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See also: 1980 in Canada, other events of 1981, 1982 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

For more see: 1981 Canadian incumbents

Events

January 1 - Gasoline and diesel are sold by the litre rather than the gallon.
February 5 - More than three hundred men are arrested after police sweeps of Toronto bathhouses. The arrests create an outcry among Canada's gay population, and become a historic turning point in Canadian LGBT history. See 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids.
March 19 - Ontario election: Bill Davis's PCs win a majority
June 4 - NABET employees at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation hold a long strike, disrupting programming for much of the Spring.
July 17 – The government of British Columbia named a 2,639-metre (8,658 foot) peak in the Rocky Mountains after Terry Fox.
July 30 – The 83-kilometre (52 mile) section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Ontario where Terry Fox was forced to end his run, was re-named in his honour
September 1 - Quebec's French language sign law comes into effect
September 1 - The Albertan and federal governments sign an energy agreement
September 28 - Calgary is awarded the 1988 Winter Olympics
October 16 - Canada Post becomes a crown corporation.
November 5 - Canadian government and all provinces, except Quebec, agree on how to patriate the Canadian Constitution
November 13 - The Canadarm is first deployed aboard the Space Shuttle
November 17 - James Lee becomes premier of Prince Edward Island, replacing Angus MacLean
November 30 - Howard Pawley becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Sterling Lyon
Power Corporation sells Canada Steamship Lines Inc. to Paul Martin and Laurence Pathy
News media: NOW created
September - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission holds pay-tv hearings in Hull, Quebec

Arts and literature

New Works

Margaret Atwood - True Stories
Bill Bissett - Northern Birds in Coulour
W.O. Mitchell - How I Spent My Summer Holidays
Gordon R. Dickson - Lost Dorsai
Nancy Huston - Les Variations Goldberg

Awards

See 1981 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Books in Canada First Novel Award: W.D. Valgardson, Gentle Sinners
Gerald Lampert Award: Elizabeth Allan, The Shored Up House
Marian Engel Award:
Pat Lowther Award: M. Travis Lane, Divinations and Short Poems 1973-1978
Stephen Leacock Award: Gary Lautens, Take My Family...Please!
Vicky Metcalf Award: Monica Hughes

Film

David Cronenberg's Scanners is released
James Cameron's Piranha II: The Spawning, his first directing effort, is released
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains is released
Joy Kogawa's Obasan is released

Births

January 11 — Jonathan Mandick, Olympic rower
January 20 — Owen Hargreaves, soccer player
January 21 — Dany Heatley, ice hockey player
March 14 — Isabelle Pearson, judoka
May 20 — Morgan Knabe, Olympic breaststroke swimmer
April 6 — Auburn Sigurdson, Olympic softballer
April 19 — Hayden Christensen, actor
August 9 — Lauren Bay, Olympic softballer
August 19 — Taylor Pyatt, ice hockey player
September 7 — Annie Martin, Olympic beach volleyball player
September 26 — Kaila Holtz, Olympic softballer
October 4 — Justin Williams, ice hockey player

Deaths

January 5 - Lomer Brisson, politician
May 4 - Samuel Rosborough Balcom, politician
June 28 - Terry Fox, cancer activist
December 28 - Allan Dwan early film director

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Incumbents

Events

Arts and literature

Births

Deaths

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