List of number-one singles of 1996 (Canada)

RPM was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. 1996 saw twenty-three songs reach the number-one spot in Canada. Alanis Morissette achieved both the first and last number-one singles of the year: "Hand in My Pocket" and "Head over Feet", respectively. Six different artists reached number one for the first time in 1996: Joan Osborne, Everything but the Girl, Collective Soul, Melissa Etheridge, BoDeans, and the Tragically Hip.

Alanis Morissette, who had four different number-one singles in 1996, had the most successful hit of the year with "You Learn". Her preceding single, "Ironic", came in second place.

Canadian singer Alanis Morissette was the most successful act of 1996 in Canada, reaching number one with four different singles between January and November: "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", "You Learn", and "Head over Feet"—all from her album Jagged Little Pill. Although "Ironic" spent six weeks at number one, it was the second-most-successful single of the year;^[1] "You Learn" came in first place, topping the RPM Singles Chart for three nonconsecutive weeks in July. Mariah Carey, Hootie & the Blowfish, and Bryan Adams were the only other acts to top Canada's chart with multiple singles.

Aside from Morissette, three other Canadian acts reached number one: the Tragically Hip, Bryan Adams, and Celine Dion. Morissette's "Head over Feet" spent the most weeks at the top in 1996, staying there for seven weeks. Eric Clapton stayed five weeks at number one with "Change the World", as did John Mellencamp with "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)". Hootie & the Blowfish spent four weeks at number one with two hits: "Time" and "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)", while Mariah Carey, Everything but the Girl, and Bryan Adams each logged three weeks at number one with their chart-topping singles.

Key

† Indicates best-performing single of 1996

Chart history

Hootie & the Blowfish held the number-one position in Canada for four weeks with two tracks: "Time" and "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)".

"I Want to Come Over" gave Melissa Etheridge her first number-one single in Canada when it topped the chart in March.

Tracy Chapman gained her second Canadian number-one single in 1996 with "Give Me One Reason".

Canadian band the Tragically Hip topped the RPM chart for two nonconsecutive weeks in June and July with "Ahead by a Century".

John Mellencamp remained atop the chart for five weeks in 1996 with his fourth Canadian number one, "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)".

Issue date	Song	Artist	Reference
1 January[A]	"Hand in My Pocket"	Alanis Morissette	[2]
8 January	"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"	Whitney Houston	[3]
15 January			[4]
22 January	"One Sweet Day"	Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men	[5]
29 January			[6]
5 February	"One of Us"	Joan Osborne	[7]
12 February	"Time"	Hootie & the Blowfish	[8]
19 February	"Missing"	Everything but the Girl	[9]
26 February			[10]
4 March			[11]
11 March	"The World I Know"	Collective Soul	[12]
18 March	"I Want to Come Over"	Melissa Etheridge	[13]
25 March	"Follow You Down"	Gin Blossoms	[14]
1 April	"Ironic"	Alanis Morissette	[15]
8 April			[16]
15 April			[17]
22 April			[18]
29 April			[19]
6 May			[20]
13 May	"Closer to Free"	BoDeans	[21]
20 May	"Always Be My Baby"	Mariah Carey	[22]
27 May	"Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)"	Hootie & the Blowfish	[23]
3 June			[24]
10 June			[25]
17 June	"Give Me One Reason"	Tracy Chapman	[26]
24 June	"Ahead by a Century"	The Tragically Hip	[27]
1 July	"You Learn"†[1]	Alanis Morissette	[28]
8 July	"Ahead by a Century"	The Tragically Hip	[29]
15 July	"The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You"	Bryan Adams	[30]
22 July	"You Learn"†	Alanis Morissette	[31]
29 July			[32]
5 August	"Change the World"	Eric Clapton	[33]
12 August			[34]
19 August			[35]
26 August			[36]
2 September			[37]
9 September	"Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)"	John Mellencamp	[38]
16 September			[39]
23 September			[40]
30 September			[41]
7 October			[42]
14 October	"Let's Make a Night to Remember"	Bryan Adams	[43]
21 October			[44]
28 October	"It's All Coming Back to Me Now"	Celine Dion	[45]
4 November			[45]
11 November	"If It Makes You Happy"	Sheryl Crow	[46]
18 November	"Head over Feet"	Alanis Morissette	[47]
25 November			[48]
2 December			[49]
9 December			[50]
16 December			[51]
23 December[B]
30 December

Notes

1. Due to a two-week break in publication over the 1995/1996 Christmas/New Year period, the week of 1 January is inferred.
2. Due to a three-week break in publication over the 1996/1997 Christmas/New Year period, the weeks of 23 December and 30 December are inferred.

See also

• 1996 in music
• List of number-one albums of 1996 (Canada)