1968 in Canada

Crown

• Monarch – Elizabeth II^[1]

Federal government

• Governor General – Roland Michener^[2]
• Prime Minister – Lester B. Pearson (until April 20) then Pierre Trudeau
• Chief Justice – John Robert Cartwright (Ontario)
• Parliament – 27th (until April 23) then 28th (from September 12)

Provincial governments

Territorial governments

January to June

• February 1 – The three branches of the Canadian Forces are merged into one, adopting a common green uniform and Army-derived ranks
• February 20 – Prime Minister Pearson gives the first ever televised address to the nation as he tells Canadians that he will table a confidence motion the next day to prove his party still has control. After a week of filibustering by the Opposition, the motion passes.^[3]
• April 1 – The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is formed
• April 6 – Pierre Trudeau wins 1968 Liberal Party leadership election^[4]
• May 14 – The grand opening of the Toronto-Dominion Centre is held
• June 1 – The flag of Alberta is authorized
• June 24 – Separatists riot in Montreal on S^t-Jean-Baptiste Day
• June 25 – Federal election: Pierre Trudeau's Liberals win a majority

July to December

• July 1 – The laws creating Canada's Medicare system come into effect
• July 18–August 9 – Canada Post workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers go on strike
• August 20 – Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia to end the "Prague Spring" of political liberalization. Thousands of refugees flee to Canada.
• September 26 – Daniel Johnson, Sr, Premier of Quebec, dies in office
• October 2 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand becomes premier of Quebec
• October 15 – The Mouvement Souveraineté-Association merges with the Ralliement National to create the Parti Québécois, René Lévesque is selected as the party's first leader
• December 12 – Harry Strom becomes premier of Alberta, replacing Ernest Manning
• December 31 – Quebec's Legislative Assembly is renamed the National Assembly

Full date unknown

• IMAX technique invented
• Canada's new Divorce Act introduces no fault divorce
• The Rochdale College experiment begins in Toronto

New works

• Alice Munro – Dance of the Happy Shades
• Mordecai Richler – Hunting Tigers Under Glass
• Robert Fulford – This Was Expo
• John Newlove – Black Night Window
• Kildare Dobbs – Reading the Time
• Mordecai Richler – Cocksure
• Robert Kroetsch – Alberta
• Marian Engel – No Clouds of Glory
• Gordon R. Dickson – Soldier, Ask Not
• Farley Mowat – This Rock Within the Sea: A Heritage Lost

Poetry

• Margaret Atwood – The Animals in That Country
• Mary Alice Downie and Barbara Robertson, editors, The Wind Has Wings, anthology of 77 Canadian poems for children (anthology)
• Dennis Lee, editor, T. O. Now, anthology of 13 "apprentice poets living in Toronto" (anthology)
• Joe Rosenblatt, Winter of the Luna Moon
• Irving Layton, The Shattered Plinths, 60 new poems
• Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-1968
• Al Purdy, Wild Grape Wine
• Dorothy Livesay, The Documentaries, poems from the 1930s and 1940s, and including "Roots", a long poem

Awards

• David Suzuki wins UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for science writing
• See 1968 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Max Ferguson, And Now...Here's Max
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Lorraine McLaughlin

Theatre

• August 28 – Michel Tremblay's Les Belles-Sœurs premiers in Montreal.

Art

• December 18 – Henry Moore donates hundreds of works to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

January to March

• January 1 – Darren Greer, writer
• January 5 – Joé Juneau, ice hockey player
• January 7 – Tara Croxford, field hockey player
• January 13 – Pat Onstad, international soccer player
• January 14 – Michael Meldrum, swimmer
• January 19 - Matt Hill, voice actor
• January 28 – Sarah McLachlan, musician, singer and songwriter
• February 1 – Mark Recchi, ice hockey player
• February 9 – Joel Brough, field hockey player
• February 22 – Shawn Graham, politician and 31st Premier of New Brunswick
• February 27 – Matt Stairs, baseball player
• March 14 – Megan Follows, Canadian-American actress^[5]
• March 17 – Patty Sullivan, television personality
• March 19 – Liam Jewell, sprint canoer
• March 30 – Celine Dion, singer, songwriter and actress^[6]

April to June

• April 12 – Adam Graves, ice hockey player
• April 18 – David Hewlett, UK-born actor
• April 20 – Evan Solomon, writer, magazine publisher and television host
• May 8 – Louise Stratten, actress and younger sister of the murdered actress Dorothy Stratten
• May 12 – Jane Kerr, swimmer
• May 14 – Mary DePiero, diver^[7]
• May 20 – William Irwin, boxer
• May 30 – Jason Kenney, politician and Minister
• June 1 – Jeff Hackett, ice hockey player and coach
• June 7 – Macha Grenon, actress
• June 10 – Susan Haskell, actress
• June 16 – Lyne Poirier, judoka
• June 27 – Pascale Bussières, actress
• June 29 – Theoren Fleury, ice hockey player^[8]

July to September

• July 2 – Mark Tewksbury, swimmer and Olympic gold medalist
• July 11 – Michael Cram, actor and singer-songwriter
• July 12 – Paul Hopkins, actor
• July 22 – Harry Taylor, swimmer
• July 23 – Shawn Levy, director and producer
• August 5 – Terri Clark, country music singer
• August 10 – Greg Hawgood, ice hockey player
• August 20 – Jody Holden, beach volleyball player
• September 9 – Lisa Lougheed, singer and actress
• September 19 – Shawn Doyle, actor
• September 20 – Leah Pinsent, actress
• September 22 – Lisa Alexander, synchronised swimmer
• September 23 – Donna McGinnis, swimmer

October to December

• October 2 – Sandy Goss, swimmer
• October 2 – Glen Wesley, ice hockey player
• October 26 – Tom Cavanagh, actor
• November 1 – Andrea Nugent, swimmer
• November 3 – Debbie Rochon, actress
• November 5 – Terry McGurrin, actor, comedian and writer
• November 14 – Serge Postigo, actor
• November 19 – Gord Fraser, road racing cyclist
• November 25 – Jill Hennessy, actress and musician, and Jacqueline Hennessy, actress and journalist
• December 2 – Darren Ward, swimmer
• December 3 – Brendan Fraser, actor
• December 10 – Caroline Wittrin, hammer thrower
• December 17 – Paul Tracy, racing car driver