Events January 21 - Chris Jericho wins Intercontinental Championship from Chris Benoit February 8 - Lorne Calvert becomes premier of Saskatchewan, replacing Roy Romanow February 13 - Roger Grimes becomes premier of Newfoundland, replacing Beaton Tulk March 8 - Bernard Landry becomes premier of Quebec, replacing Lucien Bouchard March 12 - Alberta election: Ralph Klein's PCs win a ninth consecutive majority May 18 - Conrad Black renounces his Canadian citizenship May 21 - [Chris Jericho]] and Chris Benoit win WWF Tag Team Championship May 28 - Chris Jericho wins Hardcore title losing it that day June 5 - Gordon Campbell becomes premier of British Columbia, replacing Ujjal Dosanjh July - Canada becomes the first country in the world to legalize medical marijuana July 17 - Infighting in the Canadian Alliance forces out leader Stockwell Day August 24 - Conrad Black sells the National Post to Izzy Asper's CanWest September 11 - Canada closes its border with the United States in the aftermath of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks in the United States. Canadian government initiates Operation Support. All commercial airplanes flying over the United States are diverted to Canadian airports and passengers are welcomed to stay in Canada (some invited into strangers homes) until they are allowed back into the U.S October 7 - the 2001 Attack on Afghanistan begins. Canadian fighter pilots and ground troops are involved in the war October 21 - Chris Jericho wins WCW Championship October 22 - Chris Jericho and The Rock win the WWF Tag Team Championship December 9 - Chris Jericho becomes first to unify WWE and the WCW Championships hence becoming first ever Undisputed Champion Chris Hadfield becomes the first Canadian to perform a spacewalk CTV purchases the Globe and Mail Arts and literature New Books Dolce Agonia - Nancy Huston Life of Pi - Yann Martel The Stone Carvers - Jane Urquhart Eunoia - Christian Bök Discipline of Power - Jeffrey Simpson New Plays Shadows - Timothy Findley Awards Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief wins the lucrative IMPAC Award Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: Richard B. Wright - Clara Callan See 2001 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards. Books in Canada First Novel Award: Michael Redhill, Martin Sloane Gerald Lampert Award: Anne Simpson, Light Falls Through You Griffin Poetry Prize: Anne Carson, Men in the Off Hours Marian Engel Award: Elizabeth Hay Pat Lowther Award: Sharon Thesen, A Pair of Scissors Stephen Leacock Award: Stuart McLean, Vinyl Café Unplugged Trillium Book Award English: Richard B. Wright, Clara Callan Trillium Book Award French: Michèle Matteau, Cognac et Porto Vicky Metcalf Award: Linda Granfield Music March 4 - Bruce Cockburn is inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame New Music Ten New Songs - Leonard Cohen Silver Side Up - Nickelback Pretty Together - Sloan All Killer No Filler - Sum 41 Film Television Rick Mercer leaves; Colin Mochrie joins This Hour Has 22 Minutes Births Deaths January 31 - Gordon R. Dickson, author April 2 - Charles Daudelin, painter, sculptor July 3 - Mordecai Richler November 19 - Marcelle Ferron, sculptor Jack Harman, sculptor Louis Dudcek, poet
Deaths January 31 - Gordon R. Dickson, author April 2 - Charles Daudelin, painter, sculptor July 3 - Mordecai Richler November 19 - Marcelle Ferron, sculptor Jack Harman, sculptor Louis Dudcek, poet