See also: 1989 in Canada, other events of 1990, 1991 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.

Incumbents

Pte. Patrick Cloutier, a 'Van Doo' perimeter sentry, and Mohawk warrior Brad "Freddy Krueger" Larocque, a University of Saskatchewan economics student, face off during the Oka Crisis

• Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor General: Jeanne Sauvé then Ray Hnatyshyn
• Prime Minister: Brian Mulroney
• Premier of Alberta: Don Getty
• Premier of British Columbia: Bill Vander Zalm
• Premier of Manitoba: Gary Filmon
• Premier of New Brunswick: Frank McKenna
• Premier of Newfoundland: Clyde Wells
• Premier of Nova Scotia: John Buchanan then Roger Bacon
• Premier of Ontario: David Peterson then Bob Rae
• Premier of Prince Edward Island: Joe Ghiz
• Premier of Quebec: Robert Bourassa
• Premier of Saskatchewan: Grant Devine

Events

• January 5: 1300 jobs are lost in Newfoundland when Fishery Products International decides to close three plants
• January 15: Massive cuts to VIA Rail come into effect leading to the rerouting of The Canadian and many intercity trains
• January 24: The Tories introduce legislation that would create the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a national sales tax
• January 24: Jean Charest resigns from cabinet after he was found to have spoken with a judge
• January 29: Ramon John Hnatyshyn replaces Jeanne Sauvé as governor general
• January 29: A controversial resolution is passed by the city council of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, declaring the city "English-only"
• February: The federal government announces that it will privatize Petro-Canada; the legislation to do so is introduced in October.
• February 12: A massive tire fire begins near Hagersville, Ontario. It takes 15 days to put out.
• March 6: The National Gallery of Canada acquires Barnett Newman's Voice of Fire for $1.8 million causing a storm of controversy
• March 9: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Clyde Wells confirms he will rescind Newfoundland's approval of the Meech Lake Accord
• March 11: The Oka crisis begins
• March 15: The federal government decides that Sikhs may wear turbans while serving as Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers
• March 22: Canadian arms designer Gerald Bull is assassinated in Brussels, probably by Mossad
• May 12: The Bloc Québécois Party is formed as several MPs led by Lucien Bouchard quit the Tories and Liberals
• June 6: Stanley Charles Waters is the first elected senator
• June 12: Elijah Harper prevents Manitoba accepting the Meech Lake Accord
• June 23: Meech Lake Accord officially dead
• September 6: Bob Rae's Ontario New Democratic Party wins a surprise majority in Ontario.
• September 12: Roger Bacon becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing John Buchanan
• September 26: Oka crisis ends peacefully
• September 27: Brian Mulroney temporarily increases the size of the Senate to ensure passage of the GST
• October 1: Bob Rae become premier of Ontario, replacing David Peterson
• November 1: Mulroney launches the Citizen's Forum on Canada's Future to get Canadians' input on constitutional reform
• November 25: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup, defeating the Edmonton Eskimos 50 to 11.
• December 17: The GST becomes law
• Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup four games to one over the Boston Bruins. It is their fifth cup victory in seven years.
• Doug Flutie returns to Canada to play with the British Columbia Lions
• Canada Post Systems Management Limited founded
• Jean Chrétien elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
• Richard Taylor wins the Nobel Prize in Physics for verifying the Quark Theory

Arts and literature

Music

• RPM number-one hits of 1990
• RPM number-one albums of 1990

New works

• Swann by Carol Shields published
• The Evening News by Arthur Hailey
• A Tenured Professor by John Kenneth Galbraith
• TekWar by William Shatner
• Magic Casement by Dave Duncan
• Golden Fleece by Robert J. Sawyer
• Medicine River by Thomas King
• The Magic Machine: A Handbook of Computer Sorcery by Alexander Dewdney
• Whylah Falls by George Elliott Clarke
• The Wild Blue Yonder by Audrey Thomas
• L'Oursiade by Antonine Maillet

Awards

• See 1990 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

• Books in Canada First Novel Award: Sandra Birdsell, The Missing Child
• Geoffrey Bilson Award: Kit Pearson, The Sky Is Falling
• Gerald Lampert Award: Steven Heighton, Stalin's Carnival
• Marian Engel Award: Carol Shields
• Pat Lowther Award: Patricia Young, The Mad and Beautiful Mothers
• Stephen Leacock Award: W.O. Mitchell, According to Jake and the Kid
• Trillium Book Award: Alice Munro, Friend of My Youth
• Vicky Metcalf Award: Bernice Thurman Hunter

Births

Deaths

• January 7: Bronko Nagurski, American football player
• March 22: Gerald Bull, arms expert
• April 11: Harold Ballard, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs
• July 18: Johnny Wayne, comedian
• July 18: Gerry Boulet, Quebec rock singer (Offenbach)
• August 25: Morley Callaghan, writer
• October 30: Craig Russell, female impersonator
• November 2: Frederick Thomas Armstrong, politician
• November 7: Hugh MacLennan, writer
• November 16: Northern Dancer, racehorse