1937 in Canada

← 1936 1935 1934 1937 in Canada → 1938 1939 1940
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	History of Canada Timeline of Canadian history List of years in Canada

Events from the year 1937 in Canada.

Incumbents

Crown

• Monarch – George VI ^[1]

Federal government

• Governor General – John Buchan ^[2]
• Prime Minister – William Lyon Mackenzie King ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Chief Justice – Lyman Poore Duff (British Columbia)^{[ citation needed ]}
• Parliament – 18th ^{[ citation needed ]}

Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Philip Primrose (until March 17)^{[ citation needed ]} then John C. Bowen (from March 23)^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Eric Hamber ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – William Johnston Tupper ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Murray MacLaren ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Walter Harold Covert (until April 7)^{[ citation needed ]} then Robert Irwin ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Herbert Alexander Bruce (until November 23)^{[ citation needed ]} then Albert Edward Matthews ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – George Des Brisay de Blois ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Esioff-Léon Patenaude ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Archibald Peter McNab ^{[ citation needed ]}

Premiers

• Premier of Alberta – William Aberhart
• Premier of British Columbia – Thomas Dufferin Pattullo
• Premier of Manitoba – John Bracken
• Premier of New Brunswick – Allison Dysart
• Premier of Nova Scotia – Angus Lewis Macdonald
• Premier of Ontario – Mitchell Hepburn
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – Thane Campbell
• Premier of Quebec – Maurice Duplessis
• Premier of Saskatchewan – William John Patterson

Territorial governments

Commissioners

• Controller of Yukon – George A. Jeckell ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Charles Camsell ^{[ citation needed ]}

Events

• April – A Crucifix was hung in the Montreal city council at the initiative of Joseph-Émile Dubreuil. The crucifix would hung there until 2019. ^{[3] [4] [5]}
• April 10 – Trans-Canada Airlines, the predecessor of Air Canada, was created as a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway ^[6]
• July 5 – Midale and Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan, record the highest temperature ever in Canada, with a record high of 45 °C (113 °F). ^[7]
• August 15 – The Rowell-Sirois Commission is formed ^[8]
• September 1 – Regular flights of Trans-Canada Air Lines begin ^[6]
• October 6 – Ontario election: Mitchell Hepburn's Liberals win a second consecutive majority ^[9]
• November 24 – The first Governor General's Awards are given.^{[ citation needed ]}
• First ascent of Mount Lucania (5,226 m), third highest mountain in Canada. ^[10]

Sport

• April 17 – The Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Winnipeg Monarchs win their second Memorial Cup by defeating the Northern Ontario Hockey Association's Copper Cliff Redmen 3 games to 1. The deciding Game 4 was played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto ^{[ citation needed ]}
• December 11 – Toronto Argonauts win their fourth Grey Cup by defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 4 to 3 in the 25th Grey Cup played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto^{[ citation needed ]}

Births

January to June

• January 5 – Richard Cashin, lawyer, politician and trade union leader ^[11]
• January 21 – Jim Unger, cartoonist (d. 2012) ^[12]
• January 24 – Suzanne Tremblay, politician ^[13]
• January 26 – Maureen Hemphill, politician ^[14]
• January 29 – Frank Iacobucci, jurist and Puisne Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada ^[15]
• January 31 – Andrée Boucher, politician and 39th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 2007) ^[16]
• February 5 – Larry Hillman, ice hockey player and coach (d. 2022) ^[17]
• February 10 – Roy Megarry, publisher ^[18]
• February 26 – Hagood Hardy, composer, pianist and vibraphonist (d. 1997) ^[19]
• March 2 – Joseph B. MacInnis, diver ^[20]
• March 9
  • Bernard Landry, lawyer, teacher, politician and 28th Premier of Quebec ^[21]
  • Harry Neale, ice hockey coach and broadcaster
• March 10 – Tommy Hunter, country music singer ^[22]
• March 16 – Brian Browne, jazz pianist and composer (d. 2018)
• March 26 – James Lee, politician and 28th Premier of Prince Edward Island ^[23]
• March 30 – Maria Rika Maniates, musicologist (d. 2011)^{[ citation needed ]}
• April 13 – Stan Stasiak, pro wrestler^{[ citation needed ]}
• April 29 – Jean Gauthier, ice hockey player (Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins) (d. 2013) ^[24]
• May 9 – Jim Walding, politician (d. 2007) ^[25]
• May 13 – Roch Carrier, novelist ^[26]
• June 15 – Toby Tarnow, actress ^[27]

July to December

• July 12 – Michel Louvain, singer (d. 2021)^{[ citation needed ]}
• July 30 – John de Chastelain, general, diplomat and Chairman of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (in Northern Ireland) ^[28]
• August 2 – Garth Hudson, musician (d. 2025) ^[29]
• August 16 – David Anderson, politician and Minister ^[30]
• August 16 – Ian Deans, politician (d. 2016) ^[31]
• August 25 – John G. Bryden, lawyer, public servant, businessman and Senator ^[32]
• September 2 – Len Carlson, voice actor (d. 2006)
• September 3 – Gerry Brisson, ice hockey player (d. 2013) ^[33]
• September 5 – John Dahmer, politician (d. 1988) ^[34]
• September 8 – Barbara Frum, radio and television journalist (d. 1992) ^[35]
• September 9 – Jean Augustine, politician ^[36]
• September 12 – George Chuvalo, boxer ^[37]
• September 19 – Neil Gaudry, politician (d. 1999) ^[38]
• September 23 – Jacques Poulin, novelist (d. 2025) ^[39]
• September 27 – Guido Basso, jazz musician (d. 2023) ^[40]
• October 19 – Marilyn Bell, long-distance swimmer, first person to swim across Lake Ontario ^[41]
• October 19 – Stanley Faulder, murderer and first Canadian citizen to be executed in the United States since 1952 (d. 1999) ^[42]
• November 4 – Michael Wilson, politician and diplomat (d. 2019)^{[ citation needed ]}
• November 6 – Gerry St. Germain, politician ^[43]
• November 11 – Stephen Lewis, politician, broadcaster and diplomat ^[44]
• November 12
  • Barbara McDougall, politician and Minister ^[45]
  • Glen Shortliffe, Clerk of the Privy Council (d. 2010) ^[46]
• December 4 – Donnelly Rhodes, actor (d. 2018)^{[ citation needed ]}
• December 13 – Ron Taylor, baseball player (d. 2025) ^[47]
• December 19 – Wayne Maunder, Canadian-born American actor (d. 2018)^{[ citation needed ]}

Date unknown

• Élise Paré-Tousignant, music administrator and pedagogue (d. 2018) ^[48]

Deaths

January to June

Robert Borden

• January 21 – Marie Prevost, actress (b. 1896) ^[49]
• January 29 – Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté, painter and sculptor (b. 1869) ^[50]
• February 16 – Rodmond Roblin, businessman, politician and 9th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1853) ^[51]
• March 8 – Howie Morenz, ice hockey player (b. 1902) ^[52]
• June 10 – Robert Borden, lawyer, politician and 8th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854) ^[53]

July to December

• July 25 – Charles E. Saunders, agronomist (b. 1867) ^[54]
• October 13 – Simon Fraser Tolmie, politician and 21st Premier of British Columbia (b. 1867) ^[55]
• November 21 – Matthew Robert Blake, politician (b. 1876) ^[56]
• December 27 – John Douglas Hazen, politician and 12th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1860) ^[57]

See also

• List of Canadian films

Historical documents

With graphic descriptions of slaughter, United Church moderator expresses outrage at atrocities in Spain and China ^[58]

Peace league calls national congress because "Human life, Liberty, Social Culture and the Arts hang in terrible jeopardy" ^[59]

Ontario Lieutenant-Governor endorses Youth Crusade for Peace: "Youth of the world should have a decisive voice" ^[60]

J.W. Dafoe, J.S. Woodsworth, Sidney E. Smith and others lead weekly 1937 radio broadcast discussions on various Canadian defence policies ^[61]

On committee studying death penalty, MP Agnes Macphail argues criminally insane murderers should suffer death like other killers ^[62]

Commons debates Trans-Canada Air Lines (when planes went through mountain passes on 16-hour Winnipeg-Vancouver flights) ^[63]

Call for more British immigrants to allow West "to develop a race of people that is strong, sturdy and self-reliant" ^[64]

"The danger is that the Chinese or Japanese by inter-marriage would absorb our own race" - race fear in denying vote to "oriental" ^[65]

Alberta Social Credit government's "accurate news" bill amended in face of "almost[...]Fascism" and "dictatorship" criticism ^[66]

Britain's debt to Newfoundland, in its history of exploiting and leaving it underdeveloped, balances assuming its liabilities currently ^[67]

Calling him "sly" and "delightful," newspaper profiles judge representing Canada on Trail, B.C. fumes tribunal ^[68]

Canadian studying at Harvard writes about friends fighting in Spain and his fervour for communism ^[69]

Report of cooperative Canadian and U.S. work done on site of Champlain's Habitation of Port Royal in Nova Scotia ^[70]

Artist Emily Carr enjoys reasonably good sketching trip despite days of pouring rain ^[71]

Advertisement for Westinghouse World Cruiser Radio - "Tonal Fidelity Reflects the Living Image of Each Broadcast Note" ^[72]

Two Canadian Pacific Railway dining car menus ^[73]

Cover art: Menu from Empress of Britain world cruise ^[74]

References

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2. "John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir: Biography on Undiscovered Scotland". www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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4. "National Assembly might follow Montreal in removing crucifix: Legault". 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
5. "La pédagogie du crucifix". La Presse. 21 March 2019.
6. Marsh, James H. "Trans-Canada Airlines". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
7. "Hottest Place in Canada - Current Results". www.currentresults.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
8. "Civilization.ca - History of Canadian Medicare – 1930–1939 - Royal Commission on Dominion Provincial Relations". www.historymuseum.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
9. "Legislative Assembly of Ontario | Members (MPPs) | Past & Present MPPs | Mitchell Frederick Hepburn, MPP". www.ontla.on.ca. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
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19. Archive, Canadian Jazz (2016-12-30). "Hagood Hardy Musician Biography | Canadian Jazz Archive Online". www.canadianjazzarchive.org. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
20. "Disclaimer - Electronic Collection". epe.lac-bac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
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24. "Jean Gauthier Stats | Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
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26. Snyder, Lorraine. "Roch Carrier". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
27. "Toby Tarnow". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
28. Bonikowsky, Laura Neilson. "John de Chastelain". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
29. Garth Hudson ^{[ usurped ]}
30. "Google". www.google.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
31. "Ian Deans (1937-2016): NDP firebrand went on to head Public Service Staff Relations Board". Ottawa Citizen. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
32. "PARLINFO - Parliamentarian File - Federal Experience - BRYDEN, The Hon. John G., B.A., LL.B." Retrieved 2016-12-30.
33. "BRISSON GERALD - Obituaries - Winnipeg Free Press Passages". passages.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
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35. "Obit: Barbara Frum, CBC broadcaster (1937-1992) | BillGladstone.ca". www.billgladstone.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
36. McLeod, Susanna. "Jean Augustine". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
37. YOUNG. "George Chuvalo". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
38. Goldsborough, Gordon. "Memorable Manitobans: Neil Gaudry (1937-1999)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
39. Rochon, François. "Jacques Poulin". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
40. "Jazz musician Guido Basso dead at 85". CBC News . 2023-02-15. Archived from the original on 2023-03-06.
41. CALLWOOD, JUNE. "Marilyn Bell". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
42. "Faulder executed in Texas". CBC News. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
43. "PARLINFO - Parliamentarian File - Federal Experience - ST. GERMAIN, The Hon. Gerry, P.C." Retrieved 2016-12-30.
44. Whitehorn, Alan. "Stephen Henry Lewis". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2016-12-30.
45. "PARLINFO - Parliamentarian File - Complete File - MCDOUGALL, The Hon. Barbara Jean, P.C., O.C., B.A., LL.D., C.F.A." Retrieved 2016-12-30.
46. "Glen Shortliffe's Obituary on Ottawa Citizen". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
47. Ron Taylor1937 - 2025
48. Paquette, Valérie (August 10, 2018). "Élise Paré-Tousignant nous a quittés" [Élise Paré-Tousignant has left us]. Infoportneuf - Actualité Portneuf-Jacques-Cartier (in French). InfoPortneuf. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
49. "Marie Prevost". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
50. "Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté". www.gallery.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
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52. "Howie Morenz - Bio, pictures, stats and more | Historical Website of the Montreal Canadiens". ourhistory.canadiens.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
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58. Peter Bryce, "I Can No Longer Be Silent" (August 24, 1937). Accessed 16 June 2020
59. Canadian League for Peace and Democracy, "Call to Action; Canadian Congress for Peace and Democracy" (1937). Accessed 16 June 2020 Links to entire congress brochure: http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/pw20c_images/00000671.jpg http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/pw20c_images/00000671-2.jpg http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/pw20c_images/00000671-3.jpg http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/pw20c_images/00000671-4.jpg http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/pw20c_images/00000671-5.jpg
60. Letter of Herbert A. Bruce (Government House, Toronto, October 12, 1937). Accessed 16 June 2020
61. Canadian Defence; What We Have to Defend (1937). Accessed 17 May 2022
62. Testimony of M.F. Gallagher (February 23, 1937), Special Committee on the Criminal Code (Death Penalty), pgs. 36-7 Accessed 27 October 2020
63. "Trans-Canada Air Lines; Arrangement with Corporation Respecting Lines and Services for Transport of Passengers, Goods and Mails" (April 1, 1937), House Of Commons Debates, 18th Parliament, 2nd Session: Vol. 3, pgs. 2443-61. Accessed 16 June 2020
64. Garnet Neff, "Can Canada Remain British" (February 4, 1937), The Empire Club of Canada Addresses, pgs. 194-208. Accessed 16 June 2020
65. Testimony of Thomas Reid, MP: "Assimilability of the Oriental" (March 11, 1937), [House] Special Committee on Elections and Franchise Acts, pgs. 209-10. Accessed 27 October 2020
66. B.T. Richardson, "Yields to Pressure; Alta. Government Amends Vigorously-Criticized Newspaper Bill," Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Vol. LXV, No. 29 (October 5, 1937), pgs. 1, 8. Accessed 16 June 2020
67. J.A. Cochrane, "Mother Country's Debt to Newfoundland" (February 22, 1937), Dr. Cluny Macpherson Notebook 1, pgs. 59-65a. Accessed 17 June 2020
68. A.C.L. Jr., "Canadian Fume Member Charms; Chief Justice Greenshields of Tribune (sic) Has Keen Sense of Humor" (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review (July 24, 1937). Accessed 17 June 2020
69. Letter of Herbert Norman (March 3, 1937). Accessed 17 June 2020
70. Harriet Taber (Mrs. Frederick A.) Richardson, "A Report on the Work Accomplished for Rebuilding the Habitation of Port Royal, New France, at Lower Granville, Nova Scotia" (July 22, 1937). Accessed 17 June 2020
71. Letter of Emily Carr (ca. 1937), Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Accessed 1 January 2025
72. Canadian Westinghouse Co. Limited, "Fidelity" Canadian Home Journal (1937). Accessed 16 June 2020
73. Canadian Pacific, "The Chateau Frontenac; In Old Quebec" and "Evangeline at the Well; Grand Pré, Nova Scotia" (April 3, 1937). (See also "Dinner menu from the Dominion train from 1936") Accessed 17 June 2020
74. "Meridian Day dinner menu from the Empress of Britain" The Chung Collection, University of British Columbia Library. Accessed 21 April 2024