1985 in Canada - Definition

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

See 1985 Canadian incumbents for more

Events

• January 26 - Frank Miller elected leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party replacing Bill Davis
• January 30 - The federal government relaxes laws requiring businesses to use the metric system
• February 8 - Frank Miller becomes premier of Ontario, replacing Bill Davis after the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election
• February 10 - A supergroup of Canadian musicians, Northern Lights, gathers to record the charity single Tears Are Not Enough for famine relief in Ethiopia.
• 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 Zündel is found guilty of publishing false news and fermenting racial intolerance
• March - Willard Phelps becomes government leader of Yukon, replacing Chris Pearson
• March - At the so-called Shamrock Summit between Prime Minister Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan the two agree on cooperation on Missile Defence and free trade
• March 12 - Heavily armed Armenian terrorists storm the Turkish embasssy in Ottawa. They kill a security 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 collide 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 blamed.
• 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 17 - The tunagate scandal erupts
• 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 - In the Quebec election, Robert Bourassa's Liberals gain a majority, defeating the Parti Québécois.
• December 12 - Robert Bourassa becomes premier of Quebec for the second time, replacing Pierre-Marc Johnson
• December 12 - The worst airplane accident in Canadian history occurs when an Arrow Airlines flight crashes 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 last episode of The Friendly Giant on CBC

Births

• February 27 - Fefe Dobson, singer
• November 11 - Kalan Porter, singer
• Marc Hall, rights activist

Deaths

• April 21 - Foster Hewitt, broadcaster