1995 in Canada

1995 in Canada
Events from the year 1995 in Canada.
Incumbents
Crown
Monarch – Elizabeth II
Federal government
Governor General – Ray Hnatyshyn (until February 8) then Roméo LeBlanc
Prime Minister – Jean Chrétien
Chief Justice – Antonio Lamer (Quebec)
Parliament – 35th
Provincial governments
Lieutenant governors
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Gordon Towers
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – David Lam (until April 21) then Garde Gardom
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Yvon Dumont
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Margaret McCain
Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Frederick Russell
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – James Kinley
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Hal Jackman
Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Marion Reid (until August 30) then Gilbert Clements
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Martial Asselin
Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Jack Wiebe
Premiers
Premier of Alberta – Ralph Klein
Premier of British Columbia – Mike Harcourt
Premier of Manitoba – Gary Filmon
Premier of New Brunswick – Frank McKenna
Premier of Newfoundland – Clyde Wells
Premier of Nova Scotia – John Savage
Premier of Ontario – Bob Rae (until June 26) then Mike Harris
Premier of Prince Edward Island – Catherine Callbeck
Premier of Quebec – Jacques Parizeau
Premier of Saskatchewan – Roy Romanow
Territorial governments
Commissioners
Commissioner of Yukon – John Kenneth McKinnon (until June 23) then Judy Gingell
Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Daniel L. Norris (until January 16) then Helen Maksagak
Premiers
Premier of the Northwest Territories – Nellie Cournoyea (until November 22) then Don Morin
Premier of Yukon – John Ostashek
Events
January to March
January 5 – Rogers Communications withdraws the unpopular negative option billing system after wide-scale consumer protest.
January 7 – The opening of Parliament is televised for the first time.
January 18 – A video of the Canadian Airborne Regiment's brutal hazing rituals is made public.
January 23 – As a result of the Somalia Affair and the hazing video, it is announced that the Airborne Regiment will disband.
January 23 – Guy Paul Morin's conviction for murder that had seen him jailed for 11 years is overturned.
February 21 – The inquiry into the April 1994 uprising in the Kingston Prison For Women rules that authorities used excessive force in putting it down.
February 23 – American President Bill Clinton addresses Parliament.
March 9 – As part of Brian Tobin's Turbot War Canadian officials seize the Spanish trawler the Estai.
March 15 – Former Nova Scotia Premier Gerald Regan is charged with child abuse.
March 18 – March 27 – A major rail strike occurs; the workers are eventually legislated back to work.
March 20 – Erichs Tobias is accused of war crimes.
March 27 – Bell Canada announces major job cuts.
March 31 – Perrin Beatty appointed head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
April to June
April – Chapters is officially incorporated.
April 9 – Steve Stavro buys Maple Leaf Gardens from Harold Ballard's estate.
April 16 – The Turbot War ends as Canada and the European Union reach an agreement.
April 20 – A pipe bomb explodes outside Province House in Prince Edward Island.
May 18 – The trial of Paul Bernardo begins.
May 31 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announce a $1 million reward in Air India flight 182 case and restarts its investigation.
June 6 – Labatt is sold to a Belgian company.
June 8 – Ontario election: Mike Harris's PCs win a majority, defeating Bob Rae's NDP.
June 9 – Floods in Medicine Hat, Alberta force the evacuation of over 5000 people.
June 13 – A strict new gun control law is passed banning most handguns and forcing all rifles to be registered.
June 15 – June 17 – The G7 meet in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
June 21 – Saskatchewan election: Roy Romanow's NDP win a second consecutive majority.
June 28 – Mike Harris becomes premier of Ontario, replacing Bob Rae.
July to September
July 17 – Christine E. Silverberg becomes Canada's first female police chief when she is promoted to that position in Calgary.
July 20 – In Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto the Supreme Court upholds Canada's largest ever libel award.
July 27 – Thomson Corp. agrees to sell 27 Canadian newspapers to Hollinger Inc.
August 1 – Ottawa sportscaster Brian Smith is shot in the parking lot of CJOH by escaped mental patient Jeffrey Arenburg; Smith dies in hospital the following day.
August 11 – The Russell Hill subway accident, the first fatal accident aboard a Toronto Transit Commission subway, kills three.
August 18–September 17: Gustafsen Lake standoff
September 1
Paul Bernardo is found guilty of the kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and murder of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French.
The Canadian Airborne Regiment disbands.
September 6 – The government announces plans to sell off most of its remaining holdings in Petro-Canada.
October to December
October 14 – Alexa McDonough is elected head of the New Democratic Party, replacing Audrey McLaughlin.
October 24 – The James Bay Cree vote 96.3% in favour of their territory remaining part of Canada in the event of Quebec sovereignty.
October 27 – A massive rally is held in Montreal by the No side in the referendum.
October 30 – The 1995 Quebec referendum is held on sovereignty. The No side narrowly wins.
October 31 – Newfoundland passes a constitutional amendment to overhaul its school system.
November 4 – Radarsat, Canada's first observation satellite is launched.
November 5 – André Dallaire breaks into 24 Sussex Drive and the Prime Minister fends him off with an Inuit sculpture.
November 5 – Paul Bernardo is declared a dangerous offender, meaning he will be ineligible for parole.
November 11 – Journalist Judy Steed, in a conference speech, attacks the chair of Ryerson University's journalism program for employing Gerald Hannon as a part-time instructor; the controversy spans the next three weeks.
November 15 – British Columbia premier announces his resignation because of the bingogate scandal.
November 20 – Former PM Brian Mulroney sues the government over the Airbus Affair.
November 22 – Don Morin becomes premier of the Northwest Territories, replacing Nellie Cournoyea.
November 23 – Jean Chrétien unveils a law that would give each of Canada's four regions a constitutional veto. The West complains that it deserves more than one.
November 28 – Canadian National Railway, the nation's largest Crown corporation and one of the largest state-run enterprises in the industrialized world is privatized.
December – Representatives of aboriginal peoples gather and issue the Sacred Assembly Proclamation; from this was developed the Reconciliation Proclamation and the Statement of Principles and Priorities.
December 6 – Canada agrees to send 1000 peacekeepers to Bosnia.
December 11 – Voters in what will become Nunavut select Iqaluit as the capital of the new territory.
December 20 – Lieutenant-General Jean Boyle becomes Chief of the Defence Staff.
December 21 – The Krever Commission holds its final hearings.
December 28 – Premier of Newfoundland Clyde Wells announces his retirement.
Arts and literature
New books
bill bissett – Th influenza uv logik
Ann-Marie MacDonald – The Arab's Mouth
Douglas Coupland – Microserfs
Stevie Cameron – On the Take
Dave Duncan – The Hunters' Haunt
Antonine Maillet – La Fontaine ou la Comédie des animaux
Farley Mowat – Aftermath: Travels in a Post-War World
Timothy Findley – The Piano Man's Daughter
Awards
Carol Shields wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Stone Diaries
Robert J. Sawyer wins the Nebula Award for his work The Terminal Experiment
Giller Prize: Rohinton Mistry – A Fine Balance
See 1995 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Books in Canada First Novel Award: Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
Geoffrey Bilson Award: Joan Clark, The Dream Carvers
Gerald Lampert Award: Keith Maillard, Dementia Americana
Marian Engel Award: Bonnie Burnard
Pat Lowther Award: Beth Goobie, Scars of Light
Stephen Leacock Award: Josh Freed, Fear of Frying and Other Fax of Life
Trillium Book Award English: – Margaret Atwood, Morning in the Burned House and Wayson Choy, The Jade Peony
Trillium Book Award French: – Maurice Henrie, Le Balcon dans le ciel
Vicky Metcalf Award: Sarah Ellis
Music
Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill released
Shania Twain's The Woman in Me released
Ashley MacIsaac,
Susan Aglukark, This Child
Art Bergmann, What Fresh Hell is This?
Television
April 26 – Direct-to-home satellite television is made legal in Canada.
Long running quiz show Front Page Challenge is cancelled by the CBC
Film
Michael Moore's Canadian Bacon is released.
Sport
May 21 – Kamloops Blazers win their third (second consecutive) Memorial Cup by defeating Detroit Jr. Red Wings 8 to 2 . The entire tournament was played at the Blazers' own Riverside Coliseum in Kamloops, British Columbia
May 28 – Jacques Villeneuve becomes first Canadian to win the Indianapolis 500; Canadian Scott Goodyear is third.
June 24 – Buckingham, Quebec's Claude Lemieux of the New Jersey Devils is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy
June 28 – Two more American teams (Birmingham Barracudas and the Memphis Mad Dogs) are established in the Canadian Football League
July 1 – Quebec Nordiques relocate from Quebec City to Denver, Colorado, to become the Colorado Avalanche
September 21 – General Motors Place opens in Vancouver
November 3 – Vancouver Grizzlies win their first game by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 92 to 80. The game was played at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon
November 3 – Toronto Raptors win their first game by defeating the New Jersey Nets 94 to 79. The game was played at Skydome in Toronto
November 19 – Baltimore Stallions become the first (and only) American team to win a Grey Cup by defeating the Calgary Stampeders 37 to 20 in the 83rd Grey Cup played at Taylor Field in Regina. Toronto's Dave Sapunjis was awarded the game's and his third Most Valuable Canadian
November 25 – Calgary Dinos win their fourth Vanier Cup by defeating the Western Ontario Mustangs 54 to 24 in the 31st Grey Cup played at Skydome in Toronto
December 7 – The Montreal Canadiens trade Patrick Roy to the Colorado Avalanche.
Births
January to March
January 3 – Victoria Duffield, singer, actress and dancer
January 12 – Sarah Mehain, Paralympic swimmer
January 14 – Eleanor Harvey, fencer
January 18 – Margaret Purdy, pair skater
January 24 – Dylan Everett, actor
January 27 – Madeline Gardiner, artistic gymnast
February 2
Fraser Aird, footballer
Curtis Lazar, ice hockey player
Darnell Nurse, ice hockey defenceman
February 8 – Jordan Todosey, actress
February 23 – Andrew Wiggins, high school basketball player
March 2
Max Domi, ice hockey player
Matthew Di Leo, racing driver
Morgan Klimchuk, ice hockey player
March 5 – Zhao Kai Pang, ice dancer
March 22 – Nicolas Petan, ice hockey player
March 23 – Jan Lisiecki, pianist
March 27 – Laurent Dauphin, ice hockey player
March 28
Jonathan Drouin, ice hockey forward
Josh Morrissey, ice hockey defenceman
April to June
April 5 – Bo Horvat, ice hockey player
April 11 – Erin Routliffe, New Zealand-born tennis player
April 13 – Shavon John-Brown, footballer
April 16 – Remi Elie, ice hockey player
April 22 – Madison Bowey, ice hockey defenceman
April 26
Frédérik Gauthier, ice hockey player
Andréanne Poulin, ice dancer
April 29 – Tristan Jarry, ice hockey goaltender
May 9 – Dillon Heatherington, ice hockey defenceman
May 12 – Talia Chiarelli, artistic gymnast
May 28 – Zachary Fucale, ice hockey goalie
May 29 – Jordan Ju, figure skater
June 6 – Sadi Jalali, Indian-born soccer player
June 5 – Natasha Purich, figure skater
June 13 – Mikaela Gerber, artistic gymnast
June 20 – Carol Zhao, Chinese-born tennis player
June 29 – Nicholas Latifi, racing driver
July to September
July 4 – Jason Dickinson, ice hockey player
July 6 – Eric Comrie, ice hockey goaltender
July 11 – Tyler Medeiros, dancer, singer and songwriter
July 12 – Samuel Morin, ice hockey defenceman
July 17 – Austin MacDonald, actor
August 5 – Shea Theodore, ice hockey defenceman
August 6 – Amy Forsyth, actress
August 26 – Anthony Duclair, ice hockey player
August 27 – Cainan Wiebe, actor
September 1 – Nathan MacKinnon, ice hockey forward
September 6 – Ty Wood, actor
September 8 – Ellie Black, artistic gymnast
September 24 – Alexandra Botez, chess player
October to December
October 25 – Conchita Campbell, actress
November 6 – Sam Reinhart, ice hockey centre
November 12 – Félix Lengyel, Twitch streamer
November 27 – Ricardo Hoyos, actor
December 5 – Kaetlyn Osmond, figure skater
Full date unknown
Gabriel Maillé, actor
Sammy Yatim, murder victim (d. 2013)
Deaths
January to June
January 19 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1938)
January 28 – George Woodcock, poet, essayist, critic, biographer and historian (born 1912)
February 23 – Murray Cotterill, trade union activist
March 14 – John Peters Humphrey, legal scholar, jurist and human rights advocate (born 1905)
April 23 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, politician and 13th Premier of Manitoba (born 1895)
April 25 – Stuart Trueman, journalist and writer
May 6 – John Black Aird, lawyer, politician and 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (born 1923)
July to September
July 8 – George Johnson, politician and Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (born 1920)
August 2 – Brian Smith, ice hockey player and sportscaster (born 1940)
August 25 – Francis Lawrence Jobin, politician and Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (born 1914)
September 3 – Earle Birney, poet (born 1904)
September 23 – Philip Gaglardi, politician (born 1913)
September 30 – Jean-Luc Pépin, academic, politician and Minister (born 1924)
October to December
November 3 – Gordon S. Fahrni, medical doctor (born 1887)
November 11 – Emmett Matthew Hall, jurist, civil libertarian and Supreme Court justice (born 1898)
November 21 – Bruno Gerussi, actor and television presenter (born 1928)
November 30 – Philip Givens, politician, judge and Mayor of Toronto (born 1922)
December 2 – Robertson Davies, novelist, playwright, critic, journalist and professor (born 1913)
December 3 – Elsie Knott, first female band chief
December 4 – Lionel Giroux, midget wrestler (born 1935)
December 16 - Charles Sauriol, naturalist and author (born 1904)
Full date unknown
Paul Collins, long-distance runner (born 1926)
See also
1995 in Canadian television
List of Canadian films of 1995
References
Canada
Canada
1990s in Canada
Years of the 20th century in Canada