See also: 1962 in Canada, other events of 1963, 1964 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor General: Georges Vanier
• Prime Minister: John Diefenbaker then Lester B. Pearson
• Premier of Alberta: Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia: W.A.C. Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba: Duff Roblin
• Premier of New Brunswick: Louis Robichaud
• Premier of Newfoundland: Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia: Robert Stanfield
• Premier of Ontario: John Robarts
• Premier of Prince Edward Island: Walter Shaw
• Premier of Quebec: Jean Lesage
• Premier of Saskatchewan: Woodrow Lloyd

Events

• February 4: Defence Minister Douglas Harkness resigns after Prime Minister Diefenbaker refuses to accept nuclear weapons from the United States
• February 5: The Diefenbaker government collapses over the missile issue and an election is called
• March 1: Simon Fraser University is founded
• April 8: Federal election: Lester Pearson's Liberals win a minority, defeating John Diefenbaker's PCs
• April 20: The Front de libération du Quebec sets off its first bombs in Quebec
• April 22: Lester Pearson becomes Prime Minister, replacing John Diefenbaker
• May 27: The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology opens
• June 17: Alberta general election, 1963: Ernest Manning's Alberta Social Credit Party wins an eighth consecutive majority
• July 22: The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is announced
• September 21: Place des Arts opens in Montreal
• September 25: Ontario general election, 1963: John Robarts's PCs win a sixth consecutive majority
• November 29: 118 are killed in the Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 crash near Ste-Thérèse-de-Blainville, Quebec
• December 23: plans to build the National Arts Centre are approved
• Future hall of fame baseball player Ferguson Jenkins plays his first major league game

Arts and literature

New Works

• W.L. Morton: The Kingdom of Canada
• Milton Acorn: Jawbreakers
• Leonard Cohen: The Favorite Game
• Farley Mowat: Never Cry Wolf

Awards

• See 1963 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Donald Jack, Three Cheers for Me
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Kerry Wood

Births

• January 1 – Cheryl Dick, netball player
• January 9 – Larry Cain, Olympic canoeist
• January 12 – Ken Fitzpatrick, breaststroke swimmer
• January 19 – Steve Peters, Ontario politician
• February 12 – Ron Schuler, Manitoba politician
• March 1 – Ron Francis, ice hockey player
• March 26 – Roch Voisine, musician
• March 30 – Wayne Gordon, boxer
• March 30 – Carol Klimpel, freestyle swimmer
• April 4 – Vince Ditrich, politician
• April 4 – Dale Hawerchuk, ice hockey player
• April 4 – Jim Wilson, politician
• April 14 – John Kalbhenn, boxer
• April 18 – Eric McCormack, actor
• April 27 – Joe Peschisolido, politician
• April 27 – Cali Timmins, actor
• May 5 – Susan Whelan, politician
• May 17 – Michelle Conn, field hockey player
• May 25 – Mike Myers, comedian and actor
• May 26 – Richard Crouse, film critic
• June 4 – Carey Nelson, long-distance runner
• June 17 – Sandra Greaves, judoka
• June 24 – Barbara Underhill, figure skater
• June 25 – Doug Gilmour
• June 25 – Yann Martel, author
• July 11 – Al MacInnis, ice hockey player
• July 11 – Sandra Schmirler, Olympic and World champion curler
• July 12 – Andy Savoy, politician
• July 28 – Gregory Henriquez, architect
• August 2 – Russell Smith, author
• September 2 – Gerard Gallant, ice hockey player
• September 29 – Dave Andreychuk, ice hockey player
• October 17 – Norm Macdonald, comedian
• October 20 – Julie Payette, astronaut
• November 19 – Bill Dunlop, boxer
• November 25 – Holly Cole, singer
• December 9 – Dave Hilton, Jr., boxer
• December 29 – Liisa Savijarvi, skier

Deaths

• September 8: Leslie Gordon Bell, politician

fr:1963 au Canada