The 1979 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Jonquière, Quebec, Canada under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. It was the 16th edition. This marked the first time the championships were held outside Europe. The mixed C2 event was not held at these championships. East Germany did not take part and Czechoslovakia, as the other traditional powerhouse, won only one medal. West Germany won three medals while the United States led the medal count with seven, the first-time an English-speaking country had done so.
| Event | Gold | Points | Silver | Points | Bronze | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 |  Jon Lugbill (USA) |
238.49 | David Hearn (USA) |
242.85 | Bob Robison (USA) |
255.62 |
| C1 team |  United StatesJon Lugbill David Hearn Bob Robison |
279.55 |  West GermanyJürgen Schnitzerling Walter Horn Udo Werner |
353.17 |  CzechoslovakiaMilan Gába Karel Třešňák Karel Ťoupalík |
414.88 |
| C2 | West Germany Dieter Welsink Peter Czupryna |
260.67 |  FrancePierre Calori Jacques Calori |
275.43 |  PolandWojciech Kudlik Jerzy Jeż |
277.11 |
| C2 team | Poland Wojciech Kudlik & Jerzy Jeż Jan Frączek & Ryszard Seruga Zbigniew Czaja & Jacek Kasprzycki |
334.65 | France Pierre Calori & Jacques Calori Richard Hernanz & Mare Labedens Jean Lamy & Robert Platt |
373.35 |  SwitzerlandChristoph Studer & Ernst Rudin Martin Wyss & Roland Wyss Hardy Künzli & Peter Probst |
477.81 |
| Event | Gold | Points | Silver | Points | Bronze | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1 |  Peter Fauster (AUT) |
209.08 | Eduard Wolffhardt (AUT) |
211.09 |  Richard Fox (GBR) |
211.47 |
| K1 team | United Kingdom Richard Fox Albert Kerr Allan Edge |
235.36 | Austria Norbert Sattler Peter Fauster Eduard Wolffhardt |
243.28 | Switzerland Milo Duffek René Zimmermann Martin Brandenburger |
245.48 |
| Event | Gold | Points | Silver | Points | Bronze | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1 | Cathy Hearn (USA) |
253.30 | Elizabeth Sharman (GBR) |
253.86 | Linda Harrison (USA) |
257.74 |
| K1 team | United States Cathy Hearn Linda Harrison Becky Judd |
384.07 | West Germany Ulrike Deppe Elke Dietze Gabriele Köllmann |
385.81 | Switzerland Kathrin Weiss Sabine Weiss Alena Kucera |
409.91 |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Austria (AUT) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | France (FRA) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (8 entries) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | |
