See also: 1949 in Canada, other events of 1950, 1951 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch: King George VI
• Governor General: Earl Alexander of Tunis
• Prime Minister: Louis Saint Laurent
• Premier of Alberta: Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia: Byron Johnson
• Premier of Manitoba: Douglas Campbell
• Premier of New Brunswick: John McNair
• Premier of Newfoundland: Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia: Angus Macdonald
• Premier of Ontario: Leslie Frost
• Premier of Prince Edward Island: Walter Jones
• Premier of Quebec: Maurice Duplessis
• Premier of Saskatchewan: Tommy Douglas

Events

• January 14: The first non-stop trans-Canada flight is made
• Early May: The Winnipeg Flood along the Red River causes immense damage and one death in Winnipeg
• May 29: The St. Roch becomes the first vessel to circumnavigate North America
• August 7: Canada joins a United Nations force to fight in Korean War
• August 22–August 30: A rail workers strike shuts down much of the Canadian economy
• October 31: The oil pipeline linking Edmonton to Sarnia is completed
• November 28: Canada joins on to the Colombo Plan
• December 18: Korean War: First Canadian troops arrive in Korea
• Cité libre magazine is first published
• British Columbia Provincial Police are disestablished.

Arts and culture

Literary awards

• See 1950 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Earle Birney, Turvey

Births

• January 5: John Manley, politician
• January 13: Joe Fontana, politician
• January 18: Gilles Villeneuve, automobile racing driver
• February 8: Keith Milligan, politician
• February 12: Michael Ironside, actor
• March 16: Kate Nelligan, actress
• March 17: Jackson Davies, actor
• March 23: Jerry Storie, Manitoba politician
• March 23: Ralph Eichler, Manitoba politician
• March 26: Martin Short, actor
• April 19: Gérard Asselin, politician
• May 7: Deepak Obhrai, politician
• May 27: Brent St. Denis, politician
• June 1: Perrin Beatty, politician
• June 21: Anne Carson, poet
• June 25: Michel Côté, actor
• July 6: Hélène Scherrer, politician
• July 7: Leon Benoit, politician
• July 11: Liona Boyd, musician
• August 2: Sue Rodriguez, advocate for assisted suicide
• August 6: Carole Pope, musician
• August 15: Ron Lemieux, Manitoba politician
• August 16: Stockwell Day, politician
• August 31: Anne McLellan, politician
• September 16: Sheila Fraser, auditor
• September 18: Darryl Sittler, hockey player
• October 31: John Candy, comedian and actor
• November 2: Wendy Lill, politician and writer
• November 2: Daryl Reid, Manitoba politician
• November 5: Susan Nattrass, athlete
• December 20: Carolyn Bennett, politician
• December 21: Lap-Chee Tsui, scientist
• Roger Grimes, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
• David Barr, Canadian Forces colonel

Deaths

• July 25: Gleason Belzile, politician
• November 11: John Knox Blair, politician