1994 in Canada
See also: 1993 in Canada, other events of 1994, 1995 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.
Incumbents
- 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 - John Savage
- Premier of Ontario - Bob Rae
- Premier of Prince Edward Island - Catherine Callbeck
- Premier of Quebec - Robert Bourassa then Daniel Johnson, Jr. then Jacques Parizeau
- Premier of Saskatchewan - Roy Romanow
Events
- Winter - One of the coldest winters on record hits much of Canada
- January 1 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
- January 11 - Daniel Johnson, Jr., becomes premier of Quebec, replacing Robert Bourassa
- February - the first Liberal budgetslashes spending in an effort to cut the deficit. Unemployment Insurance and provincial transfer payments are especially hard hit
- February 27 - The 1994 Winter Olympics beign in Lillehammer Norway.
- March 21 - A civilian inquiry in the behaviour of the Canadian Airborne in Somalia is launched
- April 5 - The Just Desserts shooting occurs in Toronto
- June and Ontario farmer is allowed to grow 10 acres (40,000 m²) of marijuana for research purposes
- June 14 - The New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup
- September 12 - Quebec election, the Parti québécois defeats the Parti libéral du Québec, which had been in power for nine years.
- September 26 - Jacques Parizeau (PQ) is sworn in as premier of Quebec, replacing Daniel Johnson, Jr.
- October - A lockout closes the NHL for the entire first half of the season.
- October 5 and October 6 - Members of the Solar Temple cult committ mass suicide
- December - Lucien Bouchard is infected with necrotizing fasciitis and loses a leg
- Conrad Black's company buys the Chicago Sun-Times
- Bertram Brockhouse shares the Nobel Prize in Physics
- Hockey is made Canada's official winter sport, Lacrosse is demoted to being official summer sport
- Cigarette taxes are slashed to battle smuggling and black market organizations
- Canadian troops leave CFB Lahr ending the Canadian armed forces presence in Europe
Arts and Literautre
New Works
- Margaret Atwood - Good Bones and Simple Murders
- Robert J. Sawyer - Foreigner
- William Bell - Five Days of the Ghost
- Michael Ignatieff - Blood and Belonging: Journeys Into the New Nationalism
- Réjean Ducharme - Va savoir
- Mordecai Richler - This Year In Jerusalem
- Dave Duncan - The Living God
- Hank Snow - Just a Hank Snow Story
- Alice Munro - Open Secrets
- Douglas Coupland - Life After God
- Farley Mowat - Born Naked
Awards
- See 1994 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Giller Prize: M.G. Vassanji - The Book of Secrets
- Books in Canada First Novel Award: Deborah Joy Corey, Losing Eddie: A Novel
- Geoffrey Bilson Award: Kit Pearson, The Lights Go On Again
- Gerald Lampert Award: Barbara Klar, The Night You Called Me a Shadow and Illya Tourtidis, Mad Magellan's Tale
- Marian Engel Award: Jane Urquhart
- Pat Lowther Award: Diana Brebner, The Golden Lotus
- Stephen Leacock Award: Bill Richardson, Bachelor Brother's Bed and Breakfast
- Trillium Book Award English: Donald Haram Akenson, Conor: A Biography of Conor Cruise O'Brien; Volume 1 Narrative,
- Trillium Book Award French: Andrée Lacelle, Tant de vie s'égare
- Vicky Metcalf Award: Welwyn Wilton Katz
Television
- Kids in the Hall ends
Films
- Atom Egoyan's Exotica is released
Births
- March 30 - Cecilia Zhang, murder victim
Deaths
- March 4 - John Candy, comedian and actor