See also: 1957 in Canada, other events of 1958, 1959 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.

Incumbents

• Prime Minister - John Diefenbaker
• Governor General - Vincent Massey then Georges Vanier

• Premier of Alberta - Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia - W.A.C. Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba - Douglas Campbell then Duff Roblin
• Premier of New Brunswick - Hugh John Flemming
• Premier of Newfoundland - Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia - Robert Stanfield
• Premier of Ontario - Leslie Frost
• Premier of Prince Edward Island - Alex Matheson then Walter Shaw
• Premier of Quebec - Maurice Duplessis then Paul Sauvé
• Premier of Saskatchewan - Tommy Douglas

Events

• January 16 - Louis St. Laurent is replaced by Lester B. Pearson as leader of the Liberal Party
• March 25 - The Avro Arrow flies for the first time
• March 31 - John Diefenbaker leads the Tory party to a massive election victory.
• May 12 - The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
• June 17 - The poorly designed Second Narrows Bridge in Vancouver collapses killing 18.
• July 1 - Canada-wide television broadcasting starts
• July 1 - The Lost Villages in Ontario are permanently flooded as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway construction project.
• July 16 - Duff Roblin sworn in as premier of Manitoba
• July 16 - The Manitoba Theatre Centre opens
• October 23 - The third Springhill Mining Disaster occurs killing 75.
• Department of Physical Education started at the University of Saskatchewan
• Golden Retriever Club of Canada is founded
• Grey Cup - Winnipeg Blue Bombers win 35-28 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Stanley Cup - Montreal Canadiens win 4-2 over the Boston Bruins

Arts and Literature

New Works

• John Kenneth Galbraith's The Affluent Society
• Farley Mowat's Coppermine Journey: An Account of a Great Adventure
• Antonine Maillet's first novel Pointe-aux-Coques

Awards

• See 1958 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Eric Nicol , Girdle Me A Globe

Film

• Morley Callaghan's Now That April's Here is made into a feature film
• Allan Dwan directs his last film Enchanted Island

Music

• Paul Anka has four hit singles and becomes one of the most popular singers in the world

Births

• February 15 - Brian Bailey , fashion designer
• March 8 - Raymond Simard, politician
• April 7 - Ted Nolan, hockey player and coach
• May 10 - Gaétan Boucher, speed skater
• May 18 - Bob Chaperon, snooker player
• June 24 - Jean Charest, politician
• July 28 - Terry Fox, runner, Cancer advocate
• August 15 - Craig MacTavish, hockey player and coach
• August 17 - Kirk Stevens, snooker player
• August 19 - Darryl Sutter, hockey player and coach
• September 16 - Jennifer Tilly, actor
• September 17 - Monte Solberg, politician
• September 28 - Angella Issajenko, sprinter
• October 8 - Neile Graham, poet and scholar
• November 3 - Kevin Sorenson, politician
• November 19 - Joe Jordan, politician
• December 25 - Alannah Myles, musician

Deaths

• September 11 - Robert W. Service, poet