See also: 1973 in Canada, other events of 1974, 1975 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor General - Roland Michener then Jules Léger
• Prime Minister - Pierre Trudeau
• Premier of Alberta - Peter Lougheed
• Premier of British Columbia - David Barrett
• Premier of Manitoba - Edward Schreyer
• Premier of New Brunswick - Richard Hatfield
• Premier of Newfoundland - Frank Moores
• Premier of Nova Scotia - Gerald Regan
• Premier of Ontario - Bill Davis
• Premier of Prince Edward Island - Alexander B. Campbell
• Premier of Quebec - Robert Bourassa
• Premier of Saskatchewan - Allan Blakeney

Events

• January 1 - The Canadian Stock Exchange merges with the Montreal Stock Exchange
• January 7 - Bora Laskin sworn in as Chief Justice of Canada
• January 14 - Jules Léger is sworn in as Governor General
• January 26 - The Global Television network begins broadcasting
• May 23 - New Brunswick becomes the first province to be officially bilingual
• June 29 - Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects in Toronto

• July 2 - Ralph Steinhauer becomes the first Aboriginal person to be a Canadian Lieutenant Governor when he is appointed to that role in Alberta
• July 3 - Canada first demands that its territorial waters be extended to 200 nautical miles (370.4 km)
• vote of no-confidence in parliament forces election
• July 8 - Federal election: Pierre Trudeau's Liberals win a majority
• July 31 - Bill 22 is passed making French the official language of government and business in Quebec
• August 1 - The Elections Act is passed limiting campaign contributions
• August 9 - Nine Canadians are killed when their plane is shot down by Syria
• September 17 - The RCMP decides to allow female members for the first time
• November 29 - An aircraft is hijacked over Saskatchewan. It is recovered in Saskatoon
• Paul Martin made president of Canada Steamship Lines
• The Waffle disbands
• The report of the Le Dain Commission argues marijuana should be decriminalized
• Robert Cliche chairs a Royal Commission investigating corruption in Quebec's construction industry. Brian Mulroney, later to become Prime Minister, first comes to national attention as a panelist on the commission.

Arts and literature

New Works

• Bill Bissett - Living with the vishyun
• Irving Layton - The Pole-Vaulter
• Margaret Atwood - You Are Happy
• Alice Munro - Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You
• Margaret Laurence - The Diviners

Awards

• See 1974 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Donald Jack, That's Me in the Middle
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Jean Little

Births

• January 7 — Deborah Cox, singer
• January 14 — Hugues Legault, freestyle swimmer
• January 23 — Joel Bouchard, ice hockey player
• February 6 — Layne Roland, ice hockey player
• February 7 — Steve Nash, NBA player
• April 1 — Rob Anders, politician
• April 11 — Tricia Helfer, model and actress
• April 26 — Jacinthe Pineau, butterfly swimmer
• May 9 — Jackie Lance, Olympic softballer
• May 10 — Jon Beare, Olympic rower
• May 18 — Chantal Kreviazuk, singer
• May 21 — Fairuza Balk, actor
• June 1 — Alanis Morissette, singer and songwriter
• June 6 — Anson Carter, ice hockey player
• July 6 — Steve Sullivan, ice hockey player
• July 7 — Patrick Lalime, ice hockey goaltender
• August 15 — Natasha Henstridge, actress and model
• September 8 — Mara Jones, Olympic rower
• September 8 — Becky Price, field hockey forward
• September 18 — Nicole Haynes, heptathlete
• October 11 — Chris Pronger, ice hockey player
• October 11 — Jason Arnott, ice hockey player
• October 16 — Paul Kariya, ice hockey player
• October 22 — Paul Duerden, volleyball player
• November 4 — Amy MacFarlane, field hockey forward
• November 21 — Casey Patton, Olympic boxer
• November 25 — David Cadieux, boxer

Deaths

• January 12- Her Royal Highness Princess Patricia of Connaught, the daughter of former Governor General of Canada, His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught
• February 21 - Tim Horton, NHL player, Hockey Hall of Famer, founder of Tim Hortons doughnut shops
• April 5 - A. Y. Jackson, painter, one of the Group of Seven

fr:1974 au Canada