Events from the year 2021 in Canada.
Incumbents The Crown
Monarch – Elizabeth II
Federal government Governor General – Julie Payette (until January 22), then Mary Simon (from July 26) Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau Parliament – 43rd (until August 15), then 44th (from November 22)
Provincial governments Lieutenant Governors Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Salma Lakhani Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Janet Austin Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Janice Filmon Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Brenda Murphy Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador – Judy Foote Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Arthur LeBlanc Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Elizabeth Dowdeswell Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Antoinette Perry Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – J. Michel Doyon Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Russell Mirasty
Premiers Premier of Alberta – Jason Kenney Premier of British Columbia – John Horgan Premier of Manitoba Brian Pallister (until September 1) Kelvin Goertzen (from September 1 to November 2) Heather Stefanson Premier of New Brunswick – Blaine Higgs Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador – Andrew Furey Premier of Nova Scotia Stephen McNeil (until February 23) Iain Rankin (February 23 to August 31) Tim Houston Premier of Ontario – Doug Ford Premier of Prince Edward Island – Dennis King Premier of Quebec – François Legault Premier of Saskatchewan – Scott Moe
Territorial governments Commissioners Commissioner of Northwest Territories – Margaret Thom Commissioner of Nunavut Rebekah Williams (acting) (until January 12) vacant (January 12–14) Eva Aariak Commissioner of Yukon – Angélique Bernard
Premiers Premier of Northwest Territories – Caroline Cochrane Premier of Nunavut – Joe Savikataaq (until November 19), then P. J. Akeeagok Premier of Yukon – Sandy Silver
Events January December 25, 2020 – January 5, 2021 – 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. January 12 – 2021 Canadian cabinet reshuffle. January 22 – Julie Payette resigns as Governor General in the wake of the 2020–2021 Rideau Hall workplace review.
February February 6 – 2021 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election is held. Iain Rankin is elected on second ballot. February 17 – Canadian Nationalist Party leader Travis Patron was arrested by the RCMP and charged with wilful promotion of hate in connection to the complaint.
March March 20 – At the Conservative Party of Canada March 2021 policy convention, delegates voted 54%-46% to reject a proposal expand the party's existing climate change policies to include a statement that climate change is real, proclaim that Conservatives were "willing to act" on the issue, and calling for more innovation in green tech. March 25 – 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election is held, resulting in a majority government for the Liberals. March 27 – A man stabbed multiple people in North Vancouver, British Columbia. One was killed. The man was arrested.
April April 4 – Canada's first confirmed case of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. April 12 – 2021 Yukon general election is held, resulting in a minority government for the Liberals, who are given support in the legislature (from April 28), by the New Democrats. April 17 – 2021 Conservative Party of Quebec leadership election is held. Eric Duhaime is elected on the first and only ballot.
May May 11 – 2021 Canadian census. May 12 – The CAQ Quebec government of François Legault announces Bill 96, which will strengthen Bill 101, the French language in Quebec. May 15 – Demonstrations are held across Canada amid the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. May 28 – The New York Times breaks the story on a Canadian Indian Residential School Cemeteries announcement, incorrectly reporting a discovery of "mass graves" of Indigenous children at a former school site. The reporting would help "spawn a new holiday, Truth and Reconciliation Day, prompt an official visit by Pope Francis, and result in Canadian flags being kept at half-mast for a record-breaking five consecutive months.” May 31 – The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 in Game 7 of their first round series to complete the comeback from a 3–1 series deficit. An average of 7.31 million Canadians watched the game, making it the second most watched NHL game in the nation's history and the 18th most watched broadcast all-time.
June June 6 Juno Awards of 2021. A man intentionally rammed his vehicle into a family of five Muslims in London, Ontario. Four were killed and one was severely injured. The man was arrested. June 7 – The Montreal Canadiens advance to the semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2014 after Tyler Toffoli scored the overtime winner to sweep the Winnipeg Jets. June 21 – The Government of Canada announces the first phase to easing the COVID-19 border measures for travellers, thus lifting quarantine requirements for fully immunised travellers starting on July 5, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The quarantine exemption is only available to fully vaccinated people, who had gotten a combination of either of the following vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Janssen, at least two weeks prior to entering the Canadian border. June 24 2021 Canadian Indian residential schools cemeteries: 751 potential unmarked graves are found on the site of Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. The Montreal Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993 after Artturi Lehkonen scored the overtime winner to eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights in six games. The Canadiens became the first Canadian based team to advance to the Finals since the Vancouver Canucks ten years ago, and their 1993 win was the last time a Canadian-based team won the cup. The Canadiens also won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the first time in their history. June 29 – Lytton, British Columbia breaks the all-time record high temperature in Canada, recording a high of , after previously breaking the national record the prior two days as well. June 30 2021 Western North America heat wave: Dozens of people have died amid an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed temperature records. Canadian Indian residential schools gravesite cemeteries: 182 potential unmarked graves are detected on the site of Kootenay Indian Residential School near Cranbrook, British Columbia. A wildfire sweeps through Lytton, British Columbia, destroying approximately 90% of the village and leaving at least two dead.
July July 1 – Canadian Indian residential schools cemeteries: Canada Day marked by many across the nation as a day of reflection and mourning for Indigenous communities following the detection of more than 1000 potential unmarked graves at former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan over the past month. July 7 – The Montreal Canadiens lose the Stanley Cup to the defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning following a 1–0 loss in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. July 12 – A crane collapse in Kelowna, British Columbia, kills five people. July 17 – Toronto FC plays their first home game against Orlando City SC at BMO Field, marking the first MLS game played in Canada during the 2021 season. July 20 – British Columbia declares a state of emergency in response to the 2021 British Columbia wildfires. July 26 – Mary Simon is sworn in as Canada's 30th Governor General. She is the first Indigenous person to hold the office. July 30 – The Toronto Blue Jays played their first home game at the Rogers Centre since 2019. They played against the Kansas City Royals. This was the first MLB game played in Canada during the 2021 season after travel restrictions along the Canada–United States border were lifted. The Jays won the game. July 31 – Swimmer Penny Oleksiak becomes the most decorated Canadian Olympian of all-time after she wins her seventh overall Olympic medal - a bronze in the women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
August August 2 – SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant becomes the pre-dominant strain of COVID-19 in Canada. August 5 The White Rock Lake fire destroys much of Monte Lake, British Columbia. Little Canada, a tourist attraction containing miniature models, opens in downtown Toronto. August 17 – 2021 Nova Scotia general election is held, resulting in a majority government for the Progressive Conservatives.
September September 7 – A Radio-Canada article reveals that 5,000 books were burned and buried from 30 French-language school libraries of Southwestern Ontario in a "flame purification" ceremony of 2019 held by the Conseil scolaire catholique Providence over depicting racist stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacts to the book burning, stating that he disagrees with it on a personal level and that it is not up to non-Indigenous people to tell Indigenous people how to feel or act on advancing active reconciliation. Quebec Premier François Legault called the act atrocious. September 9–18 – 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. September 13 – Raghu Venugopal M.D. holds a one-person counter-protest next to an anti-vaccination event outside Toronto General Hospital, calling protests "un-Canadian" and "unacceptable"; Justin Trudeau announces he will criminalize blocking access to hospitals. September 14 –The Quebec legislature would unanimously condemn a debate question as "Quebec-bashing." September 20 – 2021 Canadian federal election is held, with the Liberal Party forming another minority government. September 25 Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig arrive in Canada after being detained in China for nearly three years. They were released when the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou was dropped on September 24. The Toronto Maple Leafs played the Montreal Canadiens at home in the Scotiabank Arena with fans for the first time in over a year, a preseason game. The Leafs won. September 27 – The Green Party leader, Annamie Paul, announces her intention to resign as the leader of the Green Party, after the disappointing election results and leadership problems. September 30 – A new national holiday, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is held to remember lives lost at residential schools.
October October 4 – The Toronto Raptors played their first home game at the Scotiabank Arena in over a year against the Philadelphia 76ers, a preseason game. The Raptors won. October 18 – 2021 Alberta municipal elections are held. October 25 – 2021 Nunavut general election is held.
November November 14 – Unprecedented rain caused by an atmospheric river bring a series of floods to southern British Columbia. November 15 – Parts of Abbotsford and the entire city of Merritt, British Columbia are evacuated due to flooding. Many highways and rail lines are closed in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, cutting off land access to Greater Vancouver from the rest of Canada and Greater Victoria to the rest of Vancouver Island. November 24 – Amita Kuttner is appointed as interim leader of the Green Party of Canada, becoming the youngest person, first transgender person, and first person of East Asian heritage to lead a federal political party. November 28 – The Ontario Ministry of Health confirms the first case of COVID-19 Omicron variant in Canada.
December December 6 – Canadian Ministry of Health reports that Deltacron hybrid variant is now pre-dominant strain in Canada, which is combined with Delta and Omicron variants, accounting for three-quarters of cases. December 12 – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup in Hamilton.
Events cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 U Sports Women's Basketball Championship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario 2021 U Sports Men's Basketball Championship at St. Francis Xavier University in Halifax, Nova Scotia 2021 Toronto International Boat Show Toronto St Patrick's Day Parade