Highlights of the day

  • 1942 Second World War - Ottawa Orders Japanese Nationals Interned

List of Facts for February 2

  • 1807 Education - Upper Canada Legislature passes bill setting up provincial grammar schools in all districts. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1837 Aboriginal - Council of Assiniboia agrees to accept evidence given by Indians as valid in cases where traders are charged with selling alcohol to the natives. Manitoba
  • 1848 James Uniacke appointed Attorney-General in First Liberal government in Nova Scotia; Joseph Howe Provincial Secretary. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1869 Lord Lisgar installed as Governor General of Canada, replacing Lord Monck. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1897 Education - Clara Brett Martin is admitted to the profession of law after the Law Society of Upper Canada changes its admission standards; the Trinity College graduate is the First woman barrister in the British Empire. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1897 Medicine - Lady Aberdeen, wife of the Governor General, starts organizing the Victorian Order of Nurses - the VON. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1898 Rail - Bridge completed over the Pincher Creek west of Brocket. Brocket, Alberta
  • 1899 Exhibition - Israel Tarte appointed head of the Paris Exposition Commission for Canada; organizes Canadian display at World’s Fair in Paris. Paris, France
  • 1904 Justice - Ernest Cashel American desperado hanged for the murder of an Alberta rancher; First man to be hanged in Calgary. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1907 British Columbia Election - Richard McBride re-elected Conservative Premier of British Columbia. BC
  • 1910 Urban - George Murdoch dies; First mayor of Calgary and Father of the City. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1914 Farming - Juniata Co-operative Association becomes the First association formed under the Agricultural Co-operative Associations Act of 1913. Juniata, Saskatchewan
  • 1918 Hockey - Joe Malone of the Montréal Canadiens scores 5 goals against Toronto. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1926 Politics - Henry Herbert Stevens releases damaging information about Canadian Customs officials accepting bribes; customs scandals lead to Mackenzie King’s resignation June 28, 1926. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1931 Environment - Fire starts on Toronto’s lower Don River, when a spark from a passing train lans on a patch of oil or other flammable garbage dumped by industry and the general public; the fire department put it out before it spread to nearby buildings. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1937 Music - Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians record Boo Hoo on Victor records; one of the group’s all-time hits. New York, New York
  • 1942 Second World War - Minister of National Defence, James Ralston, proclaims western British Columbia a ‘protected area’ under wartime regulations, and classifies all Japanese nationals resident in Canada as Enemy Aliens; orders that every male between ages eighteen and forty-five, born in Japan, be removed 100 miles from the Coast by April 1, 1942; on February 25, the government will include second and third generation Canadians of Japanese origin under the edict; they will be treated as aliens and deprived of their property. Vancouver, BC
  • 1942 Politics - Arthur Meighen loses by-election; resigns as Leader of the Conservatives and retires to practice law in Toronto; former Prime Minister was pro-conscription. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1942 Farming - Delegation of 400 Saskatchewan farmers and businessmen visit Ottawa to demand Dollar Wheat. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1948 Arts - Order-in-Council creates the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the First agency of its kind in North America. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1955 Weather - New Brunswick experiences the coldest day in recorded history in the Province: -47.2 degrees Celsius. Sisson Dam, New Brunswick
  • 1963 Architecture - Construction begins on the Fathers of Confederation Memorial Building in Charlottetown. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1966 Welfare - Senator David Croll issues report of his Senate Committee on the Elderly; recommends guaranteed annual income at age 65; and programs to help seniors stay productive. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1968 Urban - Founding of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, effective January 1, 1969; includes the cities of Ottawa and Eastview, County of Carleton, and Township of Cumberland. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1970 External Affairs - Canada becomes an official observer at the Organization of American States (OAS). Washington, DC
  • 1974 Commonwealth Games - Canada finishes in 3rd place at 10th Commonwealth Games at Christchurch; 25 gold medals, 19 silver, 18 bronze. Christchurch, New Zealand
  • 1976 Labour - Ottawa signs agreements with Newfoundland and PEI to put public employees under the federal AIB - Anti-Inflation Board. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1976 Media - The Rich Little Show debuts on NBC-TV; Ottawa-born impersonator. Los Angeles, California
  • 1977 Hockey - Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ian Turnbull scores 5 goals, including his first career hat trick, in a 9-1 win over Detroit Red Wings at Maple Leaf Gardens; sets scoring record for an NHL defenceman; also the first NHL player to score five goals on just five shots. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1981 Law - Reformed Québec Civil Code comes into effect. Québec
  • 1988 Hockey - Mario Lemieux scores his 50th goal of the season against Washington Capitals. Washington, DC
  • 1995 Music - Celine Dion’s album The Color of my Love goes triple platinum. New York, New York
  • 1996 Football - Canadian Football League champion Baltimore Stallions announce they are leaving Baltimore for Montréal, bringing to an end a failed American experiment; CFL’s other US-based teams in San Antonio, Shreveport, Memphis and Birmingham had folded. Baltimore, Maryland
  • 1996 Constitution - Governor General Roméo LeBlanc signs into law a Bill giving 5 provinces and regions - BC, Prairies, Ontario, Québec, Atlantic Canada - the veto over major constitutional changes. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2001 Health - Farming - Canada begins banning imports of beef and beef products from Brazil due to concerns of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BES or Mad Cow Disease). Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2001 Politics - Ontario Minister of Finance Ernie Eves quits to become vice-chair and senior adviser at Credit Suisse First Boston Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2003 Avalanche in Glacier National Park. BC
  • 2004 Wiarton Willie the groundhog predicts six more week of cold weather on Groundhog Day. Wiarton, Ontario
  • 2004 Governor General Adrienne Clarkson reads the Speech from the Throne in the Senate chamber. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2005 Terrorism - Harjit Singh is deported to India. Vancouver, BC
  • 2007 Hockey - Brian Kilrea, age 72, coaches his record 2,000th game behind the bench; his OHL Ottawa 67sl team wins 4-3 over the Toronto-St. Michael’s Majors; first coach in major junior history to reach 2,000 games; honoured with a 20-minute pre-game ceremony that featured several former players and NHL executives, plus an appearance by Don Cherry and Ron MacLean of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. Ottawa, Ontario