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Canada's first newspaper, the Halifax Gazette - Notable Event
On March 23, 1752, in a newly opened print shop in the heart of the freshly founded city of Halifax, John Bushell ran off the first few copies of a modest little publication that consisted of one single half-sheet of foolscap printed on both sides. This uses primary source evidence from the big 6, as it is a primary document. -
Establishment of Fort Lawrence - Colonies and Settlements
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto (in the modern-day community of Fort Lawrence). The structure was completed under the command of Captain John Handfield and within weeks and on August 15, 1752, Lt. Col. Robert Monckton took command of Fort Lawrence. -
Start of the French and Indian War - Wars & Battles
The French and Indian War was the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years' War. The war was fought between the colonies of British America and New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France, as well as Native American allies. The name French and Indian War is used mainly in the United States and refers to the two main enemies of the British colonists: the royal French forces and the various indigenous forces allied with them. -
Expulsion of the Acadians began - Colonies and Settlements
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation and Le Grand Dérangement, was the forced removal by the British of the Acadian people from the present day Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island —an area also known as Acadie. This occurred during th eFrench and Indian War and was part of the British military campaign against New France. -
End of the French and Indian War - Wars and Battles
Most of the fighting between France and Britain in continental North America ended in 1760, while the fighting in Europe continued. The war in North America officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1763, and war in the European theatre of the Seven Years' War was settled by the Treaty of Hubertusburg on 15 February 1763. -
Murray becomes civil governor of Québec - Governors and Prime Ministers
James Murray was a British soldier, whose lengthy career included service as colonial administrator and governor of the Province of Quebec and later as Governor of Minorca from 1778 to 1782. His term in Quebec was notably successful, and marked with excellent relationships with the conquered French-Canadians. Who were reassured of their traditional rights and customs. -
Expulsion of the Acadians ended - Colonies and Settlements
In all, of the 14,100 Acadians in the region, approximately 11,500 Acadians were deported. As a result, this lead to the fall of Louisbourg and Burying the Hatchet Ceremony. -
Prince Edward Island, formerly part of Nova Scotia, becomes separate British colony - Colonies & Settlements
The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces and northern Maine, all of which were at one time part of Nova Scotia. In 1763 Cape Breton Island and St. John's Island (what is now Prince Edward Island) became part of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony. This is historically significant (big 6), as it helped form the way the country is today. -
Explorations by Samuel Hearne - Exploration Discovery
Samuel Hearne, guided by Chipewyan leader Matonabbee, explores in a two-years voyage the Coppermine and Slave rivers and Great Slave Lake. He is the first white man to reach the Artic Ocean overland. -
Quebec Act - Documents, Acts & Treaties
Quebec Act, 1774, passed by the British Parliament to institute a permanent administration in Canada replacing the temporary government created at the time of the Proclamation of 1763. It gave the French Canadians complete religious freedom and restored the French form of civil law. -
Start of the American Revolution - Wars & Battles
The American Revolution was a political upheaval during which colonists in the Thirteen American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great Britain, and founded the United States of America. The people of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island decide against joining the revolution. This is continuity and change (big 6) as the USA went against the british to form their own country -
Sir Guy Carleton - Governors & Prime Ministers
Under Sir Guy Carleton, Québec withstands an American siege until the appearance of a British fleet. Carleton is later knighted. He commanded British troops in the American War of Independence, first leading the defence of Quebec during the 1775 rebel invasion and the 1776 counteroffensive that drove the rebels from the province. -
Immigration to Canada, from America - Colonies & Settlements
Around 40 000 United Empire Loyalist from the Thirteen Colonies start immigrating to Canada. Most settle in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and New Brunswick (established as a colony separate from Nova Scotia in 1784). Three thousand Black Loyalists settle near Shelburne, Nova Scotia. This is Historically significant (big 6), as this is when Canada began to accept immagrants, which is what Canada is known for today. -
The American revolutionary war ends - Wars & Battles
Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a democratically-elected representative government responsible to the will of the people, but which as a result of the 'Three-Fifths Compromise' allowed the southern slaveholders to consolidate power and maintain slavery in America for another eighty years, and resulted in the Declaration of Independence. -
Canada and USA border - Notable Event
The Border between Canada and the U.S. is accepted from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake of the Woods. The border originated with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the separating colonies which would form the United States. -
Iroquois Land Grants - Documents, Acts & Treaties
After helping the British during the American Revolution, the Iroquois are given two land grants. Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) settles his followers at the Six Nations Reserve, near Brantford. -
Lower and Upper Canada Formed - Colonies & Settlements
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It covered the southern portion of the modern-day Province of Quebec, Canada, and the Labrador region of the modern-day Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Province of Upper Canada was a part of British Canada to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees of the US after the American Revolution. -
Captain George Vanvouver - Exploration Discovery
Captain George Vancouver starts summer voyages to explore the coast of mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Captain George Vancouver was an English officer of the Royal Navy, best known for his 1791–95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. He also explored the Hawaiian Islands and the southwest coast of Australia. -
Jay's Treaty - Documents, Acts & Treaties
An American diplomat, John Jay, oversees the signing of Jay's Treaty between the U.S. and Britain. It promises British evacuation of the Ohio Valley forts and marks the beginning of international arbitration to settle boundary disputes. This is the cause of future events and the consequence is settling boundry disputes in the future (big 6). -
David Thompson - Notable Event
Having worked for the Hudson's Bay Company since 1784, David Thompson joins the North West Company as a surveyor and mapmaker, eventually surveying hundreds of thousands of square miles of western North America. Americans launch their first lake schooner, the Washington, on Lake Erie near Presque Isle. -
Mackenzie is knighted and becomes a member of the XY Company - Notable Event
The XY Company was a Canadian fur trade enterprise that was formed in 1797 by a group of men that were disenchanted with Simon McTavish’s leadership of the NorthWest Company. In 1802, Alexander Mackenzie gained control of the XY Company and when Simon McTavish died in 1804 the XY Company rejoined the NorthWest Company. -
First Paper Mill - Provincial Notes
First Paper Mill established in Lower Canada, producing paper from cloth rags. The province's first paper mill began operations in 1826. it was owned by James Crooks, one of Upper Canada's most successful entrepreneurs. -
Canada's First Steamboat - Notable Event
North River Steamboat or North River (often erroneously referred to as Clermont) is widely rBuilt in 1807, the North River Steamboat operated on the Hudson River (at that time often known as the North River) between New York and Albany. She was the first vessel to demonstrate the viability of using steam propulsion for commercial river transportation. She was built by the wealthy investor and politician Robert Livingston and inventor and entrepreneur Robert Fulton. -
Slave Trade Act - Documents, Acts & Treaties
In 1808, Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which outlawed the slave trade, but not slavery itself. It did suppress the slave trade, but did not stop it entirely. This is a way of understanding historical perspectives (big 6) as it is hard to think about how people treated other people of different race. -
War of 1812 - Wars & Battles
The War of 1812 was a military conflict, lasting for two and a half years, fought by the United States of America against the United Kingdom of Great Britain, its North American colonies, and its Native American allies. The war resolved many issues which remained from thhe American Revolutionary War but involved no boundary changes. -
The Treaty of Ghent officially ends the war - Documents, Acts & Treaties
The Treaty of Ghent, signed in the city of Ghent, was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. The treaty restored relations between the two nations to status quo ante bellum — that is, it restored the borders of the two countries to the lines before the war started in June 1812. This treaty was a consequence (big 6) of the war of 1812. -
Canada - US border - Notable Event
Canada's Border is defined as the 49th Parallel from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. Roughly 3,500 kilometres of the Canada–United States border was designated to follow the 49th parallel from British Columbia to Manitoba on the Canadian side, and from Washington to Minnesota on the U.S. side, more specifically from the Strait of Georgia to the Lake of the Woods. -
Edward Parry - Exploration Discovery
Edward Parry anchors for a 10 month stay off Melville Island, (He is the first searcher for the Northwest Passage to winter the artic by Choice.) This voyage through the Parry Channel was probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Passage -
Hudson's Bay Company absorbs North West Company - Notable Events
By July of 1821 a merger was forced upon the Northwest Company which resulted in their 97 posts and forts being amalgamated into the HBC system at the end of the great company. George Simpson became the new head of the HBC and their new head quarters was located in Lachine Quebec. This is historically significant (big 6) as the Hudson's Bay company eventually became The Bay, a common store to this day. -
Louis-Joseph Papineau - Governor & Prime Ministers
Louis-Joseph Papineau, born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion. He was a member of the legislative assembly since 1814, travels from Montréal to England to oppose an Act of Union identifying the French Canadians as a minority without language rights. The act is not passed in the British Parliament. -
The Lachine Canal is completed - Provincial Notes
The Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.The canal gets its name from the French word for China (La Chine). The European explorers dreamt of finding a route from New France to the Western Sea and there on to China and hence auspiciously the region where the canal was built was named Lachine. -
Miramichi Fire - Notable Events
Miramichi Fire kills more than 160 persons and consumes 6,000 square miles of forest in New Brunswick. It ranks among the three largest forest fires ever recorded in North America. About 1/3 of the homes in Fredericton were destroyed, but the main devastation was 160 km to the northeast. The preceding summer was a particularity hot one, with bush fires common. -
The Cholera Epidemic of 1832 - Colonies & Settlements
The Cholera Epidemic of 1832 was a consequence (big 6) of feverish Irish Immigrants landing at Quebec. The illness spread like wildfire all the way to Montreal and then to Upper Canada. It quickly became an epidemic that moved through the shanty neighbourhoods of the urban poor, which were breeding grounds for contagion. The lack of sewers and garbage collection contributed to water contamination. Soon the epidemic was out of control and hundreds died each day, mostly in the large towns. -
First Mayor of Toronto - Provincial Notes
William Lyon Mackenzie becomes the first mayor of Toronto. However, given the undemocratic nature of Upper Canada at this time, this win did not give the Reformers the right to form a cabinet, as the Executive Council of Upper Canada was still chosen by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Sir Peregrine Maitland, who remained allied with the Family Compact. -
Canada's first railway - Notable Events
The First Railway in Canada opens, running from La Prairie to St. John's, Quebec. The Champlain and St. Lawrence, starts service between Laprairie and Saint-Jean. Thus began this country’s longstanding love affair with ribbons of steel. The creation of a railroad network that would eventually reach from the Atlantic to the Pacific, opening up vast regions to settlement and virtually building Canada, began with the Champlain and Saint Lawrence Railroad. -
Upper Canada Rebellion - Wars & Battles
The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Rebellion in Lower Canada that emboldened rebels in Upper Canada to openly revolt soon after. The Upper Canada Rebellion was largely defeated shortly after it began, although resistance lingered until 1838, mainly through the support of the Hunters' Lodges, a secret anti-British, US-based militia that emerged around the Great Lakes. -
Province of Canada - Documents, Acts & Treaties
Upper Canada becomes Canada West, and Lower Canada becomes Canada East: they are united into Province of Canada. The Act of Union in 1840 merged the two Colonies by abolishing the Parliaments of Upper and Lower Canada and replacing them with a single one with two houses, a Legislative Council as the upper chamber and the Legislative Assembly as the lower chamber. -
Pulp and Paper - Provincial Notes
Charles Fenetry of Sackville, New Brunswick, discovers a practical way to make paper from wood pulp. Today the pulp and paper industry is Canada's largest manufacturing industry, and Canada exports more pulp and paper than any other country in the world. Fenerty was also a poet (writing over 32 known poems). He also did extensive travelling throughout Australia between the years 1858 to 1865. -
The Oregon Treaty - Documents, Acts & Treaties
The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed in Washington, D.C. It set the U.S. and British North American border at the 49th parallel with the exception of Vancouver Island, which was retained in its entirety by the British. This treaty was the consequnce (big 6) of the border dispute between the US and British North America. -
The Great Reform - Governors & Prime Ministers
The Province of Canada's first responsible government by party - the Great Reform ministry led by Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin - takes office. Reform Ministry led by Louis-Hopolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin-takes office. The so-called Great Ministry of Robert Baldwin and Louis-H. Lafontaine outlines the principles of responsible government in the Canadas. The Maritimes are brought into the plan by Howe, then a reform-minded member of the House of Assembly. -
Marco Polo - Notable Events
Marco Polo, to be the fastest ship in the world, launched at Saint John, New Brunswick. In summer of 1852, Marco Polo sailed from Saint John to Liverpool, England with a cargo of timber, making the crossing in 15 days. It was named after Venetian explorer Marco Polo. It was built by James Smith. -
The Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 - Documents, Acts & Treaties
The Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, also known as the Elgin-Marcy Treaty, was a trade treaty between Great Britain and the United States, applying to British possessions in North America including the United Province of Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, & Newfoundland Colony. It represented a move toward free trade, and was opposed by protectionist elements in the United States. It was a consequence (big 6) of the British Corn Laws being repealed in 1846. -
The Fraser River Gold Rush - Notable Events
Chinese immigrants from California arrive in British Columbia, attracted by the Fraser River Gold Rush. It began after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton. The rush overtook the region around the discovery, and was centered on the Fraser Canyon from around Hope and Yale to Pavilion and Fountain, just north of Lillooet. -
James Douglas - Governor & Prime Ministers
James Douglas, already governor of Vancouver Island, sworn in as governor of British Columbia in order to assert British authority during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, which had the potential to turn the B.C. Mainland into an American state. He remained governor of both Vancouver Island and British Columbia until his retirement in 1864. He is often credited as "The Father of British Columbia". -
Joseph Howe - Provincial Notes
Howe becomes Premier of Nova Scotia. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians. His considerable skills as a journalist and writer have made him a Nova Scotia legend. He served as premier of Nova Scotia from 1860 to 1863 and led the unsuccessful fight against Canadian Confederation. Having failed to persuade the British to repeal Confederation, Howe joined the federal cabinet of John A. Macdonald in 1869 and played a major role in bringing Manitoba into the union. -
The London Conference - Notable Events
The London Conference passes resolutions which are redrafted as the British North America Act. In the London Conference, Canadian, Nova Scotian and New Brunswick delegates met with the British government in London, England. This was an important transitional stage between the 1864 QUÉBEC CONFERENCE and the 1867 BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT. The major issue was the educational clauses of the Québec Resolutions. -
Canada becomes a country - Provincial Notes
Dominion of Canada comes into being: Sir John A. Macdonald sworn in as prime minister. Province and territories joined Confederation, or were created from existing parts of Canada: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which had been united in 1866) joined the confederation in 1871, while Prince Edward Island joined in 1873. -
The Red River Rebellion - Wars & Battles
Louis Riel and Métis occupy Lower Fort Garry. The Red River Rebellion has begun. The Red River Rebellion was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Colony, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba. This is the cause (big 6) of Louis Riel being hanged in Regina. -
Manitoba Act 1870 - Documents, Acts & Treaties
Métis rights were recognized, as Manitoba becomes a province. The Métis had obtained most of their demands, and Prime Minister Macdonald had assured Canadian control over western Canada. It also stated that Métis lands would be protected but all other lands were the property of the Dominion of Canada. This was a consequence (big 6) of the Red River Rebellion and all the work Louis Riel did. -
Prime Minister Macdonald forced to resign - Governors & Prime Ministers
The Pacific Scandal erupts: Prime Minister Macdonald accused of corruption in negotiations over a transcontinental railway. Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald resigns as a result of scandal over the partial financing of the Conservative election campaign by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. And resulted in a transfer of power from his Conservative government to a Liberal government led by Alexander Mackenzie. -
Invention of the Telephone - Notable Events
Alexander Graham Bell discloses the invention of the telephone to his father at the family home on the outskirts of Brantford, Ontario. And in june of 1875 Bell's first functioning telephone is demonstrated in Boston. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876. -
Jennie Kidd Trout - Notable Events
Jennie Kidd Trout (born on April 21, 1841 - died on November 10, 1921) was the first woman in Canada legally to become a medical doctor, and was the only woman in Canada licensed to practice medicine until 1880, when Emily Stowe completed the official qualifications. She was motivated by her own chronic illnesses, and decided on a medical career, passing her matriculation exam and studying medicine at the University of Toronto. -
The Canadian Pacific Railway - Notable Events
The Canadian Pacific Railway recruits thousands of underpaid Chinese Labourers. The 1881 construction season was a bust and the railway's chief engineer and general superintendent were fired at the end of the season after building only 211 km (131 miles) of track. Last spike of the CPR driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia in 1885. -
Augusta Stowe-Gullen - Notable Events
Augusta Stowe, daughter of Emily a women who practiced medicine without a license, is the first woman to graduate from the Toronto Medical School. She also had a notable career teaching medical topics at the Ontario Medical College for Women. She was a member of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, a founder of the National Council of Women and a member of the Senate of the University of Toronto among important roles she carried out during her lifetime. -
Sir Sandford Fleming and Time Zone - Notable Events
Sandford Fleming. A system of international standard time and official time zones, advocated by Canadian engineer Sir Sandford Fleming, is adopted. He was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor. He proposed worldwide standard time zones, designed Canada's first postage stamp, left a huge body of surveying and map making, engineered much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding member of the Royal Society of Canada and founder of the Royal Canadian Institute. -
Louis Riel Hanged - Notable Events
Riel, who had become an American citizen in Montana in 1883 only to return to Canada in 1884, leads the North West Rebellion. The Métis North-West Rebellion is led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont. After early victories for the rebels, the rebellion is crushed by troops who arrive on the newly built railway. The Métis are defeated at Batoche, Batoche falls, and Riel is taken prisoner. And as a consequence (big 6), Louis Riel was hanged in Regina on November 16 1885. -
Lord Frederick Stanley donates Stanley Cup - Notable Events
Lord Stanley, the governor general, donates the Stanley Cup as a hockey trophy. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal HC, and subsequent winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams then became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. -
Laurier, the first Frence Canadian prime minister - Governors & Prime Ministers
Liberals under Laurier (the first French Canadian prime minister) win federal election partly on the Manitoba Schools Question, though his compromises are not instituted until 1897.Laurier is the holder of a number of records: he is the fourth-longest serving Prime Minister of Canada. Laurier also holds the record for the most consecutive federal elections won (4), and his 15-year tenure remains the longest unbroken term of office among Prime Minister. -
The Yukon is made into a provisional district separate from the NT - Provincial Notes
Yukon Terriotory was created from the District of Yukon in the northwestern part of the North-West Territories, and the Quebec Boundary Extension Act, 1898 expanded the borders of Quebec north to the Eastmain River. -
The Boer War - Wars & Battles
The Boer War begins in South Africa, fought between the Dutch Afrikaners and the British. This was a consequence (big 6) of the discovery of diamonds and gold at the Witwatersrand gold mines. 7000 Canadian volunteers fight on the British side. This was the first time Canadian troops were sent overseas to participate. The British war effort was supported by troops from several regions of the British Empire, the Australian colonies, Canada & New Zealand. The war ended in victory for the British & the annexation of both republics. -
World's first wireless spoken message via radio - Notable Events
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was a Canadian inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio, including the use of continuous waves. In his later career he received hundreds of patents for devices in fields such as high-powered transmitting, sonar, and TV. Reginald Fessenden transmits the world's first wireless spoken message via radio, and six years later the two-way voice transmission. His credited with the discovery of the super-heterodyne principle, the basis of all modern broadcasting. -
Canada loses Alaska - Colonies & Settlements
The Alaska boundary dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom. It was resolved in 1903. The dispute had been going on between the Russian and British Empires since 1821, and was inherited by the United States as a consequence of the Alaska Purchase in 1867.The final resolution favored the American position, and Canada did not get an all-Canada outlet from the Yukon gold fields to the sea. -
Saskatchewan and Alberta join Confederation - Provincial Notes
On 1 September, 1905, the federal government adopted the Saskatchewan Act and the Alberta Act, creating Canada's 7th and 8th provinces. Regina became Saskatchewan's capital and Edmonton became Alberta's capital. Immigrants rush to settle in the plains, mainly as wheat farmers. -
The Boundary Waters Treaty - Documents, Acts & Treaties
The Boundary Waters Treaty between Canada and United States creates the International Joint Commission, which first mission was to investigate the pollution of the Great Lakes in 1912. This treaty was a consequence (big 6) of the disputes over waters bordering the two countries, United States & Canada. Its research and advocacy led to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972. -
Robert Borden becomes Canada's Prime Minister - Governors & Prime Ministers
Robert Borden and the Conservatives win federal election, defeating Laurier on the issue of Reciprocity. He served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10, 1911, to July 10, 1920, and was the third Nova Scotian to hold this office. After retiring from public life, he served as the chancellor of Queen's University. His portrait appears on Canadian $100 notes produced since 1976. -
Canadian Expedition to the Arctic - Exploration Discovery
Vilhjalmur Stefansson leads a Canadian expedition to the Arctic, and explores the North by deliberately drifting on ice floes. He had both scientific and geographic objectives. The expidition ended with the loss of the ship (Karluk) and the subsequent deaths of nearly half its complement. -
Start of World War I - Wars & Battles
World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war centered in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war. The war was a consequence (big 6) of Nationalism and militarism of the main European Powers. -
End of World War I - Wars & Battles
World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. -
Canada joins the League of Nations - Notable Events
Canada was a founding member of the League of Nations, an organization of countries established at the end of the First World War. The League failed in its main purpose of keeping peace through the arbitration of international disputes. It was replaced by the United Nations at the end of the Second World War. The League established headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. -
Mackenzie King becomes the Prime Minister - Governors & Prime Ministers
Mackenzie King and the Liberals win federal election. As the two traditional parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, were struggling to rebuild themselves, the populist movement among western Farmers was starting to become a powerful political force. The Progressive Party emerged as a voice for the Farmers’ Movement, which would be the beginning of regionally-based politics in Canada. The election would result in Canada’s first ever minority government. -
Newfoundland women receive the right to vote - Notable Events
Women in Newfoundland and Labrador won the right to vote and run for public office in April 1925 after decades of lobbying government officials and promoting their cause on the public stage. As voting members of society, women became better-equipped to influence public policy and advance their concerns, which often included domestic violence, maternal health, child welfare, and public education. -
The Great Depression begins - Notable Events
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s.The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday). Black Tuesday was a cause (big 6) of the Great Depression, the consequence was poverty all over the world. -
Richard Bedford Bennett becomes Prime Minister - Governors & PrimeMinisters
The Conservatives under R.B. Bennett win federal election. Bennett's government establishes militaristic and repressive Relief Camps to cope with the problem of unemployed single men. He served as the 11th Prime Minister of Canada, during the worst of the Great Depression years. Following his defeat as prime minister, Bennett moved to England, and was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Bennett. -
Heat Wave - Notable Events
Seven hundred and eighty Canadians died when temperatures exceeded 42 degrees Celsius from Alberta to Ontario, in Canada's longest and deadliest heat wave. The wave lasted from July 5th to July 13th. It took place in the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and caused catastrophic human suffering and an enormous economic toll. The death toll exceeded 5,000, and huge numbers of crops were destroyed by the heat and lack of moisture. -
Trans-Canada Airlines - Notable Events
Trans-Canada Airlines (later Air Canada) makes the first scheduled passenger flight from Vancouver to Montreal. Its corporate headquarters were in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGregor. The airline operated under its original name until1965, when it was officially renamed Air Canada. -
Start of World War II - Wars & Battles
World War II was a global war. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. World War II was the consequence (big 6) of World War I, which allowed Hitler to come to power in Germany. -
National Resources Mobilization Act - Documents, Acts & Treaties
Parliament passes the controversial National Resources Mobilization Act (June), which allows conscription for military service only within Canada. It was passed to provide for better planning of a much greater Canadian war effort, both overseas and in military production at home. This is an example of Continuity and Change (big 6) that was brought about by WWII. -
Battle of Ortona - Wars & Battles
Canadians won the Battle of Ortona which was a battle fought between a battalion of German paratroops from the German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadian forces from the Canadian 1st Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes. It was the culmination of the fighting on the Adriatic front in Italy during "Bloody December". The battle, known to those who fought it as the "Italian Stalingrad" for the deadliness of its close-quarters combat. -
End of World War II - Wars & Battles
Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust (in which approximately 11 million people were killed) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres (in which approximately one million were killed, and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki), it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history. -
Canada's coldest day reported - Notable Events
Canada's record cold temperature is set in Snag, Yukon Territory, when the mercury plunged to -63 degrees Celcius, solidifying Canadian reputation as one of the coldest country in the world. he coldest place in Canada based on average yearly temperature is Eureka, Nunavut, where the temperature averages at -19.7C (-3.5F) for the year. However, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada was -63 °C (-81.4 F) in Snag, Yukon. -
The Korean War Starts - Wars & Battles
Volunteers in the Canadian Army Special Force join the United Nations forces in the Korean war. Over the course of the war twenty-seven thousand Canadians serve and more than 1 600 are killed or wounded. It was a war between North and South Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States of America fought for the South, and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union. -
Trans-Canada Highway - Notable Events
The construction of Trans-Canada Highway began. The 7,821 kilometer road linked the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and its ranked as one of Canada's most important transportation projects. is a transcontinental federal-provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada. This is historically significant (big 6) as this highway still exsists today and is well known by Canadians today. -
Hurricane Hazel - Notable Events
The most famous hurricane in Canadian history struck Southern Ontario. Hurricane Hazel was projected to dissipate, but instead re-intensified unexpectedly and rapidly, pounding the Toronto region with winds that reached 110 kilometres per hour. Thousands were left homeless, and 81 people were killed—more than 30 on one street alone. The total cost of the destruction in Canada was estimated at $100 million (about $1 billion today). -
John Diefenbaker and the Conservatives win a minority government - Governors & Prime Ministers
After many decades of Liberal rule, the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, led by John Diefenbaker, unexpectedly won a minority government in the 1957 election. Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, sensing the mood of the nation, stepped aside and let Diefenbaker govern. Diefenbaker needed the support of the Social Credit Party of Canada and three independents to get any legislation passed. This minority lasted only a few months. -
Canadian Bill of Rights is approved - Documents, Acts, & Treaties
Canadian Bill of Rights is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by Parliament of Canada. It provides Canadians with certain quasi-constitutional rights at Canadian federal law in relation to other federal statutes. It was the earliest expression of human rights law at the federal level in Canada, though an Implied Bill of Rights had already been recognized in the Canadian Common Law. -
The FLQ - Provincial Notes
Young radicals chose to creat, and join the terrorist group known as the FLQ (front de liberation du Québec). The FLQ dedicated to revolution to establish an independent Quebec, explodes bombs in Montreal. The FLQ took responsibility for the 3 Canadian army buildings in Montreal that were bombed with Molotov cocktails. This can help understand ethical dimensions (big 6), as these people felt different than many people in Canada and wanted to seperate because of that. -
Canada's new flag - Notable Events
Canada gets a new red-and-white, maple leaf flag. In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson formed a committee to replace the Union Flag. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. -
Pierre Trudeau - Governors & Prime Ministers
Pieree Trudeau succeeds Pearson as leader of the Liberals and wins a majority in a federal election in an atmosphere like a media circus. Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from1968, to 1979, and again from 1980, to 1984. He retired from politics in 1984, and John Turner succeeded him as Prime Minister. His eldest son, Justin Trudeau, is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister as a result of the 2015 federal election. -
October Crisis - Provincial Notes
British trade commissioner James Cross is kidnapped by the FLQ, precipitating the October Crisis. Québec's labour and immigration minister Pierre Laporte is also kidnapped and later found murdered. The strangled body of Pierre Laporte was found in the trunk of a car in St. Hubert, Quebec, during the FLQ crisis. This was a consequence (big 6) of the FLQ not being delt with in Quebec, and not helping them compromise. -
War Measures Act - Documents, Acts & Treaties
The War Measures Act was a federal statute adopted by Parliament in 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War. It gave broad powers to the Canadian government to maintain security and order during war or insurrection. It was used, controversially, during both world wars and also during the 1970 October Crisis in Quebec. It has since been replaced by the more limited Emergencies Act. -
Trudeau's Liberals win a minority government by only two seats - Governors & Prime Ministers
In the 1972 election, the Liberals under Pierre Trudeau won only two seats more than the Tories. It was the second election for Trudeau as party leader. However, even though the Liberals entered the election strong in the polls, the Trudeaumania buzz had all but evaporated, and the party was further damaged by a weak economy. With few issues to campaign on, and one of the weakest campaigns in Canadian history, they were again forced to rely on the NDP to remain in power. -
Rene Levesque and Parti Quebecois are elected in Quebec - Provincial Notes
In the 1976 provincial election, the Parti Québécois was elected for the first time to form the government of Quebec. The party's leader, René Lévesque, became the Premier of Quebec. This provided cause for celebration among many French-speaking Quebecers, while it resulted in an acceleration of the migration of the province's Anglophone population and related economic activity toward Toronto. -
The Constitution Act of 1982 - Documents, Acts & Treaties
The Constitution Act of 1982 is a part of the Constitution of Canada. The act was introduced as part of Canada's process of patriating the constitution, introducing several amendments to the British North America Act, 1867, and changing the latter's name in Canada to the Constitution Act, 1867. Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, brought the act into effect with a proclamation she signed in Ottawa. -
The Canadian Federal Election of 1984 - Governors & Prime Ministers
The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Brian Mulroney, won the largest landslide majority government (by total no. of seats) in Canadian history, while the Liberals suffered what at that time was the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level.The election marked the end of the Liberals' long dominance of federal politics in Quebec, a province which had been the bedrock of Liberal support for almost a century. This election was the last time that a winning party received over 50% of the national popular vote. -
Canada receives United Nations Award - Notable Events
Canada receives a United Nations award for sheltering world refugees. The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award is awarded annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced or stateless people. It was established in 1954. In 1986 it was awarded to the people of Canada. -
Canada host winter Olympics - Notable Events
The Winter Olympics open in Calgary. Canada wins two silver medals (Brian Orser and Elizabeth Manley, for figure skating) and three bronze medals. Ben Johnson wins the 100 meters in the Olympics dilating Canadians. But after drugs screening sowed the Toronto athlete had tested positive for steroids. He was stripped of the gold medal. This was the cause (big 6) of any future inquiry in the drug use not only in Canada but in the rest of the world. -
Canadian troops join fight against Saddam Hussein - Wars & Battles
Canadian forces join the multinational forces in the battle to drive Saddam Hussein's Iraqi troops from Kuwait. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991, continuing for five weeks. This was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a decisive victory for the Coalition forces, who drove the Iraqi military from Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. -
Kim Campbell becomes first female Prime Minister - Governors & Prime Ministers
Kim Campbell, the new Conservative party leader, becomes Canada's first female prime minister, but in October Jean Chrétien's Liberals win the general election. She was also the first woman to lead the federal Progressive Conservative Party. Campbell was the first, and to date, only female prime minister of Canada. This is histoically significant (big 6), as she was the first and only female Prime Minister of the Country. -
RADARSAT Satellite is launched - Notable Events
RADARSAT is launched as the first Canadian earth observation satellite and first non-communications satellite since 1971. It can provide images of the earth's surface day and night, in any climate conditions, to clients around the world. ADARSAT-1 was a Canadian-led project involving the Canadian federal government, the Canadian provinces, the United States, and the private sector. It provided useful information to both commercial and scientific users. -
Confederation Bridge opens - Provincial Notes
Confederation Bridge opens for business, the bridge is a two-lane toll bridge that carries the Trans-Canada Highway between Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island and Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick. It is a multi-span beam bridge with a post-tensioned concrete box girder structure. Most of the curved bridge is 40 metres above water.
