Events from the year 1988 in Canada.
Incumbents
Crown
Monarch – Elizabeth II
Federal government
Governor General – Jeanne Sauvé
Prime Minister – Brian Mulroney
Chief Justice – Brian Dickson (Manitoba) Parliament – 33rd (until 1 October) then 34th (from December 12)
Provincial governments
Lieutenant governors
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Helen Hunley
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Robert G. Rogers (until September 9) then David Lam Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – George Johnson Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Gilbert Finn Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland – James McGrath Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Alan Abraham Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Lincoln Alexander Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Lloyd MacPhail Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Gilles Lamontagne Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Frederick Johnson (until September 7) then Sylvia Fedoruk
Premiers
Premier of Alberta – Don Getty
Premier of British Columbia – Bill Vander Zalm
Premier of Manitoba – Howard Pawley (until May 9) then Gary Filmon
Premier of New Brunswick – Frank McKenna
Premier of Newfoundland – Brian Peckford
Premier of Nova Scotia – John Buchanan
Premier of Ontario – David Peterson
Premier of Prince Edward Island – Joe Ghiz
Premier of Quebec – Robert Bourassa
Premier of Saskatchewan – Grant Devine
Territorial governments
Commissioners
Commissioner of Yukon – John Kenneth McKinnon
Commissioner of Northwest Territories – John Havelock Parker
Premiers
Premier of the Northwest Territories – Dennis Patterson
Premier of Yukon – Tony Penikett
Events
January 28 – Canada's abortion laws are repealed by the Supreme Court. March 19 – Jacques Parizeau becomes leader of the Parti Québécois. May – , the first , is launched in Saint John, New Brunswick. May 9 – Gary Filmon becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Howard Pawley. June 4 – The Canadian Heraldic Authority is established, with a mandate to grant armorial bearings to worthy Canadians and Canadian corporations. It is the first heraldic authority in the Commonwealth of Nations outside the United Kingdom. July 21 – The War Measures Act is replaced by the Emergencies Act. September 1 – Several new cable channels sign-on: YTV, VisionTV, Family, WeatherNow, MétéoMédia, TV5 Québec Canada. September 1 – All rail service is terminated in Newfoundland after CN Rail abandons its rail lines on the island operated by its Terra Transport subsidiary. September 22 – Prime Minister Brian Mulroney officially apologizes for the World War II internment of Japanese Canadians. November 1 – The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is created. November 21 – In the federal election, Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative Party wins a second majority government in an election fought over the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. December 15 – The Supreme Court rules that Quebec's Charter of the French Language is unconstitutional. December 21 – The Quebec Legislature reinstates the language laws using the notwithstanding clause.
Full date unknown
Svend Robinson becomes Canada's first Member of Parliament to come out as homosexual. Maher Arar emigrates to Canada. David Lam becomes Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. CHUM Limited buys the CHUM-City Building at the corner of Queen and John streets in Toronto as their headquarters. Conrad Black gains control of The Spectator.
Arts and literature
May 21 – The new National Gallery of Canada building opens in Ottawa.
New works
Timothy Findley – Stones
Morley Callaghan – A Wild Old Man on the Road
Jeffrey Simpson – Spoils of Power
bill bissett – What We Have
Awards
See 1988 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards. Books in Canada First Novel Award: Marion Quednau, The Butterfly Chair Geoffrey Bilson Award: 1988 – Carol Matas, 'Lisa Gerald Lampert Award: Di Brandt, Questions I Asked My Mother Marian Engel Award: Edna Alford Pat Lowther Award: Gwendolyn MacEwen, Afterworlds Stephen Leacock Award: Paul Quarrington, King Leary Trillium Book Award: Timothy Findley, Stones Vicky Metcalf Award: Barbara Smucker