1948 in Canada

Events from the year 1948 in Canada.

Incumbents

Crown

• Monarch – George VI

Federal government

• Governor General – the Viscount Alexander of Tunis
• Prime Minister – William Lyon Mackenzie King (until November 15) then Louis St. Laurent
• Chief Justice – Thibaudeau Rinfret (Quebec)
• Parliament – 20th

Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John C. Bowen
• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Charles Arthur Banks
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Roland Fairbairn McWilliams
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – David Laurence MacLaren
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Ray Lawson
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Joseph Alphonsus Bernard
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Eugène Fiset
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Reginald John Marsden Parker (until March 23) then John Michael Uhrich (from March 24)

Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia – Boss Johnson
• Premier of Manitoba – Stuart Garson (until November 13) then Douglas Campbell
• Premier of New Brunswick – John McNair
• Premier of Nova Scotia – Angus Macdonald
• Premier of Ontario – George A. Drew (until October 19) then Thomas Laird Kennedy
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – J. Walter Jones
• Premier of Quebec – Maurice Duplessis
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Tommy Douglas

Territorial governments

Commissioners

• Commissioner of Yukon – John Edward Gibben
• Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside

Events

• June 7 – Ontario election: George Drew's PCs win a second consecutive majority
• June 24 – Saskatchewan election: Tommy Douglas's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation wins a second consecutive majority
• July 22 – A second runoff referendum is held in the 1948 Newfoundland referendums; confederation with Canada is approved, leading to the eventual union between Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland in March 1949.
• August 17 – Alberta election: Ernest Manning's Social Credit Party wins a fourth consecutive majority
• September 6 – The oil well Atlantic No. 3 (near Devon, Alberta), which had been running wild since March 21, catches fire. Smoke affects the atmosphere for hundreds of kilometres until the blaze is put out in November by a team led by Myron M. Kinley and Red Adair.
• October 19 – Thomas Kennedy becomes premier of Ontario, replacing George Drew
• November 13 – Douglas Campbell becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Stuart Garson
• November 15 – Louis Saint Laurent becomes prime minister, replacing Mackenzie King

Arts and literature

Awards

• See 1948 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Paul Hiebert, Sarah Binks

Sport

• February 2 – Barbara Ann Scott becomes the first Canadian to win the figure skating gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland
• April 14 – The Toronto Maple Leafs win their seventh Stanley Cup by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 0.
• April 30 – The Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League's Port Arthur West End Bruins win their only Memorial Cup by defeating the Ontario Hockey Association's Barrie Flyers 4 games to 0. All games were played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto
• November 27 – The undefeated Calgary Stampeders win their first Grey Cup by defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders 12 to 7 in the 36th Grey Cup played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. This Cup is notable for the Stampeders' fans making a party out of the game and launching the Grey Cup festival that precedes the championship game.

Births

January to March

• January 10 – Craig Russell, female impersonator (d. 1990)
• January 12 – Gordon Campbell, politician and 34th Premier of British Columbia
• January 13 – Pat O'Brien, politician
• January 15 – Andy Jones, comedian, writer, actor and director
• January 16 – Cliff Thorburn, snooker player, former world number one

• January 19 – Frank McKenna, businessman, politician, 27th Premier of New Brunswick and diplomat
• January 25 – Sarkis Assadourian, politician
• January 29 – Marc Singer, actor
• February 11 – Shaughnessy Cohen, politician (d. 1998)
• February 13 – Allan Legere, serial killer, rapist, and arsonist (d. 2026)
• February 21 – Chuck Cadman, politician (d. 2005)
• March 14
• Pierre Granche, sculptor (d. 1997)
• Maria Minna, politician
• March 20 – Bobby Orr, ice hockey player
• March 31 – Gary Doer, politician and 20th Premier of Manitoba

April to June

• April 14 – Claude Vivier, composer (d. 1983 in France)
• April 16 – Reg Alcock, politician, minister, MP for Winnipeg South (1993–2006); President of the Treasury Board (2003–2006) (d. 2011)
• April 17 – Wilf Wedmann, high jumper (d. 2021)
• April 20 – Rémy Trudel, academic and politician
• May 11 – John Plohman, politician
• May 16 – Clif Evans, politician
• May 24 – Lorna Crozier, poet and essayist
• June 4
• Margaret Gibson, novelist and short story writer (d. 2006)
• Sandra Post, golfer, first Canadian to play on the LPGA Tour
• June 5 – Bill Smart, middle-distance runner and judge
• June 7 – Welwyn Wilton Katz, children's author
• June 23 – Myles Goodwyn, musician (d. 2023)
• June 29 – Leo Burke, wrestler (d. 2024)

July to September

• July 4 – Katherine Govier, novelist
• July 8 – Raffi, children's entertainer, music producer, author and entrepreneur
• August 2 – Bob Rae, politician and 21st Premier of Ontario
• August 5 – Don Scott, politician
• August 14 – John Edzerza, Yukon MLA (d. 2011)
• August 31 – Marie-Lynn Hammond, folk singer-songwriter, broadcaster and playwright
• September 8 – Stephen Owen, politician (d. 2023)
• September 10 – Margaret Trudeau, wife of the late Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada
• September 19 – James McCrae, politician
• September 21 – Bernard Jean, oboist, conductor, and music educator
• September 24 – Phil Hartman, actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic artist (d. 1998)

October to December

• October 8 – Pat Binns, politician, 30th Premier of Prince Edward Island and diplomat
• October 9 – Brad Woodside, politician, Mayor of Fredericton, New Brunswick
• October 17 – Margot Kidder, actress (d. 2018)
• November 5 – Mike Neary, rower
• November 24 – Spider Robinson, science fiction author
• November 27 – David Branch, ice hockey administrator (d. 2026)
• December 7 – Jay Dahlgren, javelin thrower
• December 30
• Rick Casson, politician
• Pierre Blais, jurist, politician and Minister
• December 31 – René Robert, ice hockey player (d. 2021)

Full date unknown

• Marc Lortie, diplomat

Deaths

• March 14 – Ernest Frederick Armstrong, politician (b. 1878)
• March 28 – John Duncan MacLean, teacher, physician, politician and Premier of British Columbia (b. 1873)
• May 20 – George Beurling, most successful Canadian fighter pilot of World War II (b. 1921)
• May 21 – James Ralston, lawyer, soldier, politician and Minister (b. 1881)

Full date unknown

• Margaret C. MacDonald, nurse (b. 1873)

See also

• List of Canadian films

References