See also: 1982 in Canada, other events of 1983, 1984 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Prime Minister - Pierre Trudeau
• Governor General - Edward Schreyer

• Premier of Alberta - Peter Lougheed
• Premier of British Columbia - Bill Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba - Howard Pawley
• Premier of New Brunswick - Richard Hatfield
• Premier of Newfoundland - Brian Peckford
• Premier of Nova Scotia - John Buchanan
• Premier of Ontario - Bill Davis
• Premier of Prince Edward Island - James Lee
• Premier of Quebec - René Lévesque
• Premier of Saskatchewan - Grant Devine

See 1983 Canadian incumbents for more

Events

• January 17 - Saskatchewan MLA Colin Thatcher resigns as Minister of Energy and Mines after several well-publicised disputes with premier Grant Devine.
• January 21 - JoAnn Thatcher, wife of Saskatchewan MLA Colin Thatcher, is murdered in her Regina home. Colin would later be convicted of the crime.
• February 1 - Pay television begins operating in Canada.
• February 15 - the Tamarack Review ceases publication
• March 4 - Bertha Wilson is appointed Canada's first female Supreme Court justice
• March 5 - Steve Podborski wins Gold at the World Cup of Skiing
• June 2 - Air Canada Flight 797 makes an emergency landing in Cincinatti, Ohio - a fire kills 23 of 41 passengers onboard.
• June 9 - Bill 101, protecting the French language in Quebec is ruled unconstitutional
• June 11 - Brian Mulroney replaces Joe Clark as leader of Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
• June 19 BC Place in Vancouver opens
• July 23 - Gimli Glider: Air Canada flight 143 crash-lands in Gimli, Manitoba.
• October 1 - North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization is established
• November 17 - The Western Grain Transportation Act is passed
• December 23 - Jeanne Sauvé is appointed Canada's first female Governor General
• Canada agrees to allow testing of American cruise missiles in the west
• Grey Cup - Toronto Argonauts won 18-17 over the British Columbia Lions
• Vanier Cup - Calgary Dinos won 31-21 over the Queen's Golden Gaels
• The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, the first Nuclear power plant in the Maritimes

Arts and Literature

New Books

• A Time for Judas - Morley Callaghan
• Unearthing Suite - Margaret Atwood
• Seagull on Yonge Street - Bill Bissett

Awards

• See 1983 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Books in Canada First Novel Award: W.P. Kinsella, Shoeless Joe
• Gerald Lampert Award: Diana Hartog , Matinee Light
• Pat Lowther Award: Rhea Tregebov, Remembering History
• Stephen Leacock Award: Morley Torgov , The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Claire Mackay

Film

• Graham Greene makes his film debut in Running Brave
• David Cronenberg's The Dead Zone is released
• A film is made of Farley Mowat's Never Cry Wolf

Births

• February 2 - Jordin Tootoo, hockey player
• April 7 - Kyle Labine, actor
• May 20 - Dan Blackburn, hockey goalie
• June 22 - Sheena Lawrick, Olympic softball player
• September 27 - Jay Bouwmeester, hockey player

Deaths

• June 12 - Norma Shearer, actor
• July 13 - Gabrielle Roy, author
• July 29 - Raymond Massey, actor
• Alden Nowlan, author
• Stan Rogers, musician
• Yves Theriault , author
• Graham Spry, broadcaster