See also:
1990 in Canada,
other events of 1991,
1992 in Canada and the
list of 'years in Canada'.

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Incumbents

*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General - Ray Hnatyshyn
*Prime Minister - Brian Mulroney
*Premier of Alberta - Don Getty
*Premier of British Columbia - Bill Vander Zalm then Rita Johnston then Michael Harcourt
*Premier of Manitoba - Gary Filmon
*Premier of New Brunswick - Frank McKenna
*Premier of Newfoundland - Clyde Wells
*Premier of Nova Scotia - Roger Bacon then Donald Cameron
*Premier of Ontario - Bob Rae
*Premier of Prince Edward Island - Joe Ghiz
*Premier of Quebec - Robert Bourassa
*Premier of Saskatchewan - Grant Devine then Roy Romanow

Events

* January 1 - The Goods and Services Tax comes into effect
* January 15 - Canadian Forces begin their participation in the Persian Gulf War
* January 29 - The Allaire Committee releases its report on Canada's constitution - it recommends sweeping changes such as the abolition of the Senate.
* January 30 - Gulf War: A Canadian CF-18 Hornet attacks and causes irreparable damage to an Iraqi warship.
* February 9 - Donald Cameron becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Roger Bacon
*February 27 - Gulf War: Iraq agrees to a cease-fire ending the conflict
* April 2 - Rita Johnston becomes premier of British Columbia, replacing Bill Vander Zalm
* April 22 - Joe Clark is appointed Minister of Constitutional Affairs
* May - George Erasmus, leader of the Assembly of First Nations, resigns and is succeeded by Ovide Mercredi
* May 14 MP John Nunziata alleges the RCMP know who bombed the Air-India flight 182 but didn't have evidence needed for prosecution.
* June 15 - Paul Bernardo kidnaps, rapes, and murders Leslie Mahaffy
* June 19 The Dobbie-Castonguay Commission is created to look into changes to the constitution.
* July 3 - The process leading to the privatization of Petro-Canada is begun
* September 24 - Dobbie-Castonguay Commission recommends an elected Senate, and recognizing Quebec as a distinct society.
* October 21 - The Saskatchewan election: Roy Romanow's NDP win a majority, defeating Grant Devine's PCs
* November 1 - Roy Romanow becomes premier of Saskatchewan, replacing Grant Devine
* November 5 - Michael Harcourt becomes premier of British Columbia, replacing Rita Johnston
* November 14 - Nellie Cournoyea becomes government leader of the Northwest Territories, replacing Dennis Patterson
* Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the President of Haiti, was visiting Canada and was warmly welcomed by the large Haitian community in Montreal, where he had studied at the Université de Montréal.
* Julius Alexander Isaac is named Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada. He becomes the first Black Chief Justice in Canada
* David Schindler of the University of Alberta wins the first international Stockholm Water Prize for environmental research.
* Ferguson Jenkins becomes the first Canadian ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Canadian peacekeepers begin a five year deployment to El Salvador
* Canadian observers are sent to Western Sahara
* News media: eye weekly created

Arts and Literature

:New Works
*Rohinton Mistry - Such a Long Journey
*Douglas Coupland - Generation X: Tales For An Accelerated Culture
*Margaret Atwood - Wilderness Tips
*Dave Duncan - Faery Lands Forlorn
*Hume Cronyn - A Terrible Liar
*Spider Robinson - Starseed
:Awards
* See 1991 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
*Books in Canada First Novel Award: Nino Ricci, Lives of the Saints
*Gerald Lampert Award: Diana Brebner, Radiant Life Forms
*Geoffrey Bilson Award: Marianne Brandis, The Sign of the Scales
*Marian Engel Award: Joan Clark
*Pat Lowther Award: Karen Connelly, The Small Words in My Body
*Stephen Leacock Award: Howard White, Waiting in the Rain
*Trillium Book Award: Margaret Atwood, Wilderness Tips
*Vicky Metcalf Award: Brian Doyle
:Film
*Atom Egoyan's The Adjuster is released
*James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day is released. It is the year's highest grossing film
:Music
*Trevor Pinnock becomes director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra

Births

Deaths

*Jean-Paul Mousseau, muralist
*Maryon Pearson, wife of Lester B. Pearson

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