Events from the year 2009 in Canada.
Incumbents
Crown Monarch – Elizabeth II
Federal government Governor General – Michaëlle Jean Prime Minister – Stephen Harper Chief Justice – Beverley McLachlin (British Columbia) Parliament – 40th
Provincial governments
Lieutenant governors Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Norman Kwong Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Steven Point Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – John Harvard (until August 4) then Philip S. Lee Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Herménégilde Chiasson (until September 30) then Graydon Nicholas Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador – John Crosbie Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Mayann Francis Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – David Onley Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Barbara Oliver Hagerman Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Pierre Duchesne Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Gordon Barnhart
Premiers Premier of Alberta – Ed Stelmach Premier of British Columbia – Gordon Campbell Premier of Manitoba – Gary Doer (until October 19) then Greg Selinger Premier of New Brunswick – Shawn Graham Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador – Danny Williams Premier of Nova Scotia – Rodney MacDonald (until June 19) then Darrell Dexter Premier of Ontario – Dalton McGuinty Premier of Prince Edward Island – Robert Ghiz Premier of Quebec – Jean Charest Premier of Saskatchewan – Brad Wall
Territorial governments
Commissioners Commissioner of Yukon – Geraldine Van Bibber Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Tony Whitford Commissioner of Nunavut – Ann Meekitjuk Hanson
Premiers Premier of the Northwest Territories – Floyd Roland Premier of Nunavut – Eva Aariak Premier of Yukon – Dennis Fentie
Events
January to March January 5 – Fourth explosion from 2008-09 British Columbia pipeline bombings destroyed a metering shed near the community of Tomslake, British Columbia. January 8 – Large amount of gang violence in Vancouver starts. January 15 – A large blackout hits Toronto affecting an estimated 250,000 people. January 26 – The 40th Canadian Parliament reopens for its second session after a two-month prorogation. Governor General Michaëlle Jean reads the Speech from the Throne. January 27 – Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presents the 2009 Canadian federal budget to the House of Commons of Canada. January 28
Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff announces the support of the Liberal Party for the budget on the condition that his amendment is included. The first of the 2009 Canadian Tamil protests begin in front of the Consulate General office of Sri Lanka in Toronto. January 29 – 2008-09 York University Strike comes to an end with a count of 42–8 ending the strike. February 19 – Newly sworn American president Barack Obama made his first foreign trip by visiting Canada. February 22 – Spanish fishing vessel Monte Galineiro sank off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. March 12 – A helicopter crash off the coast of Newfoundland kills 17. March 17 – Former U.S. president George W. Bush gave a talk in Calgary, Alberta. March 29 – Researchers from the University of Toronto discover GhostNet.
April to September April 2 – Stephen Harper attends the 2009 G-20 London summit. April 6 – Tamil protesters gather at Parliament Hill, Ottawa for a non-stop, continuous protest requesting Harper to call for a ceasefire to the Sri Lankan Civil War. Six people begin their own hunger strikes. April 8 – Victoria "Tori" Stafford is abducted from Oliver Stephens Public School in Woodstock, Ontario. April 26 – First cases of the 2009 H1N1 outbreak are confirmed in Canada. April 30 – Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention is held in Vancouver, British Columbia. May 6 – Canada begins negotiations with the European Union on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. May 20 – Two people, Michael Thomas Rafferty, and Terri-Lyne McClintic are charged with the abduction and murder of Victoria "Tori" Stafford. June 17 – School stabbings happen at St. Joseph Secondary School in Mississauga. June 22 – Start of the 2009 City of Toronto inside and outside workers strike. June 24 to July 3 – Death and state funeral of Roméo LeBlanc, former Governor General July 4 – Natural gas line was bombed for the sixth time near Dawson Creek. July 8 – Stephen Harper attends the 35th G8 summit. July 9 – A small plane crashed on final approach to Vancouver International Airport, killing all two people on board. No one on the ground was injured, while an IKEA in the parking lot suffered some damage. July 17 – R. v. Grant is ruled on at the Supreme Court of Canada. July 23 – Shawn Atleo is chosen as the organization's new national chief at the Assembly of First Nations leadership convention. August 1 – One person was killed and seventy-five others were injured, when the stage collapsed at the Big Valley Jamboree due to a severe thunderstorm and high winds. August 6 – The 67th World Science Fiction Convention is held in Montreal, Quebec at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. August 19 – CrossIron Mills opens near the Calgary area. August 20 – 18 tornadoes rated up to F2 struck Southwestern Ontario, Central Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area.
October to December October 17 Greg Selinger is chosen as the new leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party and the new premier of Manitoba. Danielle Smith is chosen as the new leader of the Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta. October 18 – Gilles Taillon is chosen as the new leader of the Action démocratique du Québec. October 20 – Former U.S. president George W. Bush spoke in Edmonton, Alberta. October 22 – Former U.S. president George W. Bush spoke in Montreal, Quebec. October 29 – The premiers of New Brunswick and Quebec sign a memorandum of understanding to sell most assets of NB Power to Hydro-Quebec for C$4.75 billion. October – Art Battle Canada painting events are started in Toronto. November 9 – Four by-elections are held to fill vacancies in the House of Commons. November 10 – Just 23 days after assuming the leadership of the Action démocratique du Québec, Gilles Taillon resigns, citing both caucus infighting and alleged irregularities in the party's financial records which he called on the Sûreté du Québec to investigate."Beleaguered ADQ chief wants out". The Globe and Mail, November 10, 2009. November 15 – Mike Schreiner is chosen as the new leader of the Green Party of Ontario. December 10 – The Olympic torch arrives at Parliament Hill and is carried into the House by Barbara Ann Scott. December 15 – Haitian prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive is welcomed to Canada to talk about security and development of Haiti
Unknown date The government cryptologic agency, Tutte Institute for Mathematics and Computing, is founded.
Arts and literature
Art March 6 – Art and Social Responsibility The Interdependence of the Arts and Civil Society conference is held in Toronto, Ontario.
Film
January 23 – 3 saisons is released in Quebec April 4 – The 29th Genie Awards are held at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. September 10 – The 2009 Toronto International Film Festival was held.
Music
March 29 – The Juno Awards of 2009 are held in Vancouver, hosted by Russell Peters. September 21 – The 2009 Polaris Music Prize is won by Fucked Up for their album The Chemistry of Common Life.
Television
Literature Scotiabank Giller Prize – Linden MacIntyre, The Bishop's Man
Sport
January 4 – The 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge is held in several cities in the Lower Mainland. January 6 – Team Canada wins the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for the 5th time in a row. February 4 – The 2009 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is held in Vancouver. March 12 – The 2009 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships are held in Richmond, BC. April 13 – The 2009 Allan Cup is held in Steinbach, Manitoba. May 15 – The 2009 season of the Canadian Soccer League starts. May 24 – Windsor Spitfires won their First Memorial Cup by defeating the Kelowna Rockets 4 to 1. The Tournament was played at Colisée de Rimouski in Rimouski, Quebec June 20 – In the 2009 Men's Pan-American Volleyball Cup, Canada placed second in group A. July 12 – The 2009 Honda Indy Toronto takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto. July 26 The Trophée des Champions Final was held in Montreal. The 2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy takes place at the Rexall Speedway. August 12 – 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships is held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia on Lake Banook. August 15 – Canada competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics October 12 – The Canadian National Challenge Cup 2009 was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. November 28 – Queen's Golden Gaels won their Fourth(and First since 1992) Vanier Cup by defeating the Calgary Dinos 33 to 31 in the 45th Grey Cup played at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City November 29 – Montreal Alouettes won their Sixth Grey Cup by defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28 to 27 in the 97th Grey Cup played at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.
Deaths
January January 1 – Hubert Desbiens, politician, (born 1931). January 8 – Richard John Neuhaus, churchman and author (born 1936) January 10 – Jean Pelletier, politician and Mayor of Quebec City (born 1935) January 11 – Daryl Seaman, businessman (born 1922) January 20 – Stan Hagen, politician (born 1940) January 22 – John Alan Beesley, diplomat and civil servant (born 1927) January 23 Helen Maksagak, politician, first woman and first Inuk Northwest Territories Commissioner (born 1931) Percy Smith, barrister, lawyer and politician (born 1922) January 31 Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, politician and Senator (born 1928) Dewey Martin, rock drummer (born 1940)
February February 2 – Russ Germain, radio presenter (born 1947) February 5 John W. Grace, first Privacy Commissioner of Canada (born 1927) Leo Orenstein, director, producer and writer (b.c. 1919) February 6 – George Karpati, neurologist and neuroscientist (born 1934) February 8 – Bob Stephen, Canadian football player (born 1958) February 23 Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook, portrait sculptor (born 1913) Scott Symons, writer (born 1933) February 25 – Molly Kool, North America's first registered female sea captain (born 1916) February 27 – James Page Mackey, chief of Toronto Police Service (born 1913)
March
March 1 – Alf Pike, ice hockey player and coach (born 1917) March 2 – Michael Baker, politician (born 1957) March 3 Gilbert Parent, politician and 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (born 1935) Alessandro De Rango, mathematician (born 1959) March 4 – Yvon Cormier, wrestler (born 1938) March 9 – Larry Regan, ice hockey player, coach and manager (born 1930) March 10 – Tom Hanson, photojournalist (born 1967) March 11 – Harvey Lowe, broadcaster and yo-yo world champion (born 1918) March 13 – Andrew Martin, wrestler (born 1975) March 15 – Edmund Hockridge, singer and actor (born 1919) March 17 – Gaston Labrèche, Chief Justice of Quebec Superior Court March 18 – Donald Tolmie, politician (born 1923) March 21 Walt Poddubny, ice hockey player and coach (born 1960) Doug Frith, MP for Sudbury (1980–1988), Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1984) (born 1945) March 22 – Archie Green, folklorist and musicologist (born 1917) March 26 – Shane McConkey, extreme skier and base jumper (born 1969) March 29 – Ivor Dent, politician and mayor of Edmonton (born 1924)
April April 2 Émilie Lavoie, supercentenarian (born 1898) Albert Sanschagrin, Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec (born 1911) April 6 – J. M. S. Careless, historian (born 1919) April 8 – Victoria Stafford, murder victim (born 2000) April 10 – Frank Morris Canadian football player (born 1923) April 12 Derek Weiler, editor and writer (born 1968) Danny Cameron, politician (born 1924) Kent Douglas, ice hockey player and coach (born 1936) April 23 – Gordon Gair, lacrosse player (born 1916) April 24 – Orville Howard Phillips, politician and Senator (born 1924)