1970 in Canada

Part of a series on the
History of Canada
Year list / Timeline
Pre-colonization 1534–1763 1764–1866 1867–1914 1914–1945 1945–1960 1960–1981 1982–1992 1992–present
Topics
Constitutional history Cultural history Economic history Former colonies Immigration history Military history Monarchical history National Historic Sites Persons of significance Population history Territorial evolution
Research
Bibliography Historiography
Portal

Events from the year 1970 in Canada.

Incumbents

Crown

• Head of state (monarch) – Queen Elizabeth II (consort – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh)

Federal government

• Governor general – Roland Michener (viceregal consort – Norah Michener)
• Prime minister – Pierre Trudeau

Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Grant MacEwan
• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – John Robert Nicholson
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Richard Spink Bowles (until September 2) then William John McKeag
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Wallace Samuel Bird
• Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Ewart John Arlington Harnum
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Victor de Bedia Oland
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – William Ross Macdonald
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – John George MacKay
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Hugues Lapointe
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Robert Hanbidge (until February 2) then Stephen Worobetz

Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – Harry Strom
• Premier of British Columbia – W.A.C. Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba – Edward Schreyer
• Premier of New Brunswick – Louis Robichaud (until November 12) then Richard Hatfield
• Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia – G.I. Smith (until October 28) then Gerald Regan
• Premier of Ontario – John Robarts
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – Alexander B. Campbell
• Premier of Quebec – Jean-Jacques Bertrand (until May 12) then Robert Bourassa
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Ross Thatcher

Territorial governments

Commissioners

• Commissioner of Yukon – James Smith
• Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Stuart Milton Hodgson

Events

January to June

• January 1 - The cities Fort William and Port Arthur are merged to create Thunder Bay, Ontario
• January 16 - The federal government announces plans to convert the nation to the metric system
• February 2 - Canada becomes an official observer at the Organization of American States
• February 5 - An oil tanker runs aground in Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia causing a major oil spill
• February 17 - The use of phosphates in laundry detergent is banned
• March 2 - Keith Spicer is appointed as the first Official Languages Commissioner
• March 7 - A total solar eclipse affects the Maritimes
• March 20 - The Francophonie is established with Canada as a founding member
• May 1 - The Capitol Cinema, Ottawa's only movie palace, is closed and later demolished
• May 12 - Robert Bourassa becomes Premier of Quebec after his Liberals defeat the Union Nationale party
• May 22 - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issues the first Canadian content rules for television and radio
• May 29 - The Hudson's Bay Company moves its headquarters from London to Winnipeg, Manitoba
• June 26 - The federal voting age is lowered from 21 to 18

July to December

• July 5 - 109 people are killed in the crash of an Air Canada DC-8.
• August 2 - Three Canadians are killed when a ferry collides with a Soviet freighter off British Columbia
• August 17 - Arthur Erickson is awarded at Expo '70 for his design of the Canadian pavilion
• August 20 - The Sudbury, Ontario tornado event, with winds up to 100 miles per hour, hits Sudbury and Field, Ontario.^[1] It was one of the worst tornadoes in Canadian history — killing six people, injuring 200, and causing C$17 million dollars in property damage.
• October - Canada establishes formal relations with the People's Republic of China.^[2]
• October 5 - October Crisis: British Trade Commissioner James Cross is kidnapped by the FLQ.
• October 5 - Award-winning news & current affairs program, 24Hours starts on CBWT in Winnipeg.
• October 10 - October Crisis: Quebec Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte is kidnapped by FLQ.
• October 16 - October Crisis: Pierre Trudeau introduces the War Measures Act to deal with the FLQ threat. Trudeau also addresses the nation in a televised speech explaining why he invoked the War Measures Act.^[3]
• October 17 - October Crisis: The body of Pierre Laporte is found in the trunk of a car.
• October 28 - Gerald Regan becomes Premier of Nova Scotia after his Liberals defeat George Smith's Conservatives in the 1970 election.
• November 6 - Police raid the hiding place of the FLQ's Chenier cell, arresting Bernard Lortie for the kidnapping and murder of Pierre Laporte.
• November 12 - Richard Hatfield becomes Premier of New Brunswick after his Conservatives defeat Louis Robichaud's Liberals in the 1970 election.
• December 3 - October Crisis: James Cross is released unharmed by FLQ
• December 28 - October Crisis: The FLQ kidnappers of Pierre Laporte are caught.

Full date unknown

• The Royal Commission on the Status of Women reports to Parliament
• TVOntario begins broadcasting
• INCO builds the world's tallest smokestack at Copper Cliff, Ontario
• The Pierre Laporte Bridge opens in Quebec City, at the time it is Canada's longest bridge
• The Don't Make a Wave Committee, the predecessor organization to Greenpeace, is founded in Vancouver
• The first ACTRA Awards are held
• Louis Cyr Monument

Arts and literature

New books

• The Collected Works of Billy the Kid - Michael Ondaatje
• S th story I to: trew adventure - Bill Bissett
• Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
• The Journals of Susanna Moodie - Margaret Atwood
• Il est par là, le soleil - Roch Carrier
• The National Dream - Pierre Berton
• La Rivière sans repos - Gabrielle Roy
• Counterblast - Marshall McLuhan

New plays

• The Ecstasy of Rita Joe - George Ryga

Awards

• See 1970 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Farley Mowat, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Farley Mowat

Film

• Paul Almond's Act of the Heart opens

Music

• June 23 - The first Juno Awards for Canadian music are held.

Sport

The Vancouver Canucks joined the National Hockey League on May 22

• February 16 - Police recover the Grey Cup after it was stolen the previous December.
• April 5 - Bobby Orr becomes the first National Hockey League (NHL) defencemen to win the scoring title.
• May 2 - Montreal is awarded the 1976 Summer Olympics.
• May 22 - The Vancouver Canucks join the National Hockey League.
• The first Arctic Winter Games commence in Yellowknife.

Births

January to March

• January 19 - Donald Haddow, swimmer
• January 24 - Lynn Coady, novelist and journalist
• February 18 - Raine Maida, singer and songwriter
• February 23 - Marie-Josée Croze, actress
• March 18 - Ian Bird, field hockey player
• March 29 - Krista Sutton, actress

April to June

Naomi Klein

• April 8 - J. R. Bourne, actor
• April 11 - Trevor Linden, ice hockey player
• May 3 - Marie-Soleil Tougas, Quebec actress and TV host (d.1997)
• May 4 - Karla Homolka, convicted murderer
• May 8 - Naomi Klein, journalist, author and activist
• May 11 - Heather Stefanson, politician
• May 12 - Mike Weir, golfer
• May 19 - Mario Dumont, politician
• May 20 - Jason York, ice hockey player
• June 2 - Patricia Noall, swimmer and Olympic bronze medalist
• June 3 - Julie Masse, pop singer
• June 12 - Gordon Michael Woolvett, actor
• June 23 - Kerri Buchberger, volleyball player

July to September

• July 14 - Michelle Sawatzky, volleyball player
• August 6 - Michael Strange, boxer
• August 9 - Rod Brind'Amour, ice hockey player
• August 16 - Tina Connelly, track and field athlete
• August 16 - Daren Millard, sportscaster
• August 19 - James Rajotte, politician

Chris Jericho

• September 1 - Mitsou, pop singer, businesswoman, television and radio host and actress
• September 7 - Keltie Duggan, swimmer
• September 19 - Kathryn Humphreys, CityNews sports anchor
• September 24 - Isabelle Turcotte Baird, triathlete

October to December

• October 5 - Tina Poitras, race walker
• October 8 - Heather Jones, field hockey player
• November 9 - Chris Jericho, wrestler, actor, author, radio and television host and rock musician
• November 10 - Sue Reid, field hockey player
• November 12 - Sarah Harmer, singer-songwriter and activist
• November 15 - Jeff Adams, wheelchair athlete, multiple Paralympic medalist and World Champion
• December 15 - Michael Shanks, actor
• December 19 - Jonathan Cleveland, swimmer and Olympic bronze medalist
• December 23 - Catriona Le May Doan, speed skater, double Olympic gold medalist and World Champion
• December 25 - Stu Barnes, ice hockey player and coach

Full date unknown

• Maher Arar, engineer and rendition victim

Deaths

• January 23 - Nell Shipman, actress, screenwriter, producer and animal trainer (b.1892)
• January 29 - Lawren Harris, Group of Seven painter (b.1885)
• February 21 - Louis-René Beaudoin, politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons (b.1912)
• February 27 - Marie Dionne, one of the Dionne quintuplets (b.1934)
• March 23 - Del Lord, film director and actor (b.1894)
• May 9 - Andrew Watson Myles, politician (b.1884)
• May 31 - Terry Sawchuk, ice hockey player (b.1929)
• June 12 - John Keiller MacKay, soldier, jurist and 19th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (b.1888)
• June 22 - William Melville Martin, politician and Premier of Saskatchewan (b.1876)
• October 17 - Pierre Laporte, Quebec politician and Minister, kidnapped and murdered by Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) (b.1921)
• September 12 - Jacob Viner, economist (b.1892)

References

1. ↑ "1970 Sudbury tornado". Sunday Magazine, CBC Radio, August 23, 1970.
2. ↑ Canada Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations with China. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. 13 October 2010. 
3. ↑ Idiot box: Channeling the prime minister(s). National Post, December 3, 2008.

List of years in Canada Pre-Confederation Prehistory–1866 Prehistory to 1 BC 1st millennium 1000s 1400s 1500s 1600s 1610s 1620s 1630s 1640s 1650s 1660s 1670s 1680s 1690s 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 Post-Confederation 1867–present 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Quebec 1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1635 Canadian electoral calendars 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Related List of Canadian monarchs List of Governors General of Canada List of Prime Ministers of Canada Population of Canada by year Timeline Research Bibliography Historiography Category Portal WikiProject