1981 in Canada

Incumbents

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
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 CRTC holds pay-tv hearings in Hull, Quebec

New Works

Awards

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