War of 1812: U.S. declares war on Britain; U.S. president James Madison sends a message to Congress, listing grievances against Britain and calling for a declaration of war. The grievances claim the seizure of American seamen by the Royal Navy and the violation of U.S. neutrality rights and territorial waters. Some U.S. interests want the lands of Upper Canada for American settlement, while the New England states and some commercial groups oppose the war. Nevertheless, war on Britain is declared, tensions rise and dozens of battles follow in both the U.S. and Canada. In one retaliatory attack, 4,000 British troops march on Washington, D.C., where they set fire to the Capitol, the White House, and other buildings.
Treaty of Ghent ends War of 1812; Britain and the U.S. sign the treaty which returns occupied territories on both sides and restores the boundaries of 1783.
Russel Moore (circa 1817 - between 1880 and 1895)
49th Parallel Becomes Offical Canadian Border; The 49th Parallel is accepted as Canada's border with the U.S., running from Lake of the Woods to the Rockies, according to the London Convention signed by the U.S. and Canada.
Lower Canada pop. 479,288: Upper Canada 157,923
"Uncle Tom" to Canada?; Josiah Henson, an enslaved black man in Kentucky, flees with his family to Upper Canada (now Ontario) on the Underground Railroad, an escape route for black slaves. Henson is reputed to be the original character on which author Harriet Beecher Stowe based Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel which showed the inhumanity of slavery. Henson settles outside Dresden, Ontario, becomes an ordained Methodist minister, and creates a settlement and school for runaway slaves. He meets with Queen Victoria three times to solicit funds and he dies a British subject.
Cholera epidemic hits Lower Canada; Immigrants with cholera, aboard the Carrick from Dublin, land in Quebec and by September, the disease kills 3,800 people at Quebec and 4,000 at Montreal.
Last Duel in Upper Canada; John Wilson kills 19-year-old Robert Lyon at Perth, in what is believed to be the last duel in Upper Canada. Wilson is acquitted and later becomes a judge in the Ontario Supreme Court.
Toronto becomes a city; The fast-growing town of over 9,000 inhabitants is incorporated as city of Toronto, with an elected civic government led by William Lyon Mackenzie as first mayor.
First passenger railway in Canada; The first train operates from from Laprairie, near Montreal, to St. John's, Quebec, a distance of about 24 km (15 miles).
William Lyon Mackenzie leads Upper Canada Rebellion; After he is defeated at the polls in 1836, the embittered former Reform mayor of Toronto organizes an armed revolt against the Conservative establishment. He leads an erratic group of rebels down Toronto's main street. Loyalist guards disperse the crowd with shots and Mackenzie flees to the U.S., where he lives and works as a journalist until 1849 when he is pardoned and returns to Canada.
Upper and Lower Canada united; The Act of Union is given royal assent and Upper Canada becomes Canada West and Lower Canada becomes Canada East. In 1841, the pop. of Canada East is estimated at 625,000. Census returns for Canada West put population at 455,688.
Halifax incorporated as a city
Treaty settles western U.S.-Canada boundary; The Oregon Boundary Treaty signed by U.S. President James Polk and Queen Victoria further determines the western boundary between British North America and the U.S. at 49 degrees north latitude from the crest of the Rockies to the middle of the Channel between Vancouver Island and the Mainland. Britain receives all of Vancouver Island.
Tide of Irish immigrants arrive in Canada; A year of famine in Ireland sends more than 90,000 immigrants to Canada. Many are suffering from typhus and cholera, which spread to major towns. The death toll among immigrants rises to more than 20,000.
First elected Acadian; Amand Landry becomes the first Acadian to be elected to the New Brunswick legislature.
Ice jam blocks Niagara Falls; An ice jam at the mouth of the Niagara River completely blocks flow of Niagara Falls, the only time on record.
Province of Canada prints its first money notes
Toronto becomes new seat of gov't of Canada
New Caledonia is renamed British Columbia
First Canadian stamp issued; Canada's first "regular" postage stamp, the three-penny beaver, is issued. It is designed by Sandford Fleming.
Capital of Canada moved to Quebec City from Toronto
First Y.M.C.A in North America; The first North American chapter of the Young Men's Christian Association is established in Montreal by two evangelical businessmen, Francis Grafton and James Clexton.
Montreal fire leaves more than 10,000 homeless
Toronto Stock Exchange opens
First black newspaperwoman in North America; Mary Shadd Cary, who fled the U.S. for Canada, joins others in founding the Provincial Freeman, a weekly newspaper for blacks in Canada, in Windsor, Ontario. As a key figure in its operations, she became the first black woman to establish and edit a newspaper in North America, and probably the first woman to do so in Canada. She later returned to the U.S., where she died in 1893.
Ottawa is incorporated as a city
Toronto becomes new capital of Canada
First recorded game of hockey; On Christmas Day, 1855, members of the Royal Canadian Rifles stationed in Kingston, Ontario, clear the snow from an expanse of ice in the town's harbour, tie blades to their boots, and play hockey with borrowed field hockey sticks and a lacrosse ball. The first public exhibition of the game is held in 1875.
Ottawa becomes Canada's Capital; Queen Victoria names Ottawa as the capital of Canada, which exists at the time as Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec).
Queen Victoria picks Ottawa as new capital of Canada
First Canadian coins minted; The first Canadian coins, minted in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 20 cents, are introduced on Sept. 1.
Blondin walks tightrope over Niagara Gorge; Blondin (Jean-Francois Gravelet) is watched by 25,000 people as he walks a tightrope over the Niagara Gorge to the Canadian side, stopping to drink champagne and perform other feats.
Maple leaf first used as Canadian emblem; The Prince of Wales visits Toronto, where the maple leaf is first used as an official Canadian emblem
Canada East pop.is 1,111,566: Canada West 1,396,091
Charlottetown Conference sets tone for Confederation; Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island convene the Charlottetown Conference, which is also attended by most of the cabinet of the Province of Canada. The topic is British North American confederation, which has already been approved in principle by the British gov't. A Quebec Conference in October summarizes proposals which are submitted to British government for approval.
John L. Moore (1865 - 1942)
Fenians threaten to invade Canada; Ten thousand militiamen are placed under arms after the Fenians, Irish-loyalists intent on Irish independence from Britain, hold a mass meeting in New York and threaten to invade Canada. One group of Fenians mass at Eastport, Maine, intending to invade Campobello Island, New Brunswick, but they withdraw in face of Canadian militia, British warships, and American authorities. Other Fenians occupy and plunder Fort Erie (Ont.) and Missisquoi County (Quebec). Canadian militia and American authorities eventually stop the raids. Fenianism helps to unite Canadians during the period of Confederation.
Confederation of Canada: Dominion of Canada created; John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada, a nation which first consists of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario. It is soon expanded with the addition of Manitoba (formerly Assiniboia) and the North-West Territories (July 15, 1870), British Columbia (July 20, 1871), Prince Edward Island (July 1, 1873), Alberta and Saskatchewan (Sept 1, 1905), and ultimately Newfoundland (March 31, 1949).
Metis tensions heat up; The Metis (mixed Indian and European, also called half-breeds and bois-brules by some of that era) assert their political identity in Canada's northwest by taking English-speaking prisoners and drawing up a list of rights as a condition for annexation to Canada. They include the right of Metis to elect their own legislature and that English and French be official languages. Louis Riel is the feisty Metis leader who challenges Canadian authority.
Timothy Eaton opens store in Toronto; A small dry goods store opens at Queen and Yonge Streets. It is the forerunner for a chain of department stores called Eaton's which is still run by the Eaton family today.
Metis leader Louis Riel leads Red River Rebellion ; Efforts of the Canadian gov't to map Red River without regard for local residents' holdings touches off Louis Riel's efforts to establish a provisional gov't and the Red River Rebellion. Metis landowners clash with new settlers
Far Northern territories join Canada; An Imperial Order-in-Council transfers Rupert's Land and the North West Territory to Canada.
Manitoba joins Confederation; All of British North America between Ontario and B.C. becomes part of Dominion of Canada under the Manitoba Act, and the province of Manitoba, formerly Assiniboia, is formed and becomes the fifth province. About 1.4 million acres are set aside for Metis, who are still wary of dominance by Britain and English-Canadians.
First census of Dominion of Canada; The first census of Canada after Confederation records a population of 3,689,257, including 2.1 million of British origin and 1.1 million of French descent. The population of Ontario is 1,620,851, Quebec 1,191,516, Nova Scotia 387,000, New Brunswick 285,594, and Manitoba 10,000. P.E.I. is 94,021, and B.C. is 36,247.
B.C. joins Confederation; On the promise of a transcontinental railway, British Columbia joins Confederation as the sixth province.
Prince Edward Island joins Confederation
First North American golf club; Three Scottish immigrants, Alexander Dennistoun and David D. and John G. Sidey, found the Montreal Golf Club, the first golf club in North America. Other clubs quickly spring up in Quebec City and Toronto.
Conservative gov't resigns: Liberals take office; In what is called "The Pacific Scandal," the Conservative government of John A. Macdonald resigns over evidence that members of gov't received money from Hugh Allan, president of Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.), in exchange for contract to build national railway. Alexander Mackenzie becomes Prime Minister of the new Liberal gov't on Nov. 7.
Winnipeg is incorporated as a city
Alexander Graham Bell begins work on phone in Ont.; Early experiments on the telephone begin in Brantford, Ontario.
McGill & Harvard play first modern football; McGill University of Montreal and Harvard University play the first modern game of football
Metis leader Louis Riel found guilty of murder; Riel is expelled from House of Commons as a fugitive and is found guilty of the murder of Thomas Scott four years earlier. Scott, a Canadian, had attempted to overthrow Riel at a meeting at Fort Garry. A Metis court martial sentenced Scott to death and he was executed by a firing squad. Metis fless to the U.S. and later returns to Canada.
The Northwest Territories is created; An act creates the separate political division of the Northwest Territories out of the Far Northern Territories. The capital is Battleford, Saskatchewan.
Toronto Public Library lends first book
Indian Act defines special status; The Indian Act of 1876 defines special status for aboriginal people living on land reserves and sets out land regulatons. Status Indians are not allowed to vote in elections and are exempted from taxation.
First telephone call; Alexander Graham Bell makes first telephone call from one building to another between himself and his uncle David Bell. On Aug. 10, the first long distance call was made between Brantford and Paris, Ontario, a distance of 13 km (eight miles).
Sitting Bull flees to Canada; After the massacre of Custer and the U.S. 7th Calvary, 2,000 Dakota Sioux Indians flee into Canada and camp at Wood Mountain, 240 km (150 miles) east of Cypress Hills. By May 1877, Sitting Bull and 2,000 more Sioux had crossed the border.
First commercial phone installed at Hamilton, Ont.
First electrical lights; Electricity was first used for lighting in Canada to illuminate the Montreal waterfront in 1977. John Barber's paper mill in Georgetown, Ontario, is believed to be the first plant in the world to run on hydro-electric power.
Liberal gov't of Mackenzie defeated; In a general election, the Liberal gov't of Alexander Mackenzie is defeated. The Conservatives of John A. Macdonald gain 142 seats to the Liberals 64. Although Macdonald is personally defeated, he is later sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada, an office he held until June 6, 1891.
Standard Time proposed in Toronto; Sir Sandford Fleming (knighted 1897) proposes that the world should be divided into 24 equal time zones, with a standard time in each zone, in a lecture at the Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Scientific Knowledge in Toronto. The idea catches on, and in January 1885, Greenwich Mean Time was established as the meridian of the system and several countries embrace the system as workable.
Conservative gov't wins re-election; John A. Macdonald's Conservatives win general election with 139 seats to 72 seats for Liberals.
Canada's first kindergarten opens; Ada Marean, a Toronto teacher, opens Canada's first kindergarten at Louisa Street School in Toronto.
First national park in Canada; An order-in-council establishes the Rocky Mountain Park (now Banff National Park) at Banff, Alberta. The adjacent Yoho National Park in B.C. follows shortly after.
Metis leader Louis Riel is hanged; After a trial for treason in Regina, an Anglo-Saxon Protestant jury does not believe the defence's plea of insanity, and Riel is sentenced to death and hanged. The charge of treason or rebellion followed the declaration of a provisional gov't in the Northwest Territories by Riel and others earlier in 1885. A battle between Canadian militiamen and Metis forces followed with the eventual surrender of Riel.
Last spike driven in transcontinental railway; The "Last Spike" in a transcontinental railway is driven by Donald Smith at Craigellachie, British Columbia. In June of the following year, the first passenger train leaves Montreal, arriving the next month in Port Moody, B.C., a distance of 2,891 miles (4,652 kilometers).
Vancouver is incorporated as a city; Shortly after, the city is destroyed by fire. Fifty people are killed and only four houses remain standing. The following year, Vancouver temporarily loses its city charter because of rioting against Chinese immigration, a lingering issue in the community.
First panoramic camera; Patented in 1887 by John Connon of Elora, Ontario, Canada produces the first panoramic camera. Designed to revolve on a tripod, the camera gives a continuous 360-degree picture.
William E. Moore (1890 - 1987)
Conservatives win general election\Macdonald dies; The Tories win 124 seats to the Liberals 91. Soon after, on June 6, Sir John A. Macdonald dies at Ottawa and John Joseph Caldwell Abbott is chosen to succeed Macdonald as Prime Minister.
Fire destroys St. John's, Newfoundland; Few, if any, cities suffered more fires in the 19th century than St. John's, Newfoundland. The worst occurred in the summer of 1892 when 2,000 buildings, including most of the business and professional establishments, were destroyed. Eleven thousand people were left homeless. The city was rebuilt and help came from England, the U.S.A. and Canada (Nflnd. was still a British colony at the time).
New Prime Minister of Canada; Following the resignation of John Joseph Caldwell Abbott because of ill health, John Sparrow David Thompson becomes Prime Minister.
First Stanley Cup; The Stanley Cup, donated by Gov. Gen. Lord Stanley, is first awarded to the Montreal Athletic Association, an amateur hockey team. In 1894, the Montreal Victorias become the first professional team to win the Stanley Cup.
Calgary incorporated as a city
Mackenzie Bowell becomes new Cons. Prime Minister; Following the death of John Sparrow David Thompson, Mackenzie Bowell becomes Prime Minister.
Joshua Slocum, first man to sail around world; Joshua Slocum of Annapolis, Nova Scotia, departs on voyage that will make him the first man to sail around the world. His voyage lasts until 1898.
Klondike Gold Rush lures 100,000 goldseekers; The accidental discovery of gold on the Rabbitt (later Bonanza) Creek in the Canadian Yukon leads to newspaper reports which report "a ton of gold" and touch off a stampede of goldseekers from all over Canada and the U.S.
Charles Tupper becomes new Cons. Prime Minister; After Mackenzie Bowell resigns as Prime Minister, he is succeeded by Charles Tupper.
Canada gets first Liberal gov't; The Liberals under Wilfrid Laurier defeat the Conservatives under Tupper, 123 seats to 88, in a general election. The Liberal victory is especially strong in Quebec.
First woman lawyer in British Empire; Clara Brett Martin, a bright and tenacious woman, persuades the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) to change its regulations to let women practice law, and she becomes the first woman admitted to the profession of law in the British Empire. The following year Emma Casgrain graduates from the Quebec College of Dentists and becomes Canada's first woman dentist.
The Yukon becomes a territory; An Act of Parliament makes the Yukon a separate territory.
First Canadian troops sent overseas.; The 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, with 57 officers and 1,224 men set sail from Quebec for the Boer War, South Africa. A second Canadian contingent follows in 1900, and Canadians become involved in several battles.
Britain-U.S. set Alaska/Canada boundary
Canadian census registers 5,371,315 people; English residents number 3,063,195 and people of French descent number 1,649,371. The pop. of Ontario is 2,182,947, Quebec 1,648,898, Nova Scotia 459,574, New Brunswick 331,120, Manitoba 255,211, B.C. 178,657, P.E.I. 103,259, the territories of Saskatchewan and Alberta 91,279 and 73,022, Yukon 27,219, and N.W.T. 20,129.
First transatlantic wireless message; The first transatlantic wireless message is received on a hilltop at St. John's, Newfoundland, by Guglielmo Marconi, the famous pioneer in radio. The transmission is sent from Cornwall, England.
Ford Motor Company of Canada begins production; The company produced 117 cars in its first year in a plant at Walkerville, Ontario.
Regina is incorporated as a city
FIrst Canadian Olympic gold medalist; Montreal policeman Etienne Desmarteau wins the 56 lb. hammer throw at the St. Louis Olympics.
Major fire sweeps Toronto; The fire causes $12-million in property damage and destroys much of the business section, but no one is killed.
The Liberals maintain power in general election; With Wilfrid Laurier as leader, the Liberals win by 64 seats.
Alberta & Saskatchewan created: Both join Dominion; The Dominion Act creates the two provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Edmonton and Regina, respectively, become the capitals. Both enter Dominion of Canada as the 8th and 9th provinces.
Anne of Green Gables is published; Lucy Maud Montgomery publishes Anne of Green Gables, the adventures of a young girl growing up in the Maritimes. It becomes a timeless classic for generations to come.
First Canadian service station opens in Vancouver
Edmonton is incorporated as a city
Wilfrid Laurier leads Liberals to election victory
First airplane flight in Canada; J.A.D. McCurdy pilots the Silver Dart, the first heavier-than-air machine to fly in Canada. Designed and built by the Aerial Experiment Association under Alexander Graham Bell (a flight enthusiast since boyhood), the Silver Dart had already been flown successfully in New York state. For flight in Canada, the plane is dismantled, crated and brought to Baddeck Bay, Nova Scotia, the Bells' Canadian home. J.A.D. McCurdy is the principal designer and pilot. For the inaugural Canadian flight, the plane is pulled onto Baddeck Bay by horsedrawn sleigh. The sliver-winged machine rises on its second attempt after travelling about 30 m, flying at an elevation from 3 to 9 m at roughly 65 km/hr for .8 km. Over 100 of Bell's neighbours witness the first flight of a British subject anywhere in the empire.
Chocolate bar invented in N.B.; At a 38-year-old bakery and candy shop in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Arthur Ganong and his factory supervisor invent the five-cent chocolate nut bar. ; Still located in St. Stephen today, Ganong's is the only family-owned large confectionary company in Canada.
The Conservatives win federal election; The Conservatives under Robert Borden take power from Liberals under Wilfrid Laurier
Titanic sinks; After striking an iceberg in the chilly waters of the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, the White Star liner Titanic sinks on her maiden voyage, a few days out of Southampton, England, with a loss of 1513 lives.
Number of immigrants reaches all-time high, 400,870; A majority are from England and U.S.
Canada enters World War I; Canada enters war when Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.; The first Canadian contingent sails from Quebec for England with a total of 33,000 men, 7,000 horses and 144 pieces of artillery. Transported in 32 ships and escorted by 10 British war ships, it is the largest armed force to cross the ocean at that time.
Canadian composes "In Flander Fields"; John McCrae of Guelph, Ontario, composes the most famous English poem written during World War 1. It is written in 20 minutes at Ypres.
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Leo K. Moore (1915 - 1971)
"Billy" Bishop awarded Victoria Cross; William Avery "Billy" Bishop is awarded Victoria Cross for being the most successful Canadian airman in the Royal Flying Corp. He eventually shoots downs 72 enemy aircraft.
Canada's first woman judge; Helen Emma MacGill is appointed to the bench of the juvenile court in Vancouver
Income tax is introduced; Income tax is levied as a "temporary wartime measure" by Prime Minister Robert Borden.
Halifax explosion - Canada's worst disaster!; Halifax, Nova Scotia, is the scene of Canada's worst single disaster, when a French munitions ship filled with explosives collides with a freighter in Halifax harbour. In the explosion that follows, homes and businesses are levelled over much of the city and more than 1600 people killed, 9000 injured and 6,000 left homeless. Property damage is estimated at $35 million. The blast, heard as far away as Prince Edward Island and Maine, is thought to be the largest-ever accidental explosion, and the largest non-nuclear blast in history.
Women get federal vote; The Canada Elections Act enfranchises all women to vote in federal elections. Most provinces had already given women the right to vote in provincial elections.
World War I ends; A total of 628,462 Canadians served in the Canadian armed forces, including 424,589 who went overseas. Of these 60,661 were killed and many more were permanently maimed or crippled.
Winnipeg general strike; In the only general strike in Canadian history, over 22,000 workers, including civic and gov't employees, refuse to work when the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council calls a general strike in sympathy with a strike by the metal and building trades. The Royal Northwest Mounted Police (later Royal Canadian Mounted Police) charge a demonstration of strikers, firing breaks out, and two strikers are killed and 20 wounded. The strike lasts to late June.
Robert Borden resigns as Canadian Prime Minister; Ill health forces resignation. Borden is succeeded by Arthur Meighen.
First exhibition of The Group of Seven painters; The first exhibition of what was to become the most illustrious group of Canadian painters opens at the Art Gallery. The exhibition features the work of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and Fred Varley. Their work is the first to show the Canadian landscape in fresh new styles that don't copy the traditional approach of British painters.
Population of Canada reaches 8,788,483.; Number of English is 4,868,903: French 2,452,751. The pop. of Ontario is 4,868,903, Quebec 2,361,199, Sask. 757,510, Manitoba 610,118, Alberta 588,454, B.C. 524,582, Nova Scotia 523,837, New Brunswick 387,876, P.E.I. 88,615, N.W.T 7,988, and Yukon 4,157.
Liberals win federal election: 1st woman elected; The Liberals under William Lyon Mackenzie King defeat the Conservative gov't of Arthur Meighen. Agnes Campbell McPhail becomes the first woman elected to the House of Commons, and J.S. Woodsworth is the first socialist elected to the House.
First snowmobile invented; Mechanic Joseph-Armand Bombardier invents the first "snowmobile, a propeller-driven sled which he calls "Husky." The first commercially-successful model appeared in 1937.
Banting/Best win Nobel Prize for insulin ; Sir Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod win the Nobel Prize for medicine for discovering insulin, the lifesaving therapy for diabetes. Banting, an orthopedic surgeon who was decorated for valour in WW1, undertook research into insulin at the University of Toronto in 1921 under the direction of Macleod and assisted by Charles Best. Banting was hailed as the principal discoverer because his idea launched the research, but this led to friction with his co-researchers, with whom he was temperamentally incompatible. Banting died in a plane crash on his way to England in 1941.
Warren Harding 1st U.S. president to visit Canada
United Church forms Protestant church in Canada; Parliament passes the United Church of Canada Act which joins Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists in the largest Protestant church in Canada.
Conservatives under King win minority gov't; The Conservatives under William Lyon Mackenzie King narrowly win election
Union Station opens in Toronto
The Great Depression begins; The prices on the Canadian stock market crash, along with other markets around the world.
Canada's first talking movie; The Vikings, the story of the Newfoundland sealing industry, is filmed.
Conservatives under R.B. Bennett defeat Liberals
Maple Leaf Gardens opens in Toronto
Tallest building in British Empire; The 34-story Bank of Commerce building opens in Toronto.
Dionne Quintuplets born; Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile, and Marie arouse worldwide attention after their birth at Corbeil, Ontario to Oliva and Elzire Dionne. They were the first quintuplets to survive for more than a few days, and they were only the third case on record. This miracle, as well as their cuteness, the poverty of their French Canadian parents, and the controversy of their guardianship, make them the sensation of the 1930's. Fearing private exploitation, the Ontario Government removes them from their parents and places them in a specially built hospital under the care of the doctor who delivered them. Oliva Dionne fought a nine year battled to regain them. In the interval, they became the country's biggest tourist attraction. Hollywood fictionalized their story in three movies.
Liberals win landslide victory in federal election; William Lyon Mackenzie King leads Liberals and becomes Prime Minister again.
Nurse arrested for distributing birth control info; Dorothea Palmer, a nurse, is arrested in Eastview, Ontario, for distributing information on birth control. She is acquitted and her trial legalizes the distribution of such information.
Mackenzie King visits Adolph Hitler; The Prime Minister pays a personal visit to Hitler and describes him as "a simple sort of peasant" who presents no serious danger to the world.
First regular flight of Trans-Canada Airlines; Canada gets a national airline in Trans-Canada, which later becomes Air Canada.
Canadian helps create Superman; The world's most famous comic-book hero is created in Cleveland by Canadian Joe Shuster, a Toronto Star newspaper artist and American Jerome Siegel. In the strip, Clark Kent's newspaper is first called The Daily Star (after the Toronto Star, where Shuster had worked) but it is later changed to The Daily Planet. In 1940, Shuster and Siegel sell their rights to the character to DC Comics.
First royal visit to Canada; In May and June, 1939, King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth undertake the first visit of a reigning monarch to Canada. The extensive tour helps buoy support for Britain on the eve of World War II.
Canada declares war on Germany; After remaining neutral for a week following the British declaration of war on Germany, Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King declares war on Germany.
Liberals win federal election
Canada declares war on Japan; Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Canada joins Britain and U.S. in declaring war on Japan. Shortly after, 38 Japanese-Canadians are arrested as subversives and about 20,000 Japanese-Canadians are finger-printed and issued identification cards. Japanese living in the coastal regions of B.C. are removed to interior, and their property is confiscated.
Canadians lead attack on Dieppe; Canadian troops numbering 5,000 lead an ill-prepared and poorly-supported attack on the French port of Dieppe. Nearly 1,000 men are killed, another 1,000 are taken prisoner and many are wounded.
First Canadian Army liberates Dieppe
First socialist provincial gov't in Canada; The C.C.F., the forerunner of the New Democratic Party, wins the Saskatchewan provincial election, and party leader Tommy Douglas becomes Premier.
World War II draws to a close; Altogether, 1,086,771 Canadians, including 49,252 women, served in the armed forces. Total casualties were 41,992. Toal cost of the war to Canadians was $11.3 billion.
Mackenzie King and Liberals win federal election
Barbara Ann Scott wins Olympic crown; After winning the free-skate category at the World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm in 1947, Canadian Barbara Ann Scott goes on to become the first North American to win the Olympic gold in figure skating at St. Moritz. Her athletic style, including spins, jumps, and turns never executed by a woman, changes the face of women's figure skating and wins her the title of Canada's most outstanding athlete.
Mackenzie King resigns as Prime Minister; After setting a record for being Prime Minister longer than any other government leader in the British Commonwealth, William Lyon Mackenzie King resigns. He is succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.
Newfoundland joins Canada; Joey Smallwood, who later becomes Prime Minister of Newfoundland, leads a successful campaign to link Newfoundland politically with mainland Canada. The vote by Newfoundlanders to join Confederation passes by a narrow margin, and Newfoundland becomes Canada's tenth province.
Louis St. Laurent's Liberals win federal election; Liberals win 190 seats compared to 41 seats for the Conservatives under George Drew. The C.C.F. gain 13 seats, Social Credit 10, and independents 10.
Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour; Fire sweeps over the Noronic, the largest Great Lakes passenger ship on the Great Lakes, killing 118 people in Toronto Harbour. A delay in summoning the fire department is blamed for the loss of life.
The first Canadian troops arrive in Korea; The troops are quickly engaged in conflict. Before an armistice ends hostilities in 1953, a total of 21,940 Canadians serve in Korea. Twenty-two Canadian fighter pilots fly with the U.S. Air Force. Canadian casualties amount to 314 killed and 1,211 wounded.
Building of Trans-Canada Highway begins; The first step towards the construction of the longest paved road in the world begins when federal and provincial governments reach an agreement on construction. Saskatchewan became the first province to complete its portion.
Canada's first television station goes on air; CBFT in Montreal, part of the French network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, begins transmitting. English-language CBLT in Toronto begins operating Sept. 8.
Canadian celebrates coronation of Queen Elizabeth II; Official ceremonies at Ottawa and other Canadian cities honour Queen Elizabeth on her coronation day. Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh toured Canada in 1952.
The first Canadian subway line opens in Toronto
Marilyn Bell first to swim Lake Ontario; Sixteen-year-old Marilyn Bell becomes a national legend and the first person to swim Lake Ontario. After nearly 21 hours in the water and a 65 kilometre (40-mile) zig-zag route that starts in Youngstown, New York, she crosses the 51.5 kilometer (32-mile) lake and is greeted by a cheering crowd of 100,000 people at the Toronto shoreline. She goes on to become the youngest person ever to swim the English channel.
Hurricane Hazel hits Ontario; During the worst inland storm in Canadian history, Hurricane Hazel dumps more than 10 cm (four inches) of rain in 12 hours. The storm causes 83 deaths and widespread property damage totalling $25 million.
Progressive Conservatives win federal election; John Diefenbaker leads the Conservatives to their first gov't in 22 years.
The St. Lawrence Seaway opens; The system of locks, canals, and channels connecting the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River with the Atlantic Ocean is finally completed, an effort that began in 1783. The waterway runs 3790 km, from Anticosti Island to the head of Lake Superior. The official opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway is attended by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, President Dwight Eisenhower, and Queen Elizabeth II.
First Acadian Premier; Louis Robichaud is the first Acadian to be elected Premier of the province of New Brunswick.
Canadian census reports pop. of 18,238,247; The population of Ontario is 6,236,000, Quebec 5,259,000, B.C. 1,629,000, Alberta 1,332,000, Sask. 925,000, Manitoba 922,000, Nova Scotia 737,000, New Brunswick 598,000, Newfoundland 458,000, P.E.I. 105,000, Yukon and N.W.T. 38,000.
Last executions in Canada; The double hanging of Ronald Turpin and Arthur Lucas at the Don Jail in Toronto marks the last executions in Canada.
Liberals win federal election; After the Conservative gov't is defeated in the House of Commons in a non-confidence motion over nuclear weapons policy, a federal election becomes necessary. The Liberals under Lester Pearson win in the April 8th election.
Northern Dancer wins Kentucky Derby; Northern Dancer becomes the first Canadian horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
Canada gets a new flag; After much national debate, the British Ensign is officially replaced by the Maple Leaf emblem in red and white.
The Liberals retain power in federal election; Lester Pearson remains Prime Minister.
Canada's first topless bar opens in Vancouver
Colour television comes to Canada via C.B.C.
Canada is 100 years old; Centennial celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa are attended by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Canadians celebrate around the country, and many undertake personal or community centennial events or undertakings.
Expo '67 opens in Montreal. ; The World's Fair closes on October 29, having hosted 50 million visitors.
Divorce becomes easier in Canada; For the first time, the Divorce Act allows a couple to divorce solely on grounds of marriage breakdown. Previously, evidence of adultery was required.
Pierre Trudeau becomes Prime Minister.; Pierre Elliott Trudeau is elected leader of the Liberal Party and becomes Prime Minister after Lester Pearson resigns. In a general election on June 25, the Liberals under Trudeau retain office.
Medicare established; After years of negotiation and conflicts, the Medical Care Act (Medicare) comes into effect, creating a national health care system, a government-run, non-profit insurance plan that uses public funds. The concept of universality (service available to all Canadians, regardless of income) becomes a fundamental benefit.
Laws on abortion and homosexuality liberalized; A Criminal Code Amendment liberalizes laws on abortion, homosexuality, and lotteries.
English & French declared official languages; The Official Languages Act is amended to declare English and French the official languages of Canada.
Conversion to metric system begins; Although the metric system was legalized in Canada in 1871, the British imperial system of units, based on yards, pounds, gallons etc., continued to dominate. Finally in 1970, a century later, the Govt. officially launched the beginning of a shift to the metric system, to better meet the growing worldwide trade.
War Measures Act invoked: Separatist fears mount; The federal government invokes the War Measures Act, allowing the gov't to over-rule civil rights and providing authority to deal with the "October Crisis" linked to the FLQ (Federation for the Liberation of Quebec). The act follows the kidnapping of Pierre Laporte, a Quebec Labour Minister, by FLQ terrorists in Montreal. His body is later found and his kidnappers are captured and convicted, but not before troops guard gov't buildings and officials. In October, 465 people are arrested, mainly in Quebec, although only 18 are ever convicted of any crime. It is the first time such powers are used in peacetime.
Voting age in fed. elections lowered from 21 to 18
Greenpeace founded In B.C.; An engineer, a lawyer and a law student launch Greenpeace to protest U.S. nuclear tests at Amchitka in the Aleutian National Wildlife Reserve. Other protests follow, including campaigns against whaling. By 1990's, Greenpeace is one of the largest, most effective environmental groups in the world, with headquarters in Amsterdam.
Federal election yields Liberal minority
Controversial abortion trial begins; Dr. Henry Morgentaler is acquitted of having performed an illegal abortion, despite admitting having carried out 6,000 other abortions. The Quebec Appeal Court overturns the acquittal and Morgentaler serves 10 months in jail when a retrial is ordered. Morgentaler is again acquitted in a 1976 trial. The Quebec gov't drops any further charges, ending one of most controversial legal cases in Canadian history.
Liberals under Trudeau win general election; The election is called after the Liberal minority gov't is defeated in the House of Commons
CN Tower completed in Toronto; The world's tallest free-standing structure, at 553.34 metres (1,815 feet), is completed. By 1994, it attracts two million visitors a year.
Canada hosts Summer Olympic Games for first time; The games in Montreal costs $1.5 billion, the most expensive in history, and involve a massive security operation to prevent a repeat of the terrorist activity which marred the 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes in Munich. Canada becomes the first host nation not to win a gold medal.
Separatist Parti-Quebecois wins first election; The Parti-Quebecois, under Rene Levesque, wins the Quebec provincial election, defeating the Liberal gov't under Robert Bourassa. Two months later, Levesque tells the Economic Club of New York that Quebec independence is inevitable. In a speech to U.S. Congress, Prime Minister Trudeau states that Canada will remain united, despite concern that Quebec intends to separate from Confederation.
Toronto Blue Jays win first game; The Jays defeat Chicago White Sox in their first regular season game
The Progressive Conservatives briefly govern; The Conservatives under Joe Clark defeat the Liberal gov't under Pierre Trudeau on May 8th, and Clark becomes Canada's youngest Prime Minister, one day before his 40th birthday. On December 13, the minority Conservative gov't is defeated in a non-confidence vote over the budget.
Trivial Pursuit invented; Two Montreal newspaper men, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, decide to invent a new board game and spend the next two years getting the money and marketing savvy to launch Trivial Pursuit. By 1983, sales of Trivial Pursuit outstrip traditional games like "Scrabble" and "Monopoly" and by 1987, worldwide retail sales reach two billion dollars
"O Canada" declared national anthem ; Parliament passes the National Anthem Act, officially declaring "O Canada" the national anthem.
Canadian engineers American escape in Iran; Canada's ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, arranges the escape of six U.S. Embassy employees from Tehran. The six had escaped from the U.S. embassy when it was occupied by Iranians. They fly out of Iran with Canadian passports they had been given, and Taylor and four other Canadians leave a few hours after closing the Embassy.
Liberals win federal election under Trudeau
Amputee Terry Fox begins historic cross-country run; Terry Fox, who had his right leg amputated because of cancer, begins his cross-country "Marathon of Hope" to raise money for cancer research. He captures public empathy but is forced to stop his run at Thunder Bay, Ontario, when it's learned that his cancer has spread to his lungs. A national telethon raises more than $10-million and Fox becomes the youngest Companion of the Order of Canada. Terry Fox dies of cancer in 1981, age 24, and a country mourns the loss.
Inflation rate of 12.8% highest in Canadian history
Census puts population at 24,343,181; The pop. of Ontario is reported at 8,625,107, Quebec 6,438,403, B.C. 2,744,467, Alberta 2,237,724, Manitoba 1,026,341, Sask. 968,313, Nova Scotia 847,442, New Brunswick 696,403, Newfoundland 567,681, P.E.I. 122,506, N.W.T. 45,741, and Yukon 23,153.
Steve Podborski wins World Cup Downhill; Canadian Steve Podborski becomes the first non-European to win the World Cup Downhill championship. As one of the Crazy Canucks, he wins three consecutive World Cup Downhills that year and at Kitzbuhel, Austria, his speed of 161 kilometres an hour (100 miles an hour) is the fastest time ever recorded on that course.
First Canadians climb Mount Everest; Laurie Skreslet of Calgary and Pat Morrow of Kimberbley, B.C., reach the peak. One Canadian and three Nepalese guides are killed in the ascent.
Trudeau resigns as Prime Minister; Pierre Elliott Trudeau leaves as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party. He is replaced by John Turner after a Liberal leadership convention.
First papal visit to Canada; Pope John Paul 11 makes first ever papal visit to Canada
Conservatives win largest majority ever; Under Brian Mulroney, the Progessive Conservatives win the federal election with 211 seats, the largest majority in Canadian history.
First Canadian in space; Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space, aboard the U.S. space shuttle Challenger.
Bans on Sunday shopping ruled unconstitutional; The Supreme Court of Canada rules that the federal Lord's Day Act, used by some provinces to restrict or ban Sunday shopping, is unconstitutional.
Expo 86 in Vancouver draws 22 million visitors
Canadian dollar hits all-time low ; The value of the Canadian dollar falls to an all-time low of 70.20 cents U.S.
Canadian is first woman to climb Mount Everest; Sharon Wood of Halifax becomes first North American woman to climb Everest.
Free Trade deal between Canada and U.S. signed; Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan sign an agreement for a Free Trade Deal. A national debate over the merits of the deal rages.
Sprinter Ben Johnson wins, and loses, Olympic Gold; After testing positive for the use of a banned steroid, Johnson is stripped of the gold medal he wins in the 100-metre dash at the Seoul, Korea Olympic Games, with a world record time of 9.79 seconds. Canadians are shocked and in 1989 an inquiry into steroid use follows, and Johnson admits steroid use.
Conservatives under Mulroney win federal election
A total ban on tobacco advertising takes effect
First female combat soldier in armed forces; Heather Erxleben, age 21, becomes the first female combat soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Gunman kills 14 women at University of Montreal; Marc Lepine, an unemployed man who says feminists have "spoiled" his life goes on a rampage at the University of Montreal, killing 14 women before shooting himself to death. He also wounds 13 other people. Most of the victims are students attending the last class of the term.
