Highlights of the day

  • 1752 John Bushell publishes the first issue of his Halifax Gazette, Canada’s first regular newspaper
  • 1949 George VI gives Royal Assent to the Newfoundland Act, clearing the way for union with Canada March 31

List of Facts for March 23

  • 1633 Samuel de Champlain, age 63, sails on his final voyage to Québec, arriving May 22 after a long and arduous voyage. St-Malo, France
  • 1665 Daniel de Courcelle appointed Governor of New France; serves from September 12, 1665 to September 12, 1672. Paris, France
  • 1665 Jean Talon appointed Intendant of New France, in charge of finance and justice; Canada’s First civil administrator will hold Canada’s First census; serves from September 23, 1665 to October 22, 1668, then 1670-72. Québec, Québec
  • 1670 Exploration - Religion - Sulpician priests François Dollier de Casson and René de Galinée erect a cross and take possession of the Lake Erie area in the name of the King of France, on the basis that it was non-occupied; they attach a certificate at the foot of the cross, along with the coat of arms of the King, and will later send the King a transcript of what they wrote on the certificate; on March 26, 1670, they will launch their canoes and paddle west, hugging the north shore and camping each night on the beach; after 250 kilometers of paddling they reach the mouth of the St. Clair River to Lake Huron, and finally arrive at the Jesuit mission at Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, returning to Montréal via the Ottawa River. Port Dover, Ontario
  • 1752 Media - John Bushell starts publishing Canada’s first regular newspaper, the Halifax Gazette; the two sided paper contained public notices, ads from booksellers and wholesalers, notices about slave auctions, poems and elegies, and excerpts from notable publications. Today’s successor newspaper, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, is the oldest existing newspaper in North America. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1838 George Arthur arrives to succeed Bond Head as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1848 Education - Founding of l’Institut Canadien du Québec, a literary and philosophical society. Québec
  • 1864 Marriage - Edgar Dewdney and Jane Moir marry in Christ Church, Hope. Hope, BC
  • 1865 Military - British Parliament votes £50,000 for Canadian defense; after Union ship Kearsarge sinks Confederate ship Alabama, built in UK. London, England
  • 1870 Red River Rebellion - Abbé Joseph Ritchot leaves for Ottawa with Alfred Scott to negotiate the Manitoba case with the Canadian government. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1885 North West Rebellion - Major-General Frederick Middleton and the Canadian Militia instructed to proceed to the NWT and crush the Métis rebellion. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1889 Weather - Edmonton temperature reaches 22.2 C; warmest March day on record. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1893 First Canadian Club meeting. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1905 Lomer Gouin sworn in as Premier of Québec, replacing Napoléon Parent. Québec, Québec
  • 1914 Mining - Canadian Copper Corporation organized in Virginia. Begins buying controlling interest in the British Columbia Copper Company. BC
  • 1923 Hockey - Foster Hewitt announces his First hockey game, over the Toronto Star’s radio station CFCA; known as the voice of hockey’. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1926 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens win the NHL Championship, outscoring the Pittburgh Pirates 6-4 in 2 games. Montréal, Québec
  • 1937 John Bowen installed as Lieutenant-governor of Alberta; serves to February 1, 1950. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1937 Finance - Toronto Stock Exchange moves into new building at 234 Bay St.; cost $750,000; air conditioned; called the Ticker Palace by the Star Weekly. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1938 Walter Scott dies; First Premier of Saskatchewan, from 1905-1916. Saskatchewan
  • 1944 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens star Maurice Richard scores all five Montréal goals in a 5-1 NHL playoff game win over Toronto Maple Leafs. Montréal, Québec
  • 1945 Second World War - The Allies cross the Rhine River north of the Ruhr. Germany
  • 1948 R.J.M. Parker dies; Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan
  • 1949 Confederation - The King gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act, 1949, aka December 11, 1948. London, England
  • 1952 Hockey - Chicago’s Bill Mosienko sets an NHL record by scoring 3 times in 21 seconds on Lorne Anderson of the New York Rangers; the Winnipeg-born Mosienko leads the Black Hawks to a 7-6 win over the Rangers with New York leading 6-2 with less than 14 minutes to go; linemate Gus Bodnar assists on all three of the even-strength goals. New York, New York
  • 1964 Symbols - George Stanley first describes and sketches the proposal for Canada’s new flag that is eventually accepted. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Arts - Group of Seven artist Arthur Lismer dies at age 84. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1984 Figure Skating - Canadians Barbara Underhill & Paul Martini win the Ice Pairs at the World Figure Skating Championships in Ottawa; Britain’s Jane Torvill & Christopher Dean take the Ice Dance, Katarina Witt of East Germany the Ladies, and Scott Hamilton of the USA the Mens. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1987 Disaster - Avalanche kills six American skiers and their Canadian guide. Kamloops, BC
  • 1991 Pauline Vanier dies in Paris at age 92; widow of former Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier. Paris, France
  • 1991 Hockey - Wayne Gretzky and his boss, Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall, acquire a 1910 Honus Wagner baseball card at auction at Sotheby’s for $451,000, breaking the 1989 record: $115,000 for another Honus Wagner card. New York, New York
  • 1994 Hockey - Wayne Gretzky finally eclipses Gordie Howe’s National Hockey League career record with his 802nd NHL goal. Howe had heard about a 10 year old Brantford, Ontario kid who had scored 385 goals in 85 games, and once paid him a visit. Los Angeles, California
  • 1998 Cinema - James Cameron’s Titanic’ wins eleven Oscars, including Best Picture at the 70th Academy Awards - Oscar Ceremony; Cameron from St. Catherines, Ontario. Hollywood, California
  • 1998 Politics - Senator Andrew Thompson is forced to resign his seat in the Senate of Canada seat after not attending for two years. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2001 Politics - Preston Manning says he is retiring from politics to enter the private sector; founder of the Reform Party, Manning also helped foster the creation of the Canadian Alliance. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2002 Politics - Ernie Eves is elected to replace Premier Mike Harris at the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leadership convention. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2004 Energy - Government of Canada says it will sell its stake in Petro-Canada within next twelve months. Ottawa, Ontario