1940 in Canada

Events from the year 1940 in Canada.

Incumbents

Governor General – John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir (until February 11) then Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (from June 21)
Prime Minister – William Lyon Mackenzie King
Chief Justice – Lyman Poore Duff (British Columbia)
Parliament – 18th (until 25 January) then 19th (from 16 May)

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – John C. Bowen
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Eric Hamber
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – William Johnston Tupper(until November 1) then Roland Fairbairn McWilliams
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Murray MacLaren (until March 5) then William George Clark
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Robert Irwin (until May 31) then Frederick Francis Mathers
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Albert Edward Matthews
Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Bradford William LePage
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Eugène Fiset
Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan – Archibald Peter McNab

Premier of Alberta – William Aberhart
Premier of British Columbia – Thomas Dufferin Pattullo
Premier of Manitoba – John Bracken
Premier of New Brunswick – Allison Dysart (until March 13) then John McNair
Premier of Nova Scotia – Angus Lewis Macdonald (until July 10) then A.S. MacMillan
Premier of Ontario – Mitchell Hepburn
Premier of Prince Edward Island – Thane Campbell
Premier of Quebec – Adélard Godbout
Premier of Saskatchewan – William John Patterson

March 13 – John B. McNair becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing Allison Dysart
March 21 – Alberta election: William Aberhart's Social Credit Party wins a second consecutive majority
March 26 – Federal election: Mackenzie King's Liberals win a second consecutive majority
April 3 – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, is appointed Governor General of Canada replacing the late John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
April 25 – Quebec women get the vote in provincial elections
May 28–June 30 – World War II: The Royal Canadian Navy stations seven destroyers in the English Channel; these play an important role in evacuating Allied troops from France
June – World War II: Canadian troops are some of a small number of forces defending Britain
June 5 – Nazi, fascist, and communist groups are declared illegal in Canada and leaders and members are jailed
June 10 – World War II: Canada declares war against Italy
June 13–18 – World War II: A small number of Canadian troops land in Brest, France, but are forced to evacuate soon after
June 21 – The National Resources Mobilization Act is passed; conscription is introduced, but only for homeland defence
June 25 – sinks in a collision in the Gironde estuary in France. 45 sailors die.

July 10: Alexander MacMillan becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Angus Macdonald
August 1 – September 17: World War II: 80 Canadian pilots participate in the Battle of Britain
August 5: Camillien Houde, the mayor of Montreal, is arrested for sedition due to his anti-conscription rhetoric
August 7: Unemployment insurance is introduced
August 13: The Canadian Armoured Corps is established
August 18: The Odgensburg Agreement on continental defence is signed with the United States
September 5: United Kingdom trades most of its North American military bases to the United States in exchange for 50 destroyers
October 22: is sunk in a collision in the North Atlantic. 142 sailors die and 34 survive.
November 7: The Permanent Active Militia is renamed the Canadian Army (Active) and the Non-Permanent Active Militia is renamed the Canadian Army (Reserve).

See the 1940 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

April 13 – The New York Rangers win their third Stanley Cup (and last until 1994) by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 games to 2. The deciding Game 6 was played at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto
April 22 – The Ontario Hockey Association's Oshawa Generals win their second (consecutive) Memorial Cup by defeating Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Kenora Thistles 3 games to 1. The deciding Game 4 was played at Shea's Amphitheatre in Winnipeg
November 30 – The Ottawa Rough Riders win their second Grey Cup by defeating the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers 20 to 7 in the 28th Grey Cup played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto

January 1 - Clifford Olson, serial killer (d. 2011)
January 10 - Guy Chevrette, politician
January 19 - Linda Sorenson, actress
January 28 - Valery Fabrikant, professor of mechanical engineering and murderer responsible for the Concordia University massacre on August 24, 1992
February 4 - Michelle Rossignol, Canadian actress
February 16 - Don Bertoia, middle-distance runner
March 4 - Nellie Cournoyea, former politician and 6th Premier of the Northwest Territories and the first female premier of a Canadian territory
March 6 - Ken Danby, artist (d. 2007)
March 22 - Dave Keon, ice hockey player

thumb|150px|Alex Trebek, March 2007

July 4 - Pat Stapleton, ice hockey player (d. 2020)
July 11 - Yvon Charbonneau, politician (d. 2016)
July 15 - Glen Findlay, politician
July 22 - Alex Trebek, television personality and game show host (d. 2020 in the United States)
July 26 - Bobby Rousseau, ice hockey player (d. 2025)
July 27 - Harvie Andre, engineer, businessman, politician and Minister
July 28 - Mario Sergio, politician
August 7 - Sally McCallum, track and field athlete
September 1 - Edward Roberts, lawyer and politician (d. 2022)
September 6 - Brian Smith, ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 1995)
September 9 - Larry Lund, ice hockey player
September 11 - Gerry Phillips, politician
September 19
Sylvia Tyson, singer-songwriter and guitarist
Ed Westfall, ice hockey player and sportscaster
September 20 - Doug Young, politician and cabinet minister
September 29 - Al Mair, founder of Attic Records
September 30
Harry Jerome, track and field runner (d. 1982)
Dewey Martin, rock drummer (d. 2009)

thumb|right|150px|John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

February 11 - John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, novelist, politician and 15th Governor General of Canada (b. 1875)