Highlights of the day

  • 1945 International Women’s Day first celebrated on this day in Canada and around the world.
  • 1867 British Parliament gives final reading to the British North America Act
  • 1982 British House of Commons passes the Canada Act, allowing Canada to patriate its constitution.

List of Facts for March 8

  • 1765 Fire levels one-quarter of the town of Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1799 Exploration - David Thompson explores North Saskatchewan River; later up Bow River with Duncan McGillivray past site of Calgary. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1815 Justice - Peter Byers, a black, is sentenced to death for stealing five pounds; 2 weeks earlier his brother Sancho Byers was sentenced to hang for stealing a pound of butter and a loaf of bread. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1820 Samuel Smith appointed administrator of Upper Canada; serves until June 30, 1820. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1836 Rail - New Brunswick & Canada Railroad Company chartered; from St. Andrews across northern Maine to Québec; boundary scrap with US delays construction. St. Andrews, New Brunswick
  • 1837 Banking - Bank of British North America opens in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Col John Maitland gains a victory over the republican rebels at Pelee island, Lake Erie. Pelee island, Ontario
  • 1855 Rail - Niagara Suspension Bridge opens, linking Canada and the US; the world’s first suspension bridge built to carry trains; first train crosses March 9, 1855. Niagara Falls, Ontario
  • 1867 Constitution - British Parliament gives final reading to the British North America Act; few MPs attend to vote; more rush in after to vote against a more contentious bill to place a tax on dogs. BNA Act proclaimed March 29, 1867. London, England
  • 1870 Red River Rebellion - Religion - Alexandre-Antonin Taché arrives in Red River to negotiate with Louis Riel; Bishop of St-Boniface. St. Boniface, Manitoba
  • 1871 External Affairs - Treaty of Washington - John A. Macdonald invited to attend British negotiations that lead to signing of the Washington Treaty; deals with Alabama claims, western boundary, new reciprocity. Washington, DC
  • 1873 Prohibition - Northwest Territories Council declares the NWT dry; prohibits the sale of liquor at the urging of HBC chief Donald A. Smith , later Lord Strathcona; called the Smith Act. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1875 Finance - First official daily Toronto Stock Exchange report published in the Globe; TSE sales are afterwards reported on a regular basis. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1876 Urban - Winnipeg City Hall opens; first building to serve as municipal office. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1877 NWT Commissioner David Laird summons the North-West Council to its First session in the Livingstone Barracks (Fort Livingstone) at Swan River; among the very first pieces of legislation passed is an Ordinance for the Protection of Buffalo. Fort Livingstone, Saskatchewan
  • 1877 First session of the Council of the District of Keewatin. Manitoba
  • 1901 Boer War - Sam Steele, commanding Lord Strathcona’s Horse, arrives back in Halifax with his regiment after fighting for the Empire in South Africa. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1906 Hockey - The Ottawa Silver 7 beat Smith Falls (Ontario) for the Stanley Cup. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1906 Second session of 10th Parliament of Canada meets until July 13, 1906; passes Lord’s Day Observance Act; bans Sunday work, transport and show. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1907 Justice - Founding of the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1922 First session of 14th Parliament of Canada meets until June 28, 1922; sets up Canada Wheat Board; passes National Defense Act. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1943 Mountaineering - Bill Peyto dies in Calgary; guide, outfitter, soldier, Banff National Park warden. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1945 Women - International Women’s Day first celebrated on this day in Canada and around the world. Canada
  • 1945 Second World War - Canadian and British troops enter Xanten; US troops enter Bonn. Germany
  • 1954 Military - Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent visits Canadian brigade in Korea during world tour. Korea
  • 1961 External Affairs - John Diefenbaker attends nine-day Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference; censures South African policy of apartheid. London, England
  • 1965 Education - Newfoundland grants free tuition to all first-year students at Memorial University; first in Canada. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1971 Closing of Halifax’s Pier 21, since passenger liners have given way to plane travel; more than a million immigrants arrived there from 1928-71. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1978 Hockey - Guy Lafleur of the Montréal Canadiens scores his 50th goal of the season against Washington Capitals.
  • 1981 Hockey - Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 50th goal of the season against Winnipeg Jets.
  • 1982 Constitution - British House of Commons passes the Canada Act, allowing Canada to patriate its constitution; the House of Lords will give final reading March 25, 1982; Queen Elizabeth II will sign the Royal Proclamation of the Constitution in a ceremony April 17, 1982 on Parliament Hill. London, England
  • 1983 Royal Visit - Queen Elizabeth II starts three-day visit to BC with Prince Phillip. Vancouver, BC
  • 1984 Military - US cruise missile tested over western Canada; unarmed missile stays attached to B-52 bomber. Primrose Lake, Alberta
  • 1984 Hockey - Michel Goulet of the Quebec Nordiques scores his 50th goal of the season against Pittsburgh Penguins.
  • 1984 Energy - Supreme Court of Canada rules that Ottawa owns oil resources of the Hibernia field, off Newfoundland. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Figure Skating - Kurt Browning wins his second consecutive World Men’s Figure Skating title, over Soviet Victor Petrenko. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1990 Finance Minister Michael Wilson gets Commons to pass budget; British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta to take Ottawa to court over cuts in transfer payments. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Police - RCMP accept blame for bungled Donald Marshall investigation. Sydney, Nova Scotia March 8 - Arts - Robert Calder receives Governor General’s Literary Award for English Non-Fiction for his book Willie; Louis Hamelin receives Governor General’s Literary Award for French Fiction for his novel La Rage; Paul Quarrington receives Governor General’s Literary Award for English Fiction for his novel Whale Music; Judith Thompson receives Governor General’s Literary Award for English Drama for her play The Other Side of the Dark; from Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn; at 51st Governor General’s Literary Awards. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Aboriginal - British Columbia Supreme Court rules that, according to treaties, the Gitksan do not have Aboriginal title to their land, but they do have the right to use it for subsistence; Delgamuukw et al v The Queen case clarifies clause of the treaties setting aside Crown land for the use and benefit of First Nations people. Victoria, BC
  • 1991 Constitution - Newfoundland Premier Clyde Wells suggests giving Québec a limited veto, but not recognizing Québec as a distinct society; calling it a lesser status. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1993 Military - Canadian Navy supply ship HMCS Preserver heads home after three-month tour of Somalia; her three Sea King helicopters airlifted 430 tonnes of supplies into Mogadishu. Somali Republic
  • 2001 Bernard Landry sworn in as Parti québécois Premier of Québec, replacing Lucien Bouchard. Québec, Québec