Highlights of the day

  • 1885 Beginning of the North West Rebellion in Batoche, as Louis Riel seizes hostages and proclaims the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan

List of Facts for March 19

  • 1747 Marquis de La Jonquiere 1685-1752 appointed Governor of New France. Québec, Québec
  • 1825 George Simpson c1787-1860 chooses new Fort Vancouver as headquarters of Columbia district; on Columbia River near present day Portland. Portland, Oregon
  • 1860 New Brunswick legislature decides not to invite the Prince of Wales, the visiting Canada, because of costs; decides to erase to day’s debate from the record the following day. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1867 British Columbia Legislative Council passes Act enabling province to enter Confederation. Victoria, BC
  • 1871 Minister of Inland Revenue Alexander Morris 1826-1889 introduces Act to legalize metric system in Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1880 William Winder registers the double crank brand in the NWT. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1885 North West Rebellion - Reacting to the news that the NWMP are on the way to Batoche, Louis Riel seizes hostages, takes control of St. Anthony’s Church, and and proclaims the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan, with himself as President, and Gabriel Dumont as Adjutant-General of the Army. His followers ransack government stores and cut the telegraph wires leading east; the North West Rebellion begins in this date. Batoche, Saskatchewan
  • 1891 I.G. Baker sells Alberta District assets to Hudson’s Bay Company
  • 1898 Corbin incorporates Kettle Valley Railroad in Washington, and continues efforts to obtain a Canadian charter for his Kettle River Valley Railway. (Canadian Register of Historic Places)
  • 1906 S.J. (Sam) McCartney set up Yahk’s 2nd, permanent post office.
  • 1914 Hockey - NHA Toronto Blueshirts sweep PCHA Victoria Capitals in 3 games for the Stanley Cup. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1914 The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) opens in Toronto. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1923 Military - Naval Reserve - Lt Eustace Brock charged to raise a RCNVR unit in Winnipeg. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1928 Radio station CHNS broadcasts an experimental two-hour school music broadcast, with the Harmonica Band of St. Patrick’s Boys’ School; later that year, CHNS starts a two-hour weekly show, Canada’s First regular school broadcast series. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1934 Woodrow Elliott, a farmer near Hussar, finds a fragment of rock believed to be part of a meteor seen in Alberta skies March 18. Hussar, Alberta
  • 1937 Commons passes bill banning Canadian enlistment in the Spanish Civil War. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1938 Toronto Maple Leafs score 8 goals in four minutes and fifty-two seconds of the 3rd period of a Toronto-New York Rangers hockey game. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1941 United States and Canada sign pact to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway. Washington, DC
  • 1964 Over 100 cm of snow falls at Cape Whittle; Québec’s greatest one-day snowfall. Cape Whittle, Québec
  • 1964 Sergeant Major Walter Leja awarded George Medal for heroic conduct while dismantling FLQ bombs in Montréal; he was seriously injured when trying to dismantle a bomb in a Westmount post box on May 17,1963 [in the picture . Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Jean-Jacques Bertrand 1916-1973 Quebec Premier drops Bill guaranteeing right to English-language education after heavy opposition; introduced Dec. 9, 1968. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1970 Ottawa brings in rigid federal rules barring any foreign ownership of Canadian uranium mining. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1974 Québec brings in free dental care for all children under eight in the province. Québec, Québec
  • 1981 Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs 14-4; score 9 goals in the second period, the most goals in one period by an NHL team; total 31 goals and assists another NHL record. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1981 Ontario Election - Bill Davis wins a majority for the PCs in the provincial election. Ontario
  • 1982 Québec signs 13-year, $6 billion hydro-electric power export agreement with New York state. Albany, New York
  • 1989 Kurt Browning wins the Men’s gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championship in Paris; Midori Ito of Japan wins the Ladies’. Paris, France
  • 1990 Brian Mulroney 1939- forgives $182 million debt owed by Caribbean countries; at 2 day Caribbean Commonwealth leaders conference; $93 million of Jamaica’s debt forgiven. Bridgetown, Barbados
  • 1990 First world ice hockey tournament for women held in Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Toronto singer Alannah Myles’ song Black Velvet makes it to Number 1 on the Billboard Charts. New York, New York
  • 1993 Figure Skating - Isabelle Brasseur & Lloyd Eisler win the gold medal in Ice Pairs at the World Figure Skating Championship in Prague. Prague, Czech Republic
  • 1997 Music - Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac cancels nightclub show 15 minutes before he is to go on stage; after two more gigs, he cancels the remaining five dates of his US tour because of exhaustion. Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1997 Mining - Michael de Guzman, geologist for the Calgary-based Bre-X mining company, dies in Indonesian jungle, either jumping or being pushed from a helicopter; later blamed for salting drilling results with gold flakes, causing major losses for investors in the company. Indonesia