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Period: to
Life In Canada 1860 - 1890
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Howe becomes Premier of Nova Scotia
Howe became provincial secretary under William Young. When Young was appointed as a judge later that year, Howe assumed the leadership of the party and the province. He served as premier until 1862, when he accepted the position of imperial fisheries commissioner. -
Mount Allison University accepts the first woman student.
Mount Allison was a boys' academy owned and operated by the Methodist Church but open to all denominations. It opened in 1843 and a branch institution for girls, known as the Ladies College, was added in 1854. It attained degree-granting status in 1858, at which time it was referred to as Mount Allison College. Teaching began in 1862 and the first two degrees were granted in 1863. -
The London Conference passes resolutions which are redrafted as the British North America Act.
London Conference, beginning 4 December 1866, in which Canadian, Nova Scotian and New Brunswick delegates met with the British government in London, Eng, was the important transitional stage between the 1864 Quebec Conference and the 1867 British North America Act. -
Dominion of Canada comes into being: Sir John A. Macdonald sworn in as prime minister.
On May 24, 1867, Macdonald was formally commissioned by the Governor General to form the first government under Confederation. -
Canadian Parliament agrees to buy Rupert's Land - All the Hudson's Bay Company territory.
The Rupert's Land Act was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, authorizing the transfer of Rupert's Land from the control of the Hudson's Bay Company to the Dominion of Canada. This is the largest land purchase in Canada's history. The transfer occurred in 1869 and was consummated in 1870 by the payment of a consideration of £300,000 to the Hudson's Bay Company. -
Alexander Graham Bell discloses the invention of the telephone to his father at the family home on the outskirts of Brantford, Ontario.
Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work.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. -
The Supreme Court of Canada is established.
The Supreme Court of Canada, created by an act of
parliament in 1875, is Canada’s final court of appeal,
the last judicial resort for all litigants, whether
individuals or governments. For many years, the Court’s decisions could be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. -
The first organized games of hockey, using a flat puck, are played by McGill University students in Montreal. Before this, hockey-like games have been played on ice with a ball
The first organized game of ice hockey took place at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, based on a set of rules proposed by a group of McGill University students. The game also featured a number of those students. -
Riel is hanged in Regina.
At his trial, Riel gave two long speeches which demonstrated his powerful rhetorical abilities. He personally rejected attempts by his defence counsel to prove he was not guilty by reason of insanity. On 1 August 1885, a jury of six English-speaking Protestants found Riel guilty but recommended mercy. Judge Hugh Richardson sentenced him to death. He was hanged in Regina on 16 November, 1885. His execution was widely opposed in Quebec and had lasting political ramifications. -
The Liberals choose Wilfred Laurier as leader.
As leader of the Liberal Party 1887–1919 and prime minister 1896–1911, Laurier was the dominant political figure of his era. A skilful and pragmatic politician with a charismatic personality, he unceasingly sought compromise.
