Highlights of the day

  • 1948 Canadian team attend opening of the Winter Olympic games in St Moritz.

List of Facts for January 30

  • 1646 Religion - Father de Nouë, a Jesuit priest, freezes to death in a blizzard on the way to Fort Richelieu. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1654 Mining - Nicolas Denys, Governor of the the Gulf Islands, Canso to Gaspé, makes his headquarters at St. Pierre; he has a royal concession to mine Cape Breton gold, silver and copper. St. Peters, Nova Scotia
  • 1815 War of 1812 - Rev. John Strachan writes a letter to ex-President Thomas Jefferson protesting actions of US forces who burned and looted York during the war. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1839 Lord Durham completes his Report on the Affairs of British North America; two months after resigning; handed over the following day. London, England
  • 1856 Rail - First Grand Trunk Railway train arrives in Guelph from Toronto; on this day 67 years later, in 1923, the Grand Trunk is absorbed into Canadian National Railways. Guelph, Ontario
  • 1868 Province - Nova Scotia legislature opens First session after Confederation. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1889 Engineering - Work begins on the Capilano River Dam, to bring fresh water to Vancouver; the pipeline will cross Burrard Inlet by an underwater pipeline. Vancouver, BC
  • 1897 Boundary - UK-US convention establishes BC-Yukon boundary. Washington, DC
  • 1915 Military - Formation of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, for service in First World War.
  • 1917 Fire destroys joint Kettle Valley Railway/Vancouver, Victoria & Eastern Railway station at Brookmere, BC
  • 1919 Farming - South Okanagan Irrigation Project kicked off as construction of Intake Dam at the base of McIntyre Bluff begins; completed in 1921. BC
  • 1920 Hockey - Québec Bulldogs’ Joe Malone sets NHL record of 7 goals in one game against Toronto; had previously scored nine goals in a Stanley Cup game against Sydney in 1913, and eight against the NHA Montréal Wanderers in 1917. In his First NHL season Malone scored 44 goals in only 20 games, and had 146 goals in only 125 games . Québec, Québec
  • 1923 Rail - Canadian National Railways takes over the Grand Trunk Railway, starting the amalgamation of other lines to create what is now CN Rail. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1930 Crime - Police arrest 9 members of the Standard Exchange for fraud; including members of the 5 biggest mining companies; later 27 sent to jail. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1942 Second World War - Byrne Hope Sanders appointed First head of Consumer Branch of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board; ex-editor of Chatelaine Magazine. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1942 Frederick Haultain dies; last unofficial Premier of the NWT from 1898-1905, and Chief Justice of Saskatchewan 1912-1937. Saskatchewan
  • 1948 Olympics - Canadian team attend opening of the fifth Winter Olympic games in St Moritz. Among those attending is Barbara Ann Scott, who will win the Gold in Figure Skating, and the RCAF Flyers ice hockey team, who will also take home the gold. St. Moritz, Switzerland
  • 1957 Mining - CNP Coal winds up operations at the Elk River Colliery, soon blasting its tunnels closed; end of mining in Coal Creek valley. BC
  • 1964 Terrorism - Terrorists raid armoury in Montréal for weapons and ammunition; group calling itself the Comité révolutionnaire du Québec. Montréal, Québec
  • 1966 Welfare - Government announces that over 100, 000 Canadians aged 69 are now eligible for $75 Old Age Security pensions. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Space - NASA Launches Canadian-built ISIS 1 satellite, to continue ionospheric and aurora borealis research from the Alouette series; mass of 241 kg. Canada used the satellite until 1984, while Japan used it until 1990. Vandenberg AFB, California
  • 1973 Finance - Winnipeg-based Investors Growth Fund of Canada First foreign mutual fund to sell units in Japan; through Nikko Securities; after liberalization of investment controls. Japan
  • 1975 Gambling - Ontario starts Wintario lottery to raise money for recreation and cultural activities and facilities. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1981 Aboriginal - Parliamentary Committee accepts proposed native rights amendments to the Constitution. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1985 Retail - Metric System - Federal government relaxes laws requiring businesses to use the metric system; states that metric measurement will continue to be mandatory, but retailers can use the imperial system at the same time. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1989 Lucien Bouchard sworn in as Minister of the Environment in the Brian Mulroney government. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Taxation - Finance Minister Michael Wilson gets 7% Goods and Services Tax bill through First reading in the Commons; GST to start January, 1991. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Labour - CBC President Gérard Veilleux announces 500 jobs to be cut at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation over the next year. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Hockey - Wayne Gretzky scores his 100th point of season for the 11th straight season, an #NHL record.
  • 1991 Fur Trade - Retail - The Hudson’s Bay Company announces it is selling its fur business due to declining sales and auction competition; the HBC was originally founded as a fur trading company in 1670, and is the world’s oldest continuously operating joint stock company. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Military - Gulf War: Canadian CF-18 Hornet attacks and causes irreparable damage to an Iraqi warship. Iraq
  • 1991 Lise Thibault sworn in as 27th Lieutenant Governor of Québec; first woman and first handicapped person to hold the post; serves until Jun 7, 2007, after which she was criticized for her office’s extravagant hospitality expenses. Québec, Québec
  • 2001 Parliament - Governor General of Canadal Adrienne Clarkson reads the Speech from the Throne to open the 37th Parliament. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2001 Terrorism - The office of Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Elinor Caplan receives an envelope containing a mysterious blue powder; causes the Department of Citizenship and Immigration building to be sealed off; on February 1, 2001, a Winnipeg, Manitoba laborator says the powder posed no health risk. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2004 Justice - Supreme Court of Canada upholds a law allowing parents to spank their children within reasonable limits. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2006 Business - Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announces that a group of investors including Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has agreed to buy the luxury hotel chain for about $3.3 billion in cash and some $600 million in assumed debt; a new Canadian company will take over outstanding shares from the Toronto-based sellers. Toronto, Ontario