1966 in Canada

Events from the year 1966 in Canada.

← 1965 1964 1963 1966 in Canada → 1967 1968 1969
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	History of Canada Timeline of Canadian history List of years in Canada

Incumbents

Crown

• Monarch – Elizabeth II

Federal government

• Governor General – Georges Vanier
• Prime Minister – Lester B. Pearson
• Chief Justice – Robert Taschereau (Quebec)
• Parliament – 27th

Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John Percy Page (until January 6) then Grant MacEwan
• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – George Pearkes
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Richard Spink Bowles
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – John B. McNair
• Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Fabian O'Dea
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Henry Poole MacKeen
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – William Earl Rowe
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Willibald Joseph MacDonald
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Paul Comtois (until February 22) then Hugues Lapointe
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Robert Hanbidge

Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia – W.A.C. Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba – Dufferin Roblin
• Premier of New Brunswick – Louis Robichaud
• Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia – Robert Stanfield
• Premier of Ontario – John Robarts
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – Walter Shaw (until July 28) then Alexander B. Campbell
• Premier of Quebec – Jean Lesage (until June 16) then Daniel Johnson, Sr.
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Ross Thatcher

Territorial governments

Commissioners

• Commissioner of Yukon – Gordon Robertson Cameron (until November 7) then James Smith
• Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Bent Gestur Sivertz

Events

• January 1: The Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan both begin operation
• February 25: Toronto Transit Commission inaugurates the Bloor-Danforth Subway line.
• March 4: The Munsinger Affair is Canada's first major political sex scandal
• May 1: Army camps, RCAF stations, and the RCN's land-based installations become Canadian Forces bases. Training schools and the pay system are unified.
• May 18: Paul Joseph Chartier is killed when a bomb he is carrying goes off on Parliament Hill
• June 5: The Union Nationale under Daniel Johnson, Sr. is elected in Quebec.

Montreal Metro opens

• June 16: Daniel Johnson, Sr., becomes premier of Quebec, replacing Jean Lesage
• July 28: Alexander B. Campbell becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing Walter Shaw
• September 1: The CBC becomes the first Canadian television network to broadcast in colour, followed within days by the private-sector CTV Television Network.
• October 14: Montreal inaugurates its metro system (see Montreal Metro).
• October 17: The Montreal Metro opens
• November 4: Bill C-243, The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act, is introduced in Parliament.
• December 31: The Centennial Flame in front of Parliament Hill is lit
• The Revolutionary Strategy and the Role of the Avant-Garde outlining the strategy of the FLQ is written.
• The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program is established.
• The Medical Care Act is passed, helping set up the Medicare system

Unknown

• The first Brazilian Carnival Ball is held in Toronto.
• The Glenbow Museum opens in Calgary.

Arts and literature

New works

• Cold Mountain. Singing Hands Series 3 by B. P. Nichol
• The Circle Game by Margaret Atwood
• Expeditions by Margaret Atwood
• Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein by Margaret Atwood
• Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen

Awards

• See 1966 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: George Bain, Nursery Rhymes to Be Read Aloud by Young Parents with Old Children
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Fred Savage

Music

• March 3: Canadian Neil Young, joins Stephen Stills and Richie Furay to form Buffalo Springfield.

Television

• Star Trek premieres starring Montreal actor William Shatner

Sports

• January 7 – Gene Kiniski wins his first (and only) NWA World Heavyweight Championship title by defeating Lou Thesz. Kiniski becomes the third Canadian to win the NWA title
• March 5 – The Toronto Varsity Blues win their first University Cup by defeating the Alberta Golden Bears 8–1, The final game was played at Sudbury Community Arena
• March 12 – Bobby Hull sets the record for the most goals in a National Hockey League (NHL) season.
• May 5 – The Montreal Canadiens win their 14th Stanley Cup by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 2. Bracebridge, Ontario's Roger Crozier won the Conn Smythe Trophy in a losing effort.
• May 15 – The Central Alberta Hockey League's Edmonton Oil Kings win their second Memorial Cup by defeating the Ontario Hockey Association's Oshawa Generals 4 games 2. All games were played Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto
• November 19 – The St. Francis Xavier X-Men win their first Vanier Cup by defeating the Waterloo Lutheran Golden Hawks 40–14 in the 2nd Vanier Cup played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto
• November 26 – The Saskatchewan Roughriders win their first Grey Cup by defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders 29–14 in the 54th Grey Cup played at Empire Stadium in Vancouver

Births

January to March

• January 2 – James Cantor, clinical psychologist and sexologist
• January 14 – Rene Simpson, tennis player (d. 2013)
• January 23 – Bernadette Bowyer, field hockey player
• January 24 – Michael Forgeron, rower and Olympic gold medallist
• January 30 – Doug Wood, pole vaulter
• February 17 – Luc Robitaille, ice hockey player
• February 20 – Louis Ferreira, actor
• February 27 – Donal Logue, actor
• March 1 – Susan Auch, speed skater and double Olympic silver medallist
• March 16 – Chrissy Redden, cyclist
• March 20 – Chris Gifford, field hockey player
• March 25 – Jeff Healey, jazz and blues-rock guitarist and vocalist (d. 2008)
• March 25 – David Hohl, wrestler
• March 29 – Pamela Rai, Olympic swimmer
• March 31 – Nathalie Gosselin, judoka

April to June

• April 14 – André Boisclair, politician
• April 15 – Beverly Thomson, television personality, journalist, and correspondent for CTV Television Network
• April 19 – David La Haye, actor
• April 20 – Vincent Riendeau, ice hockey player and coach
• April 24 – David Usher, rock singer-songwriter
• May 2 – Belinda Stronach, politician and Minister, businessperson and philanthropist
• May 11 – Michelle MacPherson, swimmer and Olympic bronze medallist
• May 12 – Anne Ottenbrite, swimmer and Olympic gold medallist
• May 23 – Gary Roberts, ice hockey player
• June 5 – Dwayne Hill, voice actor
• June 12 – Michael Redhill, poet, playwright and novelist
• June 18 – Kurt Browning, figure skater and four-time World Champion, choreographer
• June 24 – Debbie Fuller, diver
• June 26 – Kirk McLean, ice hockey player
• June 29 – John Part, darts player
• June 30 – Peter Outerbridge, actor

July to September

• August 3 – Brent Butt, comedian and TV producer
• August 27 – Gianni Vignaduzzi, track cyclist
• September 10 – Joe Nieuwendyk, ice hockey player and manager
• September 27 – Gerry Byrne, politician

October to December

Kiefer Sutherland at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2014

• October 17 – Peter Milkovich, field hockey player and coach
• October 24 – Conrad Pla, kickboxer and actor
• October 25 – Wendel Clark, ice hockey player
• November 8 – Michael Soles, footballer (d. 2021)
• November 9 – Lisa Faust, field hockey player
• November 11 – Peaches, musician
• November 14 – André Gingras, dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
• November 16 – Dean McDermott, Canadian-American actor
• November 21 – Christopher Bowie, swimmer
• December 1 – Larry Walker, baseball player
• December 5 – Deb Whitten, field hockey player
• December 8 – Tyler Mane, actor and wrestler
• December 10 – Dana Murzyn, ice hockey player
• December 14 – Bill Ranford, ice hockey player
• December 19 – Darren Dutchyshen, sportscaster (d. 2024)
• December 21 – Kiefer Sutherland, actor

Full date unknown

• Stéphane Demers, actor

Deaths

• January 22 – Morris Gray, politician (b.1889)
• February 6 - R.T.M. Scott, author
• April 8 – Robert Methven Petrie, astronomer (b.1906)
• July 11 – Andrew McNaughton, army officer, politician and diplomat (b.1887)
• September 5 – William Murdoch Buchanan, politician (b.1897)
• September 10 – Blodwen Davies, writer (b.1897)
• September 15 – Leonard Brockington, lawyer, civil servant and first head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) (b.1888)
• October 18 – Elizabeth Arden, businesswoman (b.1884)
• November 23 - Jean Baptiste Paul, Canadian First Nations wrestler (b.1896)
• December 2 - Ralph Allen, author and journalist (b.1913)

See also

• 1966 in Canadian television
• List of Canadian films