January 2005 in Canada

Events in Canada

This page deals with current events in Canada, of interest to Canada and/or involving Canadians.

January 28, 2005

• The Federal government and the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia make a deal to share offshore revenue resources. (CBC)
• David Laing, a police officer from Vancouver, wins an out-of-court settlement with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) about an incident that occurred in the spring of 2004 where an American police officer in Hope, British Columbia who was working with the local RCMP illegally searched his vehicle. (CBC)
• War medals awarded to the now deceased General Dollard Menard were put on auction and given to the Fusiliers Mont Royal in Montreal. The awards, which were originally given to Menard for his role in the Dieppe Raid of World War II, were sold for $40,000. (CBC)

January 26, 2005

• Justice Minister Irwin Cotler predicts that the same-sex marriage vote will pass through the Canadian House of Commons. (CBC)

January 24, 2005

• Former Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, in an interview with La Presse, states he intends to run to succeed Paul Martin if he resigns in the next four years. (La Presse, in French)

January 23, 2005

• A report in the Washington Post indicates that the President of the United States, George W. Bush strongly pressured Prime Minister Paul Martin to support the United States' missile defence plan during the president's recent visit to Ottawa. (CBC)

January 22, 2005

• Prime Minister Paul Martin continues his trip in Asia, making a final stop in Hong Kong, meeting with business leaders and chief executive Tung Chee Hwa. Martin said Canadians will not necessarily have to go to the polls if his same-sex legislation is voted down. (CTV.ca)

January 21, 2005

• Calgary Member of Parliament Jason Kenney visits the home of the late Chinese communist leader Zhao Ziyang in Beijing. The Conservative parliamentarian is believed to be the first Western politician allowed to make such a visit to the home of the purged leader. Filming of the visit was forbidden. (CP)
• Prime Minister Paul Martin makes diplomatic remarks about China's human rights record during a speech in Beijing. Martin criticises Conservative Leader Stephen Harper in his new challenge that the lines cannot be clearly drawn on same-sex marriage and related laws. This followed a new agreement between China and Canada on tourism, believed to have the potential of generating billions of dollars from Chinese tourists in Canada in the years to come. (CBC)

January 20, 2005

• Prime Minister Paul Martin begins a two-day official visit to the People's Republic of China, meets with Premier Wen Jiabao. (CBC)

January 19, 2005

• A mudslide in North Vancouver, British Columbia kills one woman. (CBC)
• Independent British Columbia MLA Elayne Brenzinger, a former BC Liberal, joins the new Democratic Reform BC party, adding a third party to that province's Legislative Assembly for the first time since 1997.

January 18, 2005

• Norman Kwong, the first Chinese-Canadian to play in the Canadian Football League, is named the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. (CBC)

January 17, 2005

• Prime Minister Paul Martin visits a region controlled by the controversial Tamil Tiger rebels, who are classified as terrorists by the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. (CBC)

January 16, 2005

• Prime Minister Paul Martin begins his nine-day tour of Asia by visiting Phuket, Thailand, a resort town that was devastated by the December 26 tsunami. (CBC)

January 15, 2005

• Prime Minister Paul Martin leaves Canada for a nine-day tour of Asia. During the trip, he will visit some of the regions worst-devastated by the December 26 tsunami. (CBC)

January 14, 2005

• Former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna is officially named as ambassador to the United States. (CBC)
• Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Judy Sgro, resigns amid controversy surrounding the fast-tracking of immigration papers for people who have been involved in her re-election campaign last year. Joe Volpe, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, is set to replace Sgro. (Globe and Mail)

January 13, 2005

• Canadian submarine HMCS Chicoutimi (SSK 879) begins her second voyage home from Faslane naval base in Scotland, following the fatal fire aboard her during her first voyage last October. This time she is being carried aboard a Norwegian transporter. (BBC Scotland)

January 12, 2005

• Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier, the former commander of the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan, is appointed to become the next chief of the Canadian military defence staff. (CBC)
• Bud McCaig, a prominent Calgary philanthropist and part-owner of the Calgary Flames, dies at the age of 75 in Barbados. (CBC)

January 11, 2005

• The Canadian Red Cross receives its largest personal donation ever for a disaster appeal. Music World founders Kroum and Eva Pindoff donate $5 million for Tsunami relief. (CBC)

January 10, 2005

• Former Montreal Canadiens general manager Irving Grundman receives a 23-month conditional sentence and is fined $50,000 after pleading guilty to accepting a bribe while he was a Montreal city councillor. Fellow ex-councillor René Dussault was also sentenced to 23 months to be served in the community and fined $25,000 for his part in the scandal. (CBC)
• Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe promises to force an election if the Spring Budget does not meet certain demands, notably that no great sums of money are allocated to the National Missile Defence Program. (CBC)
• Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams orders the Canadian flag back up on provincial buildings after he ordered them down 3 weeks ago after a dispute with Ottawa over off-shore oil revenues. The issue remains unresolved, but Williams has said that he has made his point and gotten the attention of Canadians across the country. (CBC)

January 9, 2005

• Prime Minister Paul Martin pledges $425 million to tsunami relief efforts in South Asia. This is a significant increase from the $80 million promised earlier. (CBC)
• The departure of the submarine HMCS Chicoutimi (SSK 879) from Faslane, Scotland has again been delayed, due to the recent stormy weather there. (CBC)

January 7, 2005

• Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that he will alter the itinerary of his upcoming trip to Asia so he can visit areas worst affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami there. (CBC)
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Wendy Mesley discloses that she is receiving treatment for breast cancer. (CBC)

January 6, 2005

• Lois Hole, the Albertan Lieutenant Governor, dies of stomach cancer at the age of 71. A successor has not yet been appointed. (CBC)

January 5, 2005

• Citing privacy laws, Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that the federal government will not publish any list of Canadians missing or dead as a result of the recent tsunami in Asia. However, the Toronto Star publishes its own list which includes the names of seven Canadians the newspaper claims are deceased. (Toronto Star) Foreign Affairs Canada currently confirms five Canadians to be dead, with 146 missing. (CBC)
• Prime Minister Paul Martin offers to appoint former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna as ambassador to the United States. Sources indicate that McKenna will accept the appointment. (CBC)

January 4, 2005

• Canada wins the gold medal at the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships by defeating Russia 6-1.

January 2, 2005

• Canada advances to the gold medal game of the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships by defeating the Czech Republic 3-1 in the semi-final.

News collections and sources

• Wikipedia:News collections and sources.
• Wikipedia:News sources – This has much of the same material organised in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting.