1881 in Canada

• Monarch – Victoria^[1]

• Governor General – John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne
• Prime Minister – John A. Macdonald
• Chief Justice – William Johnstone Ritchie (New Brunswick)
• Parliament – 4th

• Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Albert Norton Richards (until June 21) then Clement Francis Cornwall
• Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Joseph-Édouard Cauchon
• Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Robert Duncan Wilmot
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Adams George Archibald
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – John Beverley Robinson
• Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Thomas Heath Haviland
• Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Théodore Robitaille

• Premier of British Columbia – George Anthony Walkem
• Premier of Manitoba – John Norquay
• Premier of New Brunswick – John James Fraser
• Premier of Nova Scotia – Simon Hugh Holmes
• Premier of Ontario – Oliver Mowat
• Premier of Prince Edward Island – William Wilfred Sullivan
• Premier of Quebec – Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau

• Lieutenant Governor of Keewatin – Joseph-Édouard Cauchon
• Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories – David Laird (until December 3) then Edgar Dewdney

• January 17 – The Interprovincial Bridge connecting Ottawa to Hull, Quebec, opens
• February 16 – The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated
• April 4 – The 1881 census finds Canada's population to be 4,324,810
• May 24 – The overloaded steamer Victoria' capsizes on the Thames River near London, Ontario, killing 182 people.
• October – Clifton, Ontario, is renamed to Niagara Falls.
• December 2 – Quebec election: Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau's Conservatives win a majority

• Manitoba's boundaries are extended north, east and west. Ontario disputes the eastward extension.

• January 2 – Frederick Varley, artist and member of the Group of Seven (d.1969)
• January 20 – Fred Dixon, politician (d.1931)
• March 18 – Oliver Seibert, professional ice hockey player (d.1944)
• June 17 – Tommy Burns, only Canadian born world heavyweight champion boxer (d.1955)
• September 27 – James Ralston, lawyer, soldier, politician and Minister (d.1948)
• October 23 – Al Christie, film director, producer and screenwriter (d.1951)
• November 4 – Hector Authier, politician, lawyer and news reporter/announcer (d.1971)
• November 19 – Robert James Manion, politician (d.1943)
• December 20 – Télesphore-Damien Bouchard, politician (d.1962)
• December 29 – George Washington Kendall (d.1921)
• December 31 – Albert Sévigny, politician (d.1961)
• December 31 – Elizabeth Arden (birth name, Florence Nightingale Graham), founder, Elizabeth Arden cosmetics (d.1966)

• January 28 – Luc Letellier de St-Just, politician and 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1820)

John A. Macdonald expounds on CPR's troubled past and secure future in House of Commons speech^[2]

British editorial labels CPR and Canada bad investments^[3]

Wilfrid Laurier accuses Conservatives of "having sacrificed the public cause to personal cupidity"^[4]

Governor General speaks on prospects of Northwest Territories^[5]

Importance of steamboats to colonization along Saskatchewan River^[6]

Ojibwa entertain Governor General at Rat Portage (Kenora), Ont. (Note: racial stereotypes)^[7]

Chief Poundmaker tells Cree and Blackfoot legends to Governor General on tour^[8]

Colourful Blackfoot riders meet Governor General (Note: "savage" and other stereotypes)^[9]

Journalist describes beautiful Qu'Appelle Valley in gorgeous sunset^[10]

Nova Scotia woman tries to find maid for $4/month, and describes some of the work^[11]