* August 2 – Bob Rae, politician and 21st Premier of Ontario
* August 5 – Don Scott, politician
* August 14 – John Edzerza, Yukon MLA (d. 2011)
* August 31 – Marie-Lynn Hammond, folk singer-songwriter, broadcaster and playwright
* September 8 – Stephen Owen, politician (d. 2023)
* September 10 – Margaret Trudeau, wife of the late Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada
* September 19 – James McCrae, politician
* September 21 – Bernard Jean, oboist, conductor, and music educator
* September 24 – Phil Hartman, actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic artist (d. 1998)

### October to December

* October 8 – Pat Binns, politician, 30th Premier of Prince Edward Island and diplomat
* October 9 – Brad Woodside, politician, Mayor of Fredericton, New Brunswick
* October 17 – Margot Kidder, actress (d. 2018)
* November 5 – Mike Neary, rower
* November 24 – Spider Robinson, science fiction author
* December 7 – Jay Dahlgren, javelin thrower
* December 30 – Rick Casson, politician
* December 30 – Pierre Blais, jurist, politician and Minister
* December 31 – René Robert, ice hockey player (d. 2021)

### Full date unknown

* Marc Lortie, diplomat

## Deaths

* March 14 – Ernest Frederick Armstrong, politician (b. 1878)
* March 28 – John Duncan MacLean, teacher, physician, politician and Premier of British Columbia (b. 1873)
* May 20 – George Beurling, most successful Canadian fighter pilot of World War II (b. 1921)
* May 21 – James Ralston, lawyer, soldier, politician and Minister (b. 1881)

### Full date unknown

* Margaret C. MacDonald, nurse (b. 1873)