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Constitution Act of 1982 (Charter of Rights and Freedoms)
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the basic human rights and freedom of all Canadian people. -
The Meech Lake Accord
The Meech lake accord, was an agreement between the federal and provincial governments to add Quebec's consent and change the constitution. The accord would strengthen provincial powers and declare Quebec a distinct society. When the accord never got implemented, many Québécois saw the Accord’s failure as a rejection of Quebec, which led to problems later on. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a concrete wall that divided east and west Berlin, and showed the divide between the communist east and capitalist west of Europe. A few days after a protest with over half a million people in 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. The wall coming down led to the reunion of east and west Germany -
Desert Storm
Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait in August of 1990. The United Nations approved the use of military force against Iraq when they resisted withdrawing. In January 1991, a multinational force led by the U.S. attacked the Iraqi army. Canada provided naval and air support. Hussein was forced to destroy his stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons as well as the facilities that housed them once Iraq surrendered and fled Kuwait. -
Oka Crisis
RCMP, Canadian Army, Quebec police, and Mohawk demonstrators engaged in a 78-day standoff known as the Oka Crisis. It Happened in the town of Kanesatake, near to the Town of Oka, on the north shore of Montreal. The crisis was sparked by the development of town houses and the proposed expansion of a golf course on disputed land that included a Mohawk burial ground. The protest only ended when the army was brought in. The federal government bought the land and the Mohawks have not gotten the land. -
G.S.T.
The goods and services tax is a value added taxed introduced by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's government. The tax was introduced at a rate of 7%, and over the course of the years, has been lowered twice, with the rate now sitting at 5%. The G.S.T. raised 11.7% of the total federal government revenue from 2017-2018 -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared the end of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991, which unofficially led to the end of the 40 year cold war with the United States. -
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown accord was the second attempt at changing the Canadian constitution with Quebec's Consent. The accord had the approval of all the provincial governments and the federal government, but was rejected by Canadian voters in a referendum. -
NAFTA
NAFTA, also known as the North American Free Trade Agreement was an economic free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States. Through this agreement, all obstacles to trade and investment between the three nations were removed. This had a positive effect on the Canadian economy, as it opened up new export opportunities and helped attract more foreign business. -
Rwandan Genocide
Between April and July of 1994, a planned campaign of mass murder took place in Rwanda over a period of about 100 days. More that 800,00 civilians died. Canada was one of the main contributors to the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Rwanda. Canadian's were tasked with restoring order and bringing aid to the population. -
1995 Quebec Referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum. This one asked voters in Quebec if Quebec should become an independent country. The results of the vote were 50.58 percent of voters voting that Quebec should not become an independent country and 49.42 percent of voters voting that Quebec should become independent. -
Nisga'a First Nation Treaty
The Nisga'a Treaty is an agreement that was reached through negotiations involving the governments of Canada, British Columbia, and the Nisga'a Nation. The treaty granted the Nisga'a 2,019 square kilometers of land in British Columbia, and the ability to run their own healthcare and education systems, to form their own government, The treaty was signed May 27, 1998 but came into effect on May 11, 2000. -
The Creation of Nunavut
The Northwest Territories were split into two territories on April 1, 1999, allowing for the creation of Nunavut, an Inuit homeland in Canada. The greatest aboriginal land claim agreement between the Canadian government and the indigenous Inuit people was the outcome of the creation of this area. One of the first indigenous groups in Canada to gain self-government was the Inuit, who make up 83% of the population of Nunavut. -
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Canada in Afghanistan
Canada joined an international coalition to eradicate the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban government that protected it in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Despite the Taliban's removal from power and the disruption of the al-Qaeda network, Canada and its allies were unable to get rid of either organization or secure and stabilize Afghanistan. More than 40,00 Canadian soldiers served, and 158 soldiers and 7 civilians from Canada died. -
9/11
9/11 was the date in which four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States. Two of the Planes crashed into the twin towers of the world trade center, another plane crashed into the Pentagon, and after one of the passengers attempted to retake the plane from the hijackers, the last plane crashed in a field somewhere in Pennsylvania. 24 Canadians died, and hundreds of planes carrying thousands of passengers were rerouted to Canadian airports. -
Same-Sex Marriage
The Federal government of Canada legalized same-sex marriage on July 20, 2005, two years after Ontario and British Columbia legalized same-sex Marriage. This was a major victory for equality and had a huge positive impact on all of the lgbtq2+ people in Canada -
Residential School Apology
Residential schools were created to strip Indigenous people of their culture and traditions and assimilate them into Christian life and European work habits. Children were taken from their family's and treated horribly at the schools. Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood in front of the House of Commons to apologize to Indigenous peoples of Canada on behalf of the Canadian government for the mistreatment, suffering, and generational and cultural genocide brought on by these residential schools. -
Vancouver Olympics
The Vancouver Olympics, also known as the 2010 Winter Olympics was an international multi-sport winter event held in Vancouver. There were 2,632 athletes from different countries, and 86 events to participate in. Canada ended up winning 14 gold medals. The hosting of the Olympics in Vancouver created new job opportunities, impacted volunteerism in a positive way, created more accessible sidewalks and walkways, brought people together, and much more. -
Canada and Syrian Refugee's
(2011-present) After pro-democracy protests erupted in Syria, the Syrian government violently put down protests, using cops, soldiers, and paramilitary groups in large numbers. In 2011, opposition militias started to emerge, and by 2012, the crisis had fully descended into civil war. Canada resettled more than 40,000 Syrian refugees in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. -
Tragically Hip's Final Concert
The Tragically Hip were a very popular rock Canadian rock band formed in 1984. They have received 14 Juno awards and 9 No.1 singles over the course of their 30 active years. After vocalist Gord Downie's brain cancer diagnosis, they performed their final concert in their hometown Kingston, Ontario. the last performance was broadcast without commercial interruption on the different platforms of the national broadcaster, and 11.7 million people tuned in to watch the concert.