2003 in Canada

See also: 2002 in Canada, other events of 2003, 2004 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.

See also:

Table of contents

1 Incumbents
2 Events
3 Arts and Literature
4 Births
5 Deaths

Incumbents

Events

January - A Windsor, Ontario court invalidates Canada's marijuana laws
January 20 - Avalanche kills eight skiers in eastern British Columbia
February 2 - An avalanche in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, kills six boys and one girl.
February 22 - 2003 Canada Winter Games
March 5 - Sui-chu Kwan, who travelled to Hong Kong in February, dies of SARS in Toronto.
March 10 - Scarborough's Grace Hospital closes as a result of SARS, the first of many hospital to do so
March 17 - Health Canada announces 17 suspected SARS cases in Canada
March 26 - Ontario declares a public health emergency as a result of SARS
April 14 - In the Quebec election Jean Charest's Liberals defeat Bernard Landry's Parti Québécois
April 23 - The World Health Organization issues a travel advisory against Toronto because of SARS, Canadian officials protest the decision
April 25 - After more than two weeks with no new cases of SARS health workers begin to feel the disease is contained
April 29 - Jean Charest becomes premier of Quebec, replacing Bernard Landry
May 12 - Holly Jones, a ten-year-old girl, disappears in Toronto. Parts of her body are later found floating in Lake Ontario
May 20 - An Alberta cow is found to have been infected with BSE, the United States, Japan, and a number of other nations halt all imports of Canadian beef
May 22 - SARS re-emerges in a Toronto hospital
June 9 - In the New Brunswick election Bernard Lord's Conservatives lose many seats but are re-elected to a majority government
June 10 - a Toronto court rules that the ban on gay marriage is illegal, and the first marriage takes place that day
June 30 - Canada's first space telecope is launched
July 8 - British Columbia follows Ontario's lead and permits same-sex marriage
July 11 - Zahra Kazemi is beaten to death by Iranian security forces.
August 5 - In the Nova Scotia election John Hamm's Conservatives are re-elected to a minority government
August 9 - The United States eases its ban on Canadian beef
August 14 - The United Church of Canada votes to approve same-sex marriages
August 14 - A massive blackout hits Ontario, Quebec and northeast of the United States
September 23 - The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, 443 square kilometres in size, in the Arctic fractures, releasing all water within a freshwater lake it contained.
October 2 - Ontario Election. Dalton McGuinty's Liberals defeats Ernie Eves's Tories.
October 5 - Maher Arar freed from jail in Syria
October 8 - After serving 19 years of his 25-to-life sentence, a jury finds Colin Thatcher eligible to apply for early parole
October 14 - Puretracks, Canada's first online music store, officially launches
October 21 - Newfoundland and Labrador election: Premier Roger Grimes's Liberals are defeated by Danny Williams's Conservatives
October 23 - Israeli airline El Al Jet is diverted twice, first to Montreal then to Hamilton, Ontario, to allow some passengers off. A threat was made against Toronto's Pearson International Airport.
October 23 - Dalton McGuinty becomes premier of Ontario
November 5 - In the Saskatchewan election Premier Lorne Calvert's NDP is re-elected to a bare majority
November 6 - Danny Williams becomes premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, replacing Roger Grimes
November 10 - Municipal elections occur across Ontario. In the Toronto election David Miller is elected mayor.
November 13 - The Canadian dollar value closes at a 10 year high of $0.7695 US
November 16 - The Edmonton Eskimos win the Grey Cup, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 34 to 22
November 18 - Canada offers Ontario $330 million in relief of the past summer's SARS virus impact
November 19 - An interim report on the cause of the August 14, blackout is released, which blames problems in Ohio.
November 22 - The Heritage Classic, the first outdoor game in NHL history, is played in Edmonton
November 27 - Canadian Alliance Party leader Stephen Harper fires CA Member of Parliament Larry Spencer as Family Values Critic after his anti-gay remarks [1]
November 28 - Liberal Party Member John Manley announces his retirement from politics. [1]
November 28 - Type A influenza kills a boy in southern Ontario. The third victim in the province killed by the same strain of the virus. Numerous influenza-related deaths also reported in the United States and United Kingdom. [1]
November 30 - Abdurahman Khadr retruns to Canada from Afghanistan after being imprisoned by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay.
December 8 - The United States awards Bronze Stars to 26 Canadian soldiers of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group who distinguished themselves serving alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2002. The four who were killed in the friendly fire incident are awarded the medal posthumously. Canadian Chief of Staff, General Ray Henault gives a Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation on behalf of Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. The event takes place in Edmonton.
December 10 - A strike paralyzes BC Ferries.
December 10 - Joe Handley becomes premier of the Northwest Territories, replacing Stephen Kakfwi
December 12 - Paul Martin, Jr is sworn in as Canada's 21st Prime Minister
December 24 - Canada's Department of Agriculture places partial ban on imported beef from United States due to single case of mad cow disease in Washington. Many other countries have made a similar move against US beef.
December 30 - Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson, with her husband John Ralston Saul, arrives in Afghanistan to meet with Canadian troops.

Arts and Literature

Literary Awards

Books in Canada First Novel Award:
Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: M.G. Vassanji - The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
See 2003 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Geoffrey Bilson Award: Joan Clark, The Word for Home
Gerald Lampert Award:
Griffin Poetry Prize: Margaret Avison, Concrete and Wild Carrot
Pat Lowther Award:
Marian Engel Award: Elisabeth Harvor
Matt Cohen Prize: Fred Bodsworth
Norma Fleck Award:
Rogers Prize: Kevin Patterson, Country of Cold
Stephen Leacock Award: Dan Needles, With Axe and Flask - A History of Persephone Township From Pre-Cambrian Times to the Present
Timothy Findley Award: Guy Vanderhaeghe
Trillium Book Award English:
Trillium Book Award French:
Vicky Metcalf Award:

Music

Shania Twain's CD UP is a hit

Television

American Idol comes to Canada as Canadian Idol, hosted by Ben Mulroney (son of Brian Mulroney)
Colin Mochrie leaves; Mary Walsh is expected for six episodes then leave; Shaun Majumder joins This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Jessica Holmes joins Royal Canadian Air Farce, she was once a guest star on the show but for some unknown reason joined the show.

Births

Deaths

June 15 - Hume Cronyn, stage and film actor
June 21 - Roger Neilson, National Hockey League coach
July 10 - Zahra Kazemi, Canadian-Iranian photographer
July 16 - Carol Shields, author
October 15 - Bertram N. Brockhouse, physicist
October 16 - Stu Hart, WWE Wrestler and football player(CFL)
December 16 - Robert Stanfield, Tory leader