1950 in Canada
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{{Year in Canada|1950}}
{{History of Canada}}
Events from the year 1950 in Canada.
Incumbents
= Crown =
= Federal government =
- Governor General – the Viscount Alexander of Tunis{{cite book |last1=Lentz |first1=Harris M. |title=Heads of States and Governments Since 1945 |date=4 February 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-26490-2 |page=142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA142 |language=en}}
- Prime Minister – Louis St. Laurent
- Chief Justice – Thibaudeau Rinfret (Quebec)
- Parliament – 21st
= Provincial governments =
== Lieutenant governors ==
- Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John C. Bowen (until February 1) then John J. Bowlen
- Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Charles Arthur Banks (until October 1) then Clarence Wallace
- Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Roland Fairbairn McWilliams
- Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – David Laurence MacLaren
- Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – Leonard Outerbridge
- Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy
- Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Ray Lawson
- Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Joseph Alphonsus Bernard (until October 4) then Thomas William Lemuel Prowse
- Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Eugène Fiset (until October 3) then Gaspard Fauteux
- Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – John Michael Uhrich
== Premiers ==
- Premier of Alberta – Ernest Manning
- Premier of British Columbia – Byron Johnson
- Premier of Manitoba – Douglas Campbell
- Premier of New Brunswick – John McNair
- Premier of Newfoundland – Joey Smallwood
- Premier of Nova Scotia – Angus Macdonald
- Premier of Ontario – Leslie Frost
- Premier of Prince Edward Island – J. Walter Jones
- Premier of Quebec – Maurice Duplessis
- Premier of Saskatchewan – Tommy Douglas
= Territorial governments =
== Commissioners ==
- Commissioner of Yukon – John Edward Gibben (until August 15) then Andrew Harold Gibson
- Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside (until November 14) then Hugh Andrew Young
Events
- January 14 - The first non-stop trans-Canada flight is made
- February 14 - Nancy Hodges of British Columbia becomes the first woman in the Commonwealth elected speaker of a legislature
- Early May - The Winnipeg Flood along the Red River causes immense damage and one death in Winnipeg
- May 29 - The St. Roch becomes the first vessel to circumnavigate North America
- August 7 - Canada joins a United Nations force to fight in Korean War
- August 22 – August 30 - Rail workers strike shuts down much of the Canadian economy
- October 31 - The oil pipeline linking Edmonton to Sarnia is completed
- November 28 - Canada joins onto the Colombo Plan
- December 18 - Korean War: First Canadian troops arrive in Korea.
=Full date unknown=
- Cité libre magazine is first published
- British Columbia Provincial Police are disestablished.
Arts and literature
=Awards=
- See 1950 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and nominees for those awards.
- Stephen Leacock Award: Earle Birney, Turvey
Sport
- April 23 - The Detroit Red Wings win their fourth Stanley Cup by defeating the New York Rangers 4 games to 3. Due to scheduling conflicts at Madison Square Garden, all of the Rangers' home games were played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto
- May 6 - The Quebec Junior Hockey League's Montreal Junior Canadiens win their first Memorial Cup by defeating the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Regina Pats 4 games to 1. All games were held at Montreal Forum.
- November 25 - The Toronto Argonauts win their ninth Grey Cup by defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 13–0 in the 38th Grey Cup played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto
Births
=January to March=
- January 5
- Tom Benner, sculptor (d. 2022)
- John Manley, lawyer, businessman and politician, Deputy Prime Minister
- January 13 - Joe Fontana, politician
- January 17 - Jean Poirier, politician
- January 18 - Gilles Villeneuve, motor racing driver (d. 1982)
- February 2 - Kevin Gillis, writer, producer and director
- February 8 - Keith Milligan, politician
- February 9 - Tom Wappel, politician
- February 12 - Michael Ironside, actor, voice actor, producer, film director and screenwriter
- March 6 - Bruce Simpson, pole vaulter
- March 17 - Jackson Davies, actor
- March 23 - Jerry Storie, politician
- March 23 - Ralph Eichler, politician
- March 26 - Martin Short, comedian, actor, writer, singer and producer
=April to June=
- April 1 - Daniel Paillé, leader of the Bloc Québécois
- April 16 - Robert Dutil, Canadian businessman and politician
- April 19 - Gérard Asselin, politician and MP for Charlevoix and Manicouagan (1993-2011) (d. 2013)
- May 2 - Jose Kusugak, Inuk politician (d. 2011)
- May 10 – Dale Wilson, voice actor
- May 12 - Louise Portal, actress, singer, and director
- May 27 - Brent St. Denis, politician
- June 1 - Perrin Beatty, corporate executive and politician
- June 7 - John Wood, Olympic canoeist (d. 2013)
- June 12 - David Onley, broadcaster and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (d. 2023)
- June 19 - Rosie Shuster, comedy writer and actress
- June 21 - Anne Carson, poet, essayist, translator and professor of Classics and comparative literature
- June 25 – Barbara Gowdy, novelist
- June 27 - Rick Cluff, radio journalist (d. 2024)
=July to September=
- July 2 - Lee Maracle, writer and academic (d. 2021)
- July 5 - Deepak Obhrai, politician (d. 2019)
- July 6 - Hélène Scherrer, politician and Minister
- July 7 - Leon Benoit, politician
- July 18 - Jack Layton, politician, leader of New Democratic Party of Canada (2003-2011) and Leader of the Official Opposition (2011) (d. 2011)
- July 20 - Lucille Lemay, archer{{cite web |title=Lucille LEMAY - Olympic Archery {{!}} Canada |url=https://www.olympic.org/lucille-lemay |website=International Olympic Committee |access-date=3 July 2019 |language=en |date=15 June 2016}}
- August 2 - Sue Rodriguez, advocate for assisted suicide (d. 1994)
- August 6 - Carole Pope, rock singer-songwriter
- August 15 - Ron Lemieux, ice hockey player and politician
- August 16 - Stockwell Day, politician
- August 31 - Anne McLellan, academic, politician, Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
- September 8 - Richard Henry Bain, criminal who is charged with the September 4, 2012, Montreal, Quebec, shooting that killed Denis Blanchette.
- September 9 - Janis Babson (d. 1961)
- September 16 - Sheila Fraser, Auditor General of Canada
- September 18 - Darryl Sittler, ice hockey player
=October to December=
- October 17 – Val Ross, writer and journalist (d. 2008)
- October 31 - John Candy, comedian and actor (d. 1994)
- November 2 - Wendy Lill, playwright and politician
- November 2 - Daryl Reid, politician
- November 5 - Susan Nattrass, sport shooter
- November 8 - Dennis Fentie, politician and 7th Premier of the Yukon
- November 14 - Colleen Peterson, singer (d. 1996)
- December 18 - Martha Johnson, pop singer and songwriter
- December 20 - Carolyn Bennett, politician
- December 21 - Lap-Chee Tsui, geneticist
=Full date unknown=
- David Barr, Commander of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command
- Denis Simpson, singer and actor (d. 2010)
Deaths
=January to June=
- February 7 - Thomas Langton Church, politician and Mayor of Toronto (b. 1870)
- April 7 - Walter Huston, actor (b. 1884)
Image:William Lyon Mackenzie King - William Lyon Mackenzie King (39295031694).jpg
- May 15 - Hervé-Edgar Brunelle, politician and lawyer (b. 1891)
- June 28 - James Allison Glen, politician, Minister and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (b. 1877)
=July to December=
- July 22 - William Lyon Mackenzie King, lawyer, economist, university professor, civil servant, journalist, politician and 10th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
- July 25 - Gleason Belzile, politician (b. 1898)
- August 1 - Humphrey Mitchell, politician and trade unionist (b. 1894)
- August 2 - Pierre-François Casgrain, politician and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (b. 1886)
- October 19 - Charles Ballantyne, politician, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (b. 1867)
- November 11 - John Knox Blair, politician, physician and teacher (b. 1873)
=Full date unknown=
- William Sanford Evans, politician (b. 1869)
See also
Historical documents
North Korea invades South and Opposition Leader says Canada is involved through UN role and because of immediacy of modern world
Moral, not strategic, stakes require defeat of North Korea, so that "naked aggression" will not destroy state created by UN
Film: newsreel of Canadian airmen leaving for Korea as U.S. troops fight on defensive near Pusan invasion beachhead
Canada and U.S.A. agree to further defence industry mobilization at level of cooperation seen in Second World War
"It is the function of diplomacy to seek accommodation" - Canada and allies send in diplomats as well as military to end Korean War
Canadian troops arrive by ship at Pusan, Korea and U.S. Army band plays "If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake"War diary, 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (December 18, 1950), PDF pg. 4. Accessed 28 September 2020 https://archives.ppcli.com/2vp-war-diary-dec-1950 (click on diary image to get scrollable PDF)
song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18fL82AppJg
"Uneasy equilibrium" - In countering Chinese attack in Korean War, Canada and allies must not provoke U.S.S.R. to start world warUnited States Department of State, [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/FRUS/FRUS-idx?type=turn&entity=FRUS.FRUS1950v07.p1637&id=FRUS.FRUS1950v07 "Korea: Action in the United Nations"] (External Affairs memorandum, December 27, 1950), The Period from November 28 to December 31, 1950[...], Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950; Korea, pgs. 1618-19. Accessed 28 September 2020
"Growing atmosphere of fear, suspicion, frustration, and isolation" - Authorities in Eastern Bloc countries harass diplomats
"Our first duty to civilization is[...]sufficient military strength" - Prime Minister St. Laurent on liberalism against totalitarianism
For federal-provincial accord on bill of rights, Senate committee says "control within Canada of the Canadian Constitution" is required[https://parl.canadiana.ca/view/oop.com_SOC_2102_2_1/409?r=0&s=1 "Report"] (June 21, 1950), Proceedings of the Special Committee on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, pgs. 305-6. Accessed 7 October 2020
Though "coloured troops introduced venereal disease[...]during the war," Canada can hardly refuse Black GIs since U.S. military integration
Pakistani PM says idea that "commonwealth ties are mainly religious, historical or racial must be regarded as having outlived its use"[https://parl.canadiana.ca/view/oop.debates_HOC2102_03/972?r=0&s=2 "Appendix; Address of Honourable Liaquat Ali Khan"] (May 31, 1950), House of Commons Debates, 21st Parliament, 2nd Session, Vol. 3, pg. 3044. Accessed 29 August 2021
"There is discrimination against Indians in the matter of immigration[...]and admission of relatives of Indians already settled"
With Canada's "serious shortage of female domestics and nurses' aids," loans should go to Europeans in "this class of immigrant"
"We can ASK...CRUSADE...DEMAND...and WIN" - Alton C. Parker and other Windsor, Ont. Blacks organize to oppose segregation
Photo: Emily General from Six Nations of the Grand River shows Haldimand Treaty to members of UN Commission on Human Rights
"Vast volume of water into every stream" - Signs of major flood event noted before Red River flood surge enters Manitoba
Film: newsreel of Winnipeg flood extent and evacuations
"Small measure of our gratitude for all the help we have had" - Britons donate unique household items to flood victims
"Too willing to accept people at their face value" - RCMP security report on Canadian diplomat Herbert Norman
Film: 30-minute short on cancer research and treatment includes laboratory, hospital and classroom shots, plus animationNational Film Board of Canada, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF04AcvWrFA "Challenge: Science Against Cancer"] (1950). Accessed 11 April 2021
Film: newsreel of parachute personnel jumping from Dakota aircraft on practice rescue mission out of RCAF Station Trenton
References
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