1953 in Canada

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1953 in Canada" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

← 1952 1951 1950 1953 in Canada → 1954 1955 1956
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	History of Canada Timeline of Canadian history List of years in Canada

Part of a series on the
History of Canada
Benjamin West's The Death of General Wolfe
Timeline (list) Pre-colonization 1534–1763 1764–1867 1867–1914 1914–1945 1945–1960 1960–1981 1982–present
Significant Events Sites People
Topics Agricultural Cultural Constitutional Economic Former colonies Immigration Indigenous Medicine Military Monarchical Peacekeeping Population Sports Religion Territorial evolution Women
Provinces Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Nunavut Northwest Territories Nova Scotia Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon
Cities Brampton Charlottetown Edmonton Fredericton Halifax Hamilton Lethbridge Markham Moncton Montreal Northwest Territories capital cities Ottawa Quebec City Saint John Regina Richmond Hill Saskatoon Toronto Vancouver Winnipeg (Name etymologies)
Research Bibliography Historiography Historians Studies Surveys
Canada portal
v t e

Events from the year 1953 in Canada.

• Monarch – Elizabeth II^[1]

• Governor General – Vincent Massey^[2]
• Prime Minister – Louis St. Laurent
• Chief Justice – Thibaudeau Rinfret (Quebec)
• Parliament – 21st (until 13 June) then 22nd (from 12 November)

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John J. Bowlen
• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Clarence Wallace
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Roland Fairbairn McWilliams (until August 1) then John Stewart McDiarmid
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – David Laurence MacLaren
• Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Leonard Outerbridge
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Alistair Fraser
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Louis Orville Breithaupt
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Thomas William Lemuel Prowse
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Gaspard Fauteux
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – William John Patterson

• 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 – Angus Macdonald
• Premier of Ontario – Leslie Frost
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – J. Walter Jones (until May 25) then Alex Matheson
• Premier of Quebec – Maurice Duplessis
• Premier of Saskatchewan – Tommy Douglas

• Commissioner of Yukon – Wilfred George Brown
• Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Hugh Andrew Young (until November 15) then Robert Gordon Robertson

• January 1 – The National Library of Canada is founded.
• January 9 – Marguerite Pitre becomes the thirteenth, and last, woman hanged in Canada when she is executed in Montréal.^[3]
• January 27 – The Canadian Dental Association approves the use of fluoride in drinking water^[4]
• May 25 – Alex Matheson becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing J. Walter Jones
• June 2 – Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of Canada. In Korea the Canadian Army celebrates the coronation by firing red, white, and blue smoke shells at the enemy.
• July 13 – The Stratford Festival of Canada opens
• July 27 – The Korean War ends. In total 314 Canadians were killed and 1211 wounded.
• August 10 – Federal election: Louis Saint Laurent's Liberals win a fifth consecutive majority.
• October 12 – Wilfrid Laurier Memorial unveiled
• October 15 – The Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline is completed
• October 25 – Canada's first privately owned television station, CKSO, broadcasts in Sudbury.
• The federal Immigration Act is amended to prohibit homosexuals entry into Canada. This amendment was repealed in 1977.

• See 1953 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Lawrence Earl, The Battle of Baltinglass

• April 16 - Montreal Canadiens won their Seventh Stanley Cup by defeating the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1. The deciding Game 5 was played at the Montreal Forum
• May 6 - Ontario Hockey Association's Barrie Flyers won their Second Memorial Cup by defeating the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's St. Boniface Canadiens 4 games to 1. The deciding Game 5 was played at Wheat City Arena in Brandon, Manitoba
• November 28 - Hamilton Tiger-Cats won their First Grey Cup by defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12–6 in the 41st Grey Cup played at Toronto's Varsity Stadium

• January 7
  • Dionne Brand, poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
  • Morris Titanic, ice hockey player and coach
• January 19 – Richard Legendre, tennis player and politician
• January 29 – Pierre Jacob, politician
• February 5 – Eric Robinson, politician
• February 15
  • David Chomiak, politician
  • Gerald Keddy, politician
• February 16 – Lanny McDonald, ice hockey player
• February 17 – Borys Chambul, discus thrower
• February 18 – Robbie Bachman, drummer (d. 2023)
• February 20 – Gaëtan Dugas, early AIDS patient, the alleged and debunked Patient Zero for AIDS (d.1984)
• March 10 – Debbie Brill, high jumper
• March 13 – Stephanie Berto, track and field athlete
• March 17 – Lewis Camden, politician
• April 2 – Janet Nutter, diver
• April 17 – Dany Laferrière, novelist and journalist
• April 18 – Rick Moranis, comedian, actor and musician
• May 11 – Celine Lomez, actress and singer
• May 14 – Tom Cochrane, singer-songwriter and musician
• May 21 - Kathleen Wynne, 25th premier of Ontario
• June 23 – Raymonde April, photographer
• June 23 – Albina Guarnieri, politician and Minister

• July 3 – Dave Lewis, ice hockey player and coach
• July 9 – Margie Gillis, dancer and choreographer
• July 15 – Richard Margison, operatic tenor
• July 15 – Mila Mulroney, wife of the 18th Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney
• July 22 – Paul Quarrington, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and musician
• July 25 – Barbara Haworth-Attard, children's author
• July 29 – Geddy Lee, singer, bassist and keyboardist
• August 11 – Greg Duhaime, middle-distance runner
• August 17 – Robert Thirsk, engineer and astronaut
• August 27 – Alex Lifeson, guitarist
• September 16 – Nancy Huston, novelist and essayist
• September 29 - Jean-Claude Lauzon, Quebec filmmaker (d. 1997)
• September 30 – S. M. Stirling, science fiction and fantasy author

• October 12 – Daniel Louis, film producer
• October 24
  • Charles Colbourn, computer scientist and mathematician
  • Jim Pettie, ice hockey player (d.2019)
• October 29 – Denis Potvin, ice hockey player
• November 26 – Pam Barrett, politician (d.2008)
• November 28 – John Majhor, radio and television host (d.2007)
• December 7 – Carmen Rinke, boxer
• December 13 – Bob Gainey, ice hockey player and coach
• December 18 – Daniel Poliquin, novelist and translator
• December 23 – Holly Dale, film and television director and film producer

• Patrick LaForge, president and CEO of the Edmonton Oilers

• January 2 – Gordon Daniel Conant, lawyer, politician and 12th Premier of Ontario (b.1885)
• January 5 – Mitchell Hepburn, politician and 11th Premier of Ontario (b.1896)
• February 16 – Norman Hipel, politician and Minister (b.1890)
• March 20 – John Livingstone Brown, politician (b.1867)

• May 4 – James Tompkins, priest and educator (b.1870)
• September 19 – Gordon Graydon, politician (b.1897)
• November 29 – Sam De Grasse, actor (b.1875)
• December 26 – David Milne, painter, printmaker and writer (b.1882)

• 1953 in Canadian television
• List of Canadian films