2019 in Canada explained

Events from the year 2019 in Canada.

Incumbents

The Crown

• Monarch – Elizabeth II^[1]

Federal government

• Governor General – Julie Payette
• Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau
• Parliament – 42nd (until 11 September), then 43rd (from 5 December)

Provincial governments

Lieutenant Governors

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Lois Mitchell
• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Janet Austin
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Janice Filmon
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick –

• Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau (until August 2)

• vacant (August 2 to September 8)

• Brenda Murphy (since September 8)
• Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador – Judy Foote
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Arthur LeBlanc
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Elizabeth Dowdeswell
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Antoinette Perry
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – J. Michel Doyon
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan –

• W. Thomas Molloy (until July 2)

• vacant (July 2 to 18)

• Russell Mirasty (since July 18)

Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – Rachel Notley (until April 30), then Jason Kenney
• Premier of British Columbia – John Horgan
• Premier of Manitoba – Brian Pallister
• Premier of New Brunswick – Blaine Higgs
• Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador – Dwight Ball
• Premier of Nova Scotia – Stephen McNeil
• Premier of Ontario – Doug Ford
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – Wade MacLauchlan (until May 9), then Dennis King
• Premier of Quebec – François Legault
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Scott Moe

Territorial governments

Commissioners

• Commissioner of Nunavut – Nellie Kusugak
• Commissioner of the Northwest Territories – Margaret Thom
• Commissioner of Yukon – Angélique Bernard

Premiers

• Premier of Nunavut – Joe Savikataaq
• Premier of the Northwest Territories – Bob McLeod (until October 24), then Caroline Cochrane
• Premier of Yukon – Sandy Silver

Events

January

• January 5 – Finland won the gold medal match of the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (which began 26 December 2018).
• January 11 – A double-decker bus accident OC Transpo struck a bus shelter killing three people and injuring 23 others in Ottawa.^[2]
• January 13 to 30 – The 2019 Canadian Figure Skating Championships were held.
• January 22 – A CN Rail train derailed at a level crossing on Saskatchewan Highway 11 north of Saskatoon. Nobody was hurt. There was significant damage to the train and crossing.^[3]

February–March

• February 15 to March 3 – 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.
• March 10 – Daylight saving time starts
• March 16 to 17 – Juno Awards of 2019 in London
• March 18 – Proceedings of the Senate of Canada were televised for the first time in the chamber's history.^[4]
• March 30 to April 7 – 2019 World Men's Curling Championship in Lethbridge

April–May

• April 16 – Alberta general election held. United Conservatives win a majority government, defeating New Democrats.
• April 23 – Prince Edward Island general election held. The Progressive Conservative Party wins a minority government, the Green Party will form the official opposition.
• May 15 – The 2019 Canadian Championship began. They are to be held till September 25, 2019.
• May 16 – Newfoundland and Labrador general election held.^[5] The Liberal Party retains power but with a minority government which was Newfoundland and Labrador's first minority government since 1971.^[6]
• May 17 to 26 – 2019 Memorial Cup held in Halifax

June–July

• June 13 – The Toronto Raptors win their first NBA championship in the 2019 NBA Finals, the first time a Canadian team had won the NBA championship.
• June 17 – Quebec passed Bill 21, a law which bars public servants from wearing religious symbols while on duty.^[7]
• July 9 –
  • The Crucifix in the National Assembly of Quebec that Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis hung there in 1936 (83 years), is removed.^[8]
  • 46 people were sent to the hospital after a serious carbon monoxide leak at a Super 8 motel in Winnipeg. There were no fatalities.
• July 14 to July 19 – 2019 Northern British Columbia murders
• July 31 – Canada withdrew its peacekeeping forces from Mali.^[9]

August–September

• August 7 – Bodies believed to be the suspects of the Northern British Columbia murders are found in dense brush near the Nelson River.^[10]
• August 11 – Bianca Andreescu wins the 2019 Rogers Cup in the women's singles event after Serena Williams retires the match due to an upper back injury.^[11] This is the first time a Canadian has won the event since 1969.
• August 31 – Contracts for Ontario teachers and education workers expires.
• September 10 – Manitoba general election held. The Progressive Conservative Party wins a second majority government.
• September 19 – Photos and a video of blackface from 2001 of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are released. Trudeau later apologizes for the photos and the video.^[12]

October–November

• October 1 – Northwest Territories general election was held.^[13]
• October 21 – The 2019 Canadian federal election was held, with the Liberal Party forming a minority government.^[14]
• November 3 – Daylight saving time ends.
• November 11 – Longtime hockey analyst Don Cherry is fired from Hockey Night in Canada, by Sportsnet.
• November 23 – Calgary Dinos win the Vanier Cup, in Quebec City.
• November 24 – Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup, in Calgary.
• November 25 – 2019 World Ringette Championships in Burnaby, British Columbia.

December

• December 9 – Bianca Andreescu awarded the 2019 Lou Marsh Trophy^[15]
• December 12 – Andrew Scheer announces pending resignation as leader of the Conservative Party.

Deaths

January

• 3 January
  • William Miller, football player (born 1957)
  • Marcelle Corneille administrator and educator (born 1923)
• 4 January
  • Peter Doucette, politician (born 1954)
  • Frank Mugglestone, 94, English rugby league footballer (Bradford Northern, Castleford).^[16]
  • Norman Snider, screenwriter (born 1945)
• 5 January
  • Jean-Eudes Dubé, politician (born 1926)
  • Gerry Plamondon, ice hockey player (born 1924)
  • Alexis Smirnoff, wrestler (born 1947)
  • Myron Thompson, politician (born 1936)
• 6 January
  • George Crowe, ice hockey coach (born 1936)
  • Gene Zwozdesky, politician (born 1948)
• 9 January
  • Pierre de Bané, senator (born 1938)
  • Paul Koslo, actor (born 1944)
• 11 January
  • Mark Elliot, radio host (born 1953)
  • Marge Callaghan, baseball player (born 1921)
• 12 January
  • George Ball, entomologist (born 1926)
  • Dennis Marvin Ham, politician (born 1941)
• 13 January – Bo Westlake, rower (born 1927)
• 14 January – Gavin Smith poker player(born 1968)
• 16 January
  • Jean Chatillon, composer (born 1937)
  • Alfred Kunz, composer (born 1929)
• 18 January
  • Walter Craig, mathematician (born 1953)
  • Gilles Paquet, economist (born 1936)
  • François Protat, cinematographer
• 19 January – Red Sullivan, ice hockey player (born 1929)
• 22 January – A. Brian Deer, librarian (born 1945)
• 23 January – Jim McKean, Major League Baseball umpire (born 1945)
• 25 January – Jacques Berthelet, Roman Catholic bishop (born 1934)
• 29 January – Andy Hebenton, ice hockey player (born 1929)
• 31 January
  • Ron Joyce, businessman, co-founder of Tim Hortons (born 1930)
  • William Winegard, politician (born 1924)

February

• 1 February – Raymond Ratzlaff, politician (born 1931)
• 2 February
  • Michael Ferguson, Auditor General of Canada (born 1958)
  • William Slater, swimmer (born 1940)
• 4 February – Phil Western, musician (born 1971)
• 6 February – Paul Dewar, educator and politician from Ottawa (born 1963)
• 10 February – Michael Wilson, politician (born 1937)
• 11 February
  • James Burns, businessman
  • Joe Schlesinger, television journalist, and author (born 1928)
• 15 February – Erminie Cohen, senator (born 1926)
• 16 February – Albert Ludwig, politician and author (born 1919)
• 18 February – Charles Deblois, politician (born 1939)
• 23 February – Bob Adams, decathlete (born 1924)
• 24 February – Trevor Eyton, senator and businessman (born 1934)
• 25 February – Chantal duPont, multidisciplinary artist (born 1942)
• 27 February – Sandra Faire, television producer and philanthropist
• 28 February – Ed Bickert, jazz guitarist (born 1932)

March

• March 1 – Elly Mayday, model and women's health advocate (born 1988)
• March 4
  • Robert Wagner Dowling, politician (born 1924)
  • Art Hughes, Canadian soccer player (born 1930)
  • Ted Lindsay, professional ice hockey player (born 1925)^[17]
• March 5
  • Richard Allen, politician (born 1929)
  • Stephen Irwin, architect (born 1939)
• March 6
  • Gordon Osbaldeston, civil servant (born 1930)
  • Charlie Panigoniak, Inuktitut singer and guitarist (born 1946)
• March 7 – Patrick Lane, poet (born 1939)
• March 9 – Harry Howell, ice hockey player (born 1932)
• March 11 – Joe Rosenblatt, poet (born 1933)
• March 16 – Joe Fafard, sculptor (born 1942)

April

• April 3 – Mary Borgstrom, potter and ceramist (born 1916^[18]
• April 7 – Wilbert Keon, physician and senator (born 1935)
• April 19 – William Krehm, author, journalist, political activist and real estate developer (born 1913)^[19]
• April 28 – Wayson Choy, writer (born 1939)

May

• • • May 2 Red Kelly, ice hockey player and politician (born 1927)
  • Murray Thomson, activist (born 1922)
• May 23 – Mike Laffin, politician and dentist (born 1918)^[20]

June

• June 20 – Mark Warawa, politician (born 1950)
• June 30 – John Rafferty, politician (born 1953)

July

• July 2 – W. Thomas Molloy, 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
• July 7 – Edna Anderson, politician. (born 1922)^[21]
• July 8 – Greg Johnson, ice hockey player (b. 1971)^[22]

August

• • • August 2 Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, 31st Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (b. 1955/1956)
  • Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Member of Parliament for Calgary Forest Lawn (b. 1950)
• August 19 – Bette Stephenson, physician and politician (born 1924)

September

• September 17 – Harvey Wylie, gridiron football player (born 1933)
• September 18 – Graeme Gibson, writer (born 1934)
• September 20 – Rick Bognar, wrestler (born 1970)

October

• October 7 – Devan Bracci-Selvey, school student and murder victim (born 2005)
• October 9 – Anne Hart, writer (born 1935)
• October 30 – Bernard Slade, playwright (born 1930)

December

• December 11 – Fernande Saint-Martin, art critic, museologist, semiologist, visual arts theorist and writer (born 1927)
• December 24 – Kelly Fraser, Inuk pop singer and songwriter (born 1993)

See also

• 2019 Canadian federal election
• 2019 in Canadian television
• List of Canadian films of 2019

Notes and References

1. Web site: Queen Elizabeth II The Canadian Encyclopedia . www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca . 4 December 2022.
2. Web site: Trois morts dans un accident d'autobus à Ottawa. https://web.archive.org/web/20190113182244/https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/545364/plusieurs-blesses-dans-un-accident-d-autobus-a-ottawa. dead. La Presse. canadienne. January 12, 2019. January 13, 2019. Le Devoir.
3. Web site: Tracks cleared, investigation underway, after train derailment near Saskatoon . 2019-01-23 . 2019-01-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190124152225/https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/tracks-cleared-investigation-underway-after-train-derailment-near-saskatoon . live .
4. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tasker-senate-tv-first-time-1.5060943 "Ready for their closeup: Senate begins broadcasting proceedings for first time today"
5. Web site: 19 May 2019 . Office of the Chief Electoral Office – Official Results of the 2019 Provincial General Election . 6 January 2024 . Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
6. Web site: Liberals to form minority government, CBC projects . 6 January 2024 . CBC News.
7. News: Quebec passes bill banning public servants from wearing religious symbols.
8. News: Crucifix removed from National Assembly's Blue Room. July 9, 2019. CBC News. 2019-07-14.
9. Web site: Canada won't extend peacekeeping mission in Mali, Freeland says. Global News. March 29, 2019. March 30, 2019. Berthiaume. Lee.
10. Web site: Bodies found in northern Manitoba believed to be 2 B.C. fugitives CBC News.
11. News: Chidley-Hill. John. August 11, 2019. Bianca Andreescu wins Rogers Cup after tennis icon Serena Williams retires from final. CBC News.
12. News: Justin Trudeau Says He is 'Deeply Sorry' After Brownface Photo Surfaces. The New York Times. 18 September 2019. Austen. Ian. Bilefsky. Dan.
13. Web site: Elections NWT hopes to boost young adult turnout in 2019 election . CBC . 28 July 2019.
14. News: Brean . Joseph . 22 October 2019 . All-time low share of popular vote is enough for Liberals to win power . 5 January 2024 . The National Post.
15. News: Bianca Andreescu named unanimous winner of Lou Marsh Award as Canada's athlete of the year. Armstrong. Laura. Toronto Star. 2019-12-09. 2019-12-12.
16. Web site: Frank Mugglestone . 4 January 2019.
17. Web site: Hall of Famer and Howe linemate Lindsay dies . 4 March 2019 . 2019-06-21 . 2019-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044617/http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/26133939/hall-famer-howe-linemate-lindsay-dies . live .
18. Web site: Mary Borgstrom . 2019-04-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190404201345/https://gregorysfuneralhomes.com/book-of-memories/3790131/Borgstrom-Mary/index.php . 2019-04-04 . dead .
19. Web site: KREHM, Bill Krehm - Canadian Obituaries.
20. Web site: New Waterford man lived life to the fullest . 2019-05-25 . 2019-05-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190526054623/https://www.capebretonpost.com/living/new-waterford-man-lived-life-to-the-fullest-315512/ . live .
21. Web site: Former MP Edna Anderson, who had 'an iron will,' dies at 96 . 15 July 2019 . 2019-07-15 . 2019-07-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190715122902/https://www.orilliamatters.com/local-news/former-mp-edna-anderson-who-had-an-iron-will-dies-at-96-1584499 . live .
22. Web site: Greg Johnson, who played for Nashville Predators and three other NHL teams, dies at 48 . 2019-07-15 . 2020-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200126230909/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2019/07/09/greg-johnson-nashville-predators-red-wings-penguins-blackhawks-dies-48/1683259001/ . live .