1993 in Canada - Definition and Overview

See also: 1992 in Canada, other events of 1993, 1994 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.

Incumbents

• Prime Minister - Brian Mulroney then Kim Campbell then Jean Chrétien
• Governor General - Ray Hnatyshyn

• Premier of Alberta - Ralph Klein
• Premier of British Columbia - Mike Harcourt
• Premier of Manitoba - Gary Filmon
• Premier of New Brunswick - Frank McKenna
• Premier of Newfoundland - Clyde Wells
• Premier of Nova Scotia - Donald Cameron then John Savage
• Premier of Ontario - Bob Rae
• Premier of Prince Edward Island - Joe Ghiz then Catherine Callbeck
• Premier of Quebec - Robert Bourassa
• Premier of Saskatchewan - Roy Romanow

Events

• January 25 - Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, she is the first feamle premier elected in Canadian history. replacing Joe Ghiz
• February 24 - Brian Mulroney announces his resignation as Prime Minister
• March 4 - Canadian soldiers shoot and kill a Somali man outside their base in Somalia
• March 16 - Canadian soldiers beat to death Shidane Arone, a Somali teenager, in Somalia.
• March 18 - Master Corporal Clayton Matchee is arrested in connection with Arone's death
• April 2 - The Farm Credit Corporation Act is passed
• June - The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act are passed leading to the eventual creation of Nunavut in 1999
• June 11 - John Savage becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Donald Cameron
• June 15 - Alberta election: Ralph Klein's PCs win a seventh consecutive majority
• June 25 - Kim Campbell becomes prime minister, replacing Brian Mulroney. She is the first woman to be the country's head of government
• September 16 - Canadian forces engage in an intensive firefight with Croatian forces during Operation Medak pocket
• October 4 - The Krever Inquiry into Canada's blood system begins
• October 14 - The Tories release an election ad that many see as mocking Jean Chrétien's facial paralysis. See 1993 Chretien ad.
• October 25 - Federal election: Jean Chrétien's Liberals win a majority, defeating Kim Campbell's PCs, which are reduced to two seats. Campbell loses her own seat. The Bloc Québécois form the official opposition
• November 4 - Jean Chrétien sworn in as prime minister, replacing Kim Campbell
• A cow suffering from Mad Cow Disease is found in Alberta it and its herd are slaughtered
• Canadian Major-General Romeo Dallaire appointed commander of the U.N. forces in Rwanda
• Ben Johnson is permanently banned from international competition after again testing positive for banned substances
• Gary Bettman becomes commissioner of the National Hockey League

Arts and Literature

Literature

• Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride
• Jeffrey Simpson, Faultines, Struggling for a Canadian Vision
• Thomas King, One Good Story, That One
• Dave Duncan, The Stricken Field
• Michael Ignatieff, Scar Tissue
• Réjean Ducharme, Dévadé
• Robert J. Sawyer, Fossil Hunter
• Yann Martel, Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios
• Antonine Maillet, Le nuit des roi
• Farley Mowat, My Father's Son
• William Gibson, Virtual Light

Awards

• American-born E. Annie Proulx's The Shipping News wins the American National Book Award
• See 1993 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Books in Canada First Novel Award: John Steffler, The Afterlife of George Cartwright: A Novel
• Geoffrey Bilson Award: Celia Barker Lottridge, Ticket to Curlew
• Gerald Lampert Award: Elisabeth Harvor, Fortress of Chairs and Roberta Rees, Eyes Like Pigeons
• Marian Engel Award: Sandra Birdsell
• Pat Lowther Award: Lorna Crozier, Inventing the Hawk
• Stephen Leacock Award: Joseph Levesque, Waiting for Aquarius
• Trillium Book Award: Jane Urquhart, Away and Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Phoebe Gilman

Television

• This Hour Has 22 Minutes premiers on CBC

Film

• Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould is released

Births

• January 26 - Cameron Bright, actor

Deaths

• January 26 - Jeanne Sauvé, first female Governor General
• February 28 - Ruby Keeler, dancer and actress