1955 in Canada - Definition and Overview

See also: 1954 in Canada, other events of 1955, 1956 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Prime Minister - Louis Saint Laurent
• Governor General - Vincent Massey

• Premier of Alberta - Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia - W.A.C. Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba - Douglas Campbell
• Premier of New Brunswick - Hugh John Flemming
• Premier of Newfoundland - Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia - Henry Hicks
• Premier of Ontario - Leslie Frost
• Premier of Prince Edward Island - Alex Matheson
• Premier of Quebec - Maurice Duplessis
• Premier of Saskatchewan - Tommy Douglas

Events

• March 17 - A riot erupts in Montreal when Maurice Richard is suspended
• June 9 - Ontario election: Leslie Frost's PCs win a fourth consecutive majority
• June 29 - Alberta election: Ernest Manning's Social Credit Party wins a sixth consecutive majority
• July 11 - seven teenagers die in a mountaineering accident on Mount Temple
• Margaret Gee becomes Canada's first Chinese-Canadian lawyer
• The Canadian Sports Hall of Fame is created
• The Bank of Toronto and the Dominion Bank merge to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank
• Cape Breton Island is connected to the mainland by the Canso Causeway

Arts and Literature

New Books

• Gabrielle Roy - Rue Deschambault

Literary Awards

• See 1955 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Robertson Davies, Leaven of Malice

Music

• Glenn Gould's first recording of the Goldberg Variations is made

Births

• January 11 - Jim Wych, snooker layer
• February 23 - Jerry Holland, fiddler
• February 25 - Camille Thériault, Premier of New Brunswick
• February 27 - MaryAnn Mihychuk, politician
• March 16 - Andy Scott, politician
• April 6 - Cathy Jones, comedian
• April 25 - Jane Stewart, politician
• May 12 - Yvon Godin, politician
• May 14 - Marie Chouinard, dancer
• June 14 - Joe Preston, politician
• July 7 - Gord Mackintosh, politician
• July 17 - Geneviéve Cadieux, artist
• July 19 - Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
• August 19 - Bev Desjarlais, politician
• September 28 - Stéphane Dion, cabinet minister
• October 12 - Jane Siberry, singer
• November 4 - Rodger Cuzner, politician
• November 6 - Kenneth Read, skier
• December 13 - Pat Martin, politician
• Vatche Arslanian, Red Cross worker
• Kim Morrissey, poet
• John Nunziata, politician

Deaths

• May 10 - Tommy Burns, boxer
• August 5 - Izaak Walton Killam, financier
• October 1 - Charles Christie, movie producer
• Walter Seymour Allward, sculptor