Today in Canada History
Sub-Topics: Alberta - British Columbia - Manitoba - New Brunswick - Newfoundland and Labrador - Northwest Territories - Nova Scotia - Nunavut - Ontario - Prince Edward Island - Quebec - Saskatchewan - Yukon
Historical Events
Results 1 - 100 of 307
1003-10-09 - Leif Erikson lands in L'Anse aux Meadows, Canada, becoming the first European to reach America.
1497-06-24 - John Cabot claims eastern Canada for England (believes he found Asia in Nova Scotia)
1534-06-29 - Jacques Cartier discovers Prince Edward Islands Canada
1534-07-24 - Jacques Cartier, lands in Canada, claims it for France
1536-07-09 - French navigator Jacques Cartier returns to Saint-Malo from Canada
1541-08-23 - French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.
1578-05-31 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London.
1613-03-27 - The first English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.
1620-06-03 - Construction of the oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, begins at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
1621-09-21 - King James of England gives Canada to Sir Alexander Sterling
1642-05-18 - Montreal Canada founded
1663-02-05 - Earthquake in Canada
1672-05-17 - Frontenac becomes governor of New France (Canada)
1713-06-23 - The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada.
1760-06-04 - Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada taken from the Acadians.
1763-02-10 - Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War, surrendering Canada to England
1771-05-07 - Samuel Hearne explores Copper Mine River of Canada
1773-07-20 - Scottish settlers arrive at Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada)
1775-05-17 - American Revolutionary War: the Continental Congress bans trade with Canada.
1783-05-18 - First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States.
1789-06-03 - Alex Mackenzie explores Mackenzie River (Canada)
1792-12-17 - Opening of 1st legislative assembly of Lower Canada in Quebec city
1793-07-22 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada.
1796-02-01 - The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
1812-07-11 - US invades Canada (Detroit frontier)
1812-07-12 - US forces led by Gen Hull invade Canada (War of 1812)
1812-10-13 - Battle of Queenstown Heights, Brit beats US attempt to invade Canada
1813-01-22 - Americans capture Frenchtown, Canada
1813-05-27 - Americans capture Ft George, Canada
1813-06-06 - US invasion of Canada halted at Stoney Creek (Ont)
1813-10-05 - Battle of Thames in Canada; Americans defeat British
1814-07-03 - Americans capture Fort Erie Canada
1816-06-19 - Battle of Seven Oaks between North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1818-04-16 - Senate ratifies Rush-Bagot amendment (unarmed US-Canada border)
1818-10-20 - 49th parallel forms as border between US & Canada
1825-02-22 - Russia & Britain establish Alaska-Canada boundary
1826-08-19 - Canada Co chartered to colonize Upper Canada (Ontario)
1827-08-10 - Race riots in Cincinnati (1,000 blacks leave for Canada)
1832-06-07 - Asian cholera reaches Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and kills about 6,000 people in Lower Canada.
1837-03-24 - Canada gives blacks the right to vote
1837-05-25 - The Patriots of Lower Canada (Quebec) rebel against the British for freedom.
1837-12-05 - Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada
1838-02-28 - Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec)
1838-03-03 - Rebellion at Pelee Island, Ontario Canada
1840-07-23 - Union Act passed by British Parliament, uniting Upper & Lower Canada
1840-07-23 - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
1842-08-09 - US-Canada border defined by Webster-Ashburton Treaty
1844-09-25 - Canada defeat USA by 23 runs in the 1st cricket international
1845-05-28 - Fire in Quebec Canada, 1,500 houses destroyed
1848-03-11 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
1849-04-25 - The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
1851-04-23 - Canada issues its 1st postage stamps
1852-07-09 - Fire destroys 1,100 construction sites in Montreal Canada & no one die
1857-06-10 - England passes an act putting Canada on the decimal currency system
1857-12-31 - Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada
1858-01-01 - Canada begins using decimal currency system
1866-11-10 - Gold coins from the Sydney Mint become legal tender in Canada
1867-07-01 - Dominion of Canada forms (New Bruns, Nova Scotia, Ontario & Quebec)
1869-04-09 - Hudson Bay Company cedes it's territory to Canada
1869-10-05 - A strong hurricane devastates the Bay of Fundy region of Maritime Canada. The storm had been predicted over a year before by a British naval officer.
1869-11-03 - Canada's Hamilton Foot Ball Club forms
1869-12-08 - Timothy Eaton founds T. Eaton Co. Limited in Toronto, Canada.
1869-12-18 - Canada's Hamilton Foot Ball Club plays its 1st game
1870-02-12 - Official proclamation sets April 15 as last day of grace for US silver coins to circulate in Canada
1870-04-15 - Last day US silver coins allow to circulate in Canada
1870-05-12 - Manitoba becomes a province of Canada
1870-07-15 - Hudson's Bay & Northwest Territories transferred to Canada
1871-04-14 - Canada sets denominations of currency as dollars, cents, & mills
1871-07-01 - The decimal currency system is made uniform in Canada
1871-07-20 - British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.
1872-04-14 - Dominion Lands Act passed-Canada's Homestead Act
1872-06-14 - Trade unions are legalised in Canada.
1873-05-23 - Canada's North West Mounted Police Force (RCMPF) forms
1873-06-22 - Prince Edward Island joins Canada
1874-09-12 - 1874 The District of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada is founded.
1876-06-03 - Lacrosse introduced in Britain & Canada
1876-08-10 - 1st phone call between Brantford & Paris, Canada
1876-08-12 - Madeline (US) beats Countess Dufferin (Canada) in 4th America's Cup
1877-05-05 - Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
1878-07-01 - Canada joins the Universal Postal Union.
1879-11-06 - Canada celebrates 1st Thanksgiving Day
1880-06-24 - First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.
1880-07-16 - Dr. Emily Stowe becomes the first woman licenced to practice medicine in Canada.
1883-11-18 - Standard time zones forms by railroads in US & Canada
1885-03-19 - Louis Riel returns to Canada, proclaims provisional govt, Sask
1885-05-12 - Battle of Batoche, French Canadians rebel against Canada
1885-07-01 - The United States terminates reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.
1885-07-02 - Canada's North-west Insurrection ends with surrender of Big Bear
1890-07-01 - Canada and Bermuda are linked by telegraph cable.
1891-06-16 - John Abbott becomes Canada's third prime minister.
1891-06-29 - Street railway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, commences operation.
1891-12-15 - James Naismith invents basketball (Canada)
1892-12-05 - Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister of Canada.
1898-06-13 - Yukon Territory of Canada organized, Dawson chosen as capital
1900-04-19 - 4th Boston Marathon won by Jim Caffrey of Canada in 2:39:44.4
1901-04-19 - 5th Boston Marathon won by Jim Caffrey of Canada in 2:29:23.6
1902-06-15 - Canada's Maritime Provinces switch from Eastern to Atlantic time
1902-07-29 - Union of Orthodox Rabbis of US & Canada forms
1903-10-20 - US wins disputed boundary between District of Alaska & Canada
1904-09-26 - Earl Grey is named British governor-general of Canada
Famous Birthdays
Results 1 - 100 of 240
1752-02-25 - John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
1783-05-09 - Alexander Ross, Canada, pioneer/fur trader
1796-11-06 - George Back, English sea officer/explorer (North Canada)
1804-05-12 - Robert Baldwin, (L) help establish govt in Canada (or 1904)
1807-10-04 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician, prime minister of the Province of Canada (d. 1864)
1815-01-11 - John A MacDonald, (C) 1st PM of Canada (1867-73)
1818-01-17 - Antoine Dorion, (L) joint premier of Canada (1858, 1863-64)
1818-11-29 - George Brown, Canada, publisher (Toronto Globe), PM (L) (1858)
1821-03-12 - John Abbott, Quebec Canada, (C) 3rd Canadian PM (1891-92)
1822-01-28 - Alexander MacKenzie, (L) 2nd PM of Canada (1873-78)
1823-04-06 - Joseph Medill, St John NB Canada, newspaper editor (Chicago Tribune)
1838-09-16 - James J Hill, Canada, RR entrepreneur (Great Northern Railroad)
1839-05-08 - Adolphe-Basile Routhier, French Canadian lyricist (O Canada) (d. 1920)
1841-03-03 - John Murray, Canada oceanographer (Depths of the Ocean)
1844-11-10 - John S D Thompson, (C), 4th PM of Canada (1892-94)
1845-01-14 - Henry C K Petty-Fitzmaurice 5th marquess of Landsdowne/gov-gen Canada
1847-02-25 - John Watson, Canada, philosopher (Objective Idealism)
1849-07-12 - William Osler, Canada, physician/author (circulatory system)
1850-05-01 - Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Governor General of Canada (d. 1942)
1859-09-17 - Frank D Adams, Canada geologist/educator
1869-12-30 - Stephen Leacock, Canada, economist/humorist/professor
1874-04-14 - Count Alexander, of Athlone, gov-gen (South-Africa/Canada)
1874-06-16 - Arthur Meighen, (C) 9th PM of Canada (1920-21, 1926)
1874-08-16 - Arthur Meighen, Canada, PM of Canada (1920, 21, 26)
1875-08-26 - John Buchan, Scotland, Gov-Gen of Canada/writer (Battle of Somme)
1875-11-10 - Maude Eburne, Canada, actress (Ladies They Talk About, Guardsman)
1879-05-25 - W Maxwell Aitken lord Beaverbrook, Canada/English banker
1879-06-22 - Thibaudeau Rinfret, jurist and Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1962)
1879-11-03 - Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canada, Arctic explorer/ethnologist
1880-08-29 - Marie-Louise Meilleur, Canada, lived past 117
1884-07-25 - Davidson Black, Canada, doctor of anatomy (identified Peking Man)
1890-03-03 - Norman Bethune, Canada, Doctor in Spain & China
1891-02-10 - Harold RLG, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, Gov-gen of Canada (1945-52)
1896-06-30 - Wilfred Pelletier, Montreal Canada, conductor (Voice of Firestone)
1896-08-30 - Raymond Massey, Toronto Canada, actor (Dr Gillespie-Dr Kildare)
1900-04-19 - Roland Michener, Governor General of Canada (d. 1991)
1901-03-15 - Colin McPhee, Montreal Canada, composer (H2O, Mechanical Princibles)
1901-10-22 - Charles Huggins, Canada, US physician
1902-06-19 - Guy Lombardo, London Ontario Canada, orch leader (Auld Lang Syne)
1902-11-28 - Victor Jory, Dawson City Canada, actor (Kings Row, Manhunt)
1903-01-03 - Charles Foulkes, Canada, general
1903-02-22 - Morley Callaghan, Canada, author (Toronto Star, Native Argosy)
1904-05-16 - Hugh Plaxton, Canada, ice hockey player (Olympic-gold-1928)
1906-01-01 - Frank Stack, Canada, speed skater (Olympic-bronze-1932)
1906-03-28 - Joseph Wright, Canada, oarsman (Olympic-gold-1928)
1907-01-16 - Alexander Knox, Canada, actor (Gorky Park, 2 of a Kind)
1907-02-01 - John Canaday, art critic (Metropolitan Museum of Art Portfolios)
1907-03-03 - Canada Lee, NYC, actor (Lost Boundaries)
1907-09-03 - Andrew Brewin, Canada, lawyer/cofound New Democratic Party
1907-09-10 - Fay Wray, Alberta Canada, actress-King Kong's main squeeze [or 9/15]
1908-02-13 - Gerald Strang, Claresholm Canada, composer
1909-11-15 - Don Large, Canada, choral director (Wayne King)
1910-10-08 - Raymod Gray Lewis, Ontario Canada, 4X400 relayer (Olympic-bronze-1932)
1910-10-27 - Jack Carson, Manitoba Canada, actor (Star is Born, Mildred Pierce)
1911-07-21 - Marshall McLuhan, Canada, writer (Medium is the Massage)
1912-01-02 - Barbara Pentland, Winnipeg Canada, composer
1912-04-26 - A[lfred] E[lton] van Vogt, Canada, sci-fi author (Wizard of Linn)
1912-07-17 - Art Linkletter, Saskatchewan Canada, TV host (People are Funny)
1913-03-11 - John Jacob Weinzweig, Toronto Canada, composer (Enchanted Hill)
1913-04-04 - Jules Léger, Quebec diplomat and Governor general of Canada (d. 1980)
1913-09-15 - Henry Dreyfus Brant, Montreal Canada, composer (Great American Goot)
1914-05-09 - Hank Snow, Nova Scotia Canada, country singer (I Went to Your Wedding)
1914-09-28 - Harold Taylor, Canada, educator (Art & the Future)
1915-02-12 - Lorne Greene, Ottawa Canada, actor (Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica)
1915-10-27 - Harry Saltzman, St Johns NB Canada, producer (Goldfinger)
1916-02-23 - George Abel, Canada, ice hockey player (Olympic-gold-1972)
1916-05-01 - Glenn Ford, Quebec Canada, actor (Cade's County, Big Heat, Midway)
1917-02-06 - Arthur Gold, Toronto, Canada, pianist
1917-05-21 - Raymond Burr, BC Canada, actor (Perry Mason, Ironsides, Godzilla)
1917-11-02 - Ann Rutherford, Toronto Canada, TV panelist (Leave It To the Girls)
1919-01-19 - Anthony Dexter, [Walter Fleischmann], NB Canada, actor (Valentino)
1919-05-05 - George London, Montreal Canada, bass-baritone (Monterone-Rigoleto)
1920-02-07 - Oscar Brand, Winnipeg Canada, folk vocalist (Draw Me a Laugh)
1921-06-08 - Alexis Smith, Penticton BC Canada, actress (Jessica-Dallas, Follies)
1921-10-20 - Pierre Laporte, Canada, journalist/statesman (Revolution Script)
1922-01-09 - Har G Khorana, India/Canada bio-chemist (Nobel 1968)
1922-03-20 - Jack Kruschen, Winnipeg Canada, actor (Papa-Webster, Busting Loose)
1922-08-01 - Arthur Hill, Saskatchewan Canada, actor (Owen Marshall, Glitter)
1922-12-18 - Larry D Mann, Toronto Canada, actor (Marty-Accidental Family)
1923-02-04 - Conrad Bain, Alberta Canada, actor (Maude, Diff'rent Strokes)
1923-04-25 - Melissa Hayden, Toronto Canada, ballerina (1961 Silver Bowl)
1923-08-25 - Monty Hall, Winnipeg Canada, TV game show host (Lets Make a Deal)
1923-11-01 - Gordon R[upert] Dickson, Canada, sci-fi author (Genetic General)
1926-06-03 - Colleen Dewhurst, Montreal Canada, actress (Maggie-Blue & Grey)
1926-10-29 - Jon[athan Stewart] Vickers, Prince Albert, Canada, tenor
1927-12-18 - Roméo LeBlanc, 25th Governor General of Canada
1928-01-03 - Frank Ross Anderson, Canada, International Chess Master (1954)
1928-10-03 - Erik Bruhn, Copenhagen Denmark, dancer (Natl Ballet of Canada)
1928-12-19 - Galt MacDermot, Montreal Canada, composer (Letting Down My Hair)
1930-07-25 - Maureen Forrester, Montreal Canada, contralto (Ressurection Symphony)
1931-03-22 - William Shatner, Montreal Canada, actor (Star Trek, T J Hooker)
1931-04-22 - Robert Dickson, Canada, ice hockey player (1948)
1931-06-07 - Lang Jeffries, Ontario Canada, actor (Skip-Rescue 8)
1932-02-24 - John Vernon, Canada, actor (Animal House, Chained Heat, Dirty Harry)
1932-09-25 - Glenn Herbert Gould, Toronto Canada, pianist (sued Steinway Piano)
1932-09-28 - Michael G[reatrex] Coney, Canada, sci-fi author (Cat Karina)
1933-07-18 - Raymund Murray Schafer, Sarnia Ontario, Canada, composer (Patria)
1934-03-16 - Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor-General of Canada (d. 2002)
1935-01-04 - Kenneth Money, Canada, astronaut (STS 42-alt)
1935-03-02 - Al Waxman, Toronto Canada, actor (Cagney & Lacey, Meatballs 3, Spasms)
Famous Deaths
Results 1 - 43 of 43
1557-01-01 - Jacques Cartier, French explorer (Canada), dies at 65
1696-01-11 - Charles Albanel, French missionary explorer in Canada (b. 1616)
1806-10-26 - John Graves Simcoe, first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (b. 1752)
1885-11-16 - Louis Riel, French rebel who fought against Canada, executed at 41
1891-06-06 - John A. Macdonald, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1815)
1892-04-17 - Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
1893-10-30 - John Abbott, PM of Canada (C) (1891-92), dies at 72
1894-12-12 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)
1896-10-30 - Charles Tupper, PM of Canada (C) (1896), dies
1899-10-28 - C Grant B Allen, Canada, British writer (Woman Who Did), dies
1908-06-14 - Frederick Arthur Stanley, Governor general of Canada (b. 1841)
1911-04-14 - Henri Elzéar Taschereau, French Canadian jurist and Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1836)
1911-08-21 - W R Wister, cricketer (USA v Canada 1859), dies
1915-10-30 - Charles Tupper, sixth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1821)
1917-12-10 - Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1823)
1937-06-10 - Robert Borden, eighth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854)
1940-02-11 - John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Gov-Gen of Canada (1935-40), dies
1941-03-16 - John Murray, Canada oceanographer (Challenger), dies at 73
1944-09-27 - Aimee Semple McPherson, Canada/US evangelist/faith healer, dies at 53
1945-03-24 - J S Nicklin, Lt-Col/Canada's 1st parachutist, dies
1947-06-26 - Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
1950-07-22 - William LM King, premier of Canada (1921-30, 35-48), dies at 75
1952-05-09 - Canada Lee, black actor (Lost Boundaries), dies in NYC at 45
1957-01-16 - Alexander Cambridge, gov-gen (S Afr 1923-31/Canada 1940-5), dies at 82
1960-08-05 - Arthur Meighen, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
1967-03-05 - Georges Vanier, Governor General of Canada (b. 1888)
1967-12-30 - Vincent Massey, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1887)
1969-09-13 - Charles Foulkes, Canada gen/honorary citizen of Wageningen, dies at 66
1970-07-26 - Robert Taschereau, French Canadian lawyer and Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1896)
1973-07-25 - Louis Stephen St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1882)
1976-12-16 - Réal Caouette, French Canadian politician (Social Credit Party of Canada) (b. 1917)
1979-05-09 - Cyrus S Eaton, Canada/US multi-millionaire, dies at 95
1979-08-16 - John Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895)
1992-08-15 - Martha Blackburn, Canada newspaper publisher (London Free Press), dies
1992-12-21 - Sybil Andrews, English/Canada painter, dies at 94
1993-01-26 - Jeanne Sauvé, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1922)
1993-07-30 - Jay Scott, [Jeffrey Scott Beaven], US/Canada movie critic, dies at 43
2000-09-28 - Pierre Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1919)
2002-12-18 - Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1934)
2004-07-12 - Betty Oliphant, co-founder of National Ballet of Canada (b. 1918)
2005-01-10 - Metropolitan Wasyly Fedak, primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (b. 1909)
2005-11-12 - William G. Adams, former mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (b. 1923)
2007-02-19 - Celia Franca, founder of National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)
