Wikipedia: 1985 in Canada

1985 in Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

See also: 1984 in Canada, other events of 1985, 1986 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

Prime Minister - Brian Mulroney
Governor General - Jeanne Sauvé
Premier of Alberta - Peter Lougheed then Don Getty
Premier of British Columbia - Bill Bennett
Premier of Manitoba - Howard Pawley
Premier of New Brunswick - Richard Hatfield
Premier of Newfoundland - Brian Peckford
Premier of Nova Scotia - John Buchanan
Premier of Ontario - Bill Davis then Frank Miller then David Peterson
Premier of Prince Edward Island - James Lee
Premier of Quebec - René Lévesque then Pierre-Marc Johnson then Robert Bourassa
Premier of Saskatchewan - Grant Devine

Events

January 26 - Frank Miller elected leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party replacing Bill Davis
January 30 - The federal govrnment relaxes laws requiring businesses to use the metric system
February 8 - Frank Miller becomes premier of Ontario, replacing Bill Davis
February 11 - The federal and Newfoundland governments sign the Atlantic Accord paving the way for joint development of Newfoundland's offshore oil and gas reserves
February 12 - Minister of National Defence Robert Coates resigns after it is revealed that he visited a strip-club while on government business in Germany
February 13 - Denis Lortie is found guilty of murder for his attack on the Quebec National Assembly that killed three
February 28 - Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel is found guilty of publishing false news and fermenting racial intolerance
March - Willard Phelps becomes government leader of Yukon, replacing Chris Pearson
March 12 - Heavily armed Armenian terrorists strom the Turkish embasssy in Ottawa they kill a secutiry guard and hold a dozen people hostage for four hours
March 21 - Rick Hansen launches his Man in Motion world tour to raise money for spinal cord research
March 29 - 10 are killed after two military planes colide near CFB Edmonton
April 24 - The Supreme Court rules the Lord's Day Act violates Canadians' freedom of religion
May - Tony Penikett becomes government leader of Yukon, replacing Willard Phelps
May 2 - Ontario election: Frank Miller's PCs win a minority, but David Peterson's Liberals will form a coalition with the NDP, forcing Miller to resign
May 9 - The Supreme Court rules that Orders-in-Council are subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
May 31 - A tornado in Barrie, Ontario kills twelve
June 23 - Air India flight 182 blows up en-route from Toronto to London, Sikh terrorists are blammed.
June 26 - David Peterson becomes premier of Ontario, replacing Frank Miller
September 1 - The wreck of the RMS Titanic is found off the coast of Newfoundland
September 6 - The Canadian Encyclopedia is launched
September 20 - Lincoln Alexander becomes the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, the first Black person to hold a vice regal position in Canadian history
September 25 - The Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology opens in Drumheller, Alberta
October 3 - Pierre-Marc Johnson becomes premier of Quebec, replacing René Lévesque
November 1 - Don Getty becomes premier of Alberta, replacing Peter Lougheed
November 5 - Nick Sibbeston becomes government leader of the Northwest Territories, replacing Richard Nerysoo
December 2 - A the so-called Shamrock Sumit between Prime Minister Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan the two agree on cooperation on Missile Defence and free trade
December 12 - Robert Bourassa becomes premier of Quebec for the second time, replacing Pierre-Marc Johnson
December 12 - The worst airplane accident in Canadian histroy occurs when an Arrow Arilines flight crahses soon after take-off from Gander, Newfoundland. 256 people are killed.
Corel is founded in Ottawa

Arts and literature

New books

Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
Colin Thatcher - Backrooms: A Story of Politics
Erin Mouré - Domestic Fuel
Farley Mowat - My Discovery of America

Awards

See 1985 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Books in Canada First Novel Award: G. Ursell, Perdue, or How the West Was Lost
Gerald Lampert Award: Paulette Jiles, Celestial Navigation
Pat Lowther Award: Paulette Jiles, Celestial Navigation
Stephen Leacock Award: Ted Allan, Love is a Long Shot
Vicky Metcalf Award: Edith Fowke

Television

The Friendly Giant premiers on CBC

Births

Marc Hall, rights activist

Deaths

April 21 - Foster Hewitt, broadcaster