Highlights of the day

  • 1871 Dominion of Canada’s first census shows a population of 3,689,257.
  • 1947 First cocktail bars open in “Toronto the Good”.
  • 1975 CN Tower completed; at 555.35 metres, the world’s tallest free-standing structure.

List of Facts for April 2

  • 1667 Jean Talon, Intendant of New France, establishes the Code Civil and first civil courts of law in the name of King Louis XlV. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1812 War of 1812 - American Trade Embargo against Canada as a prelude to war; allows US ships to reach safe haven before the outbreak of conflict. Washington, DC
  • 1840 Torontonians hold public street ox roast to celebrate Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1853 Justice - Robert Hodgson named Chief Justice of Prince Eward Island; first native islander to hold the position; later knighted and named Lt Governor. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1871 Dominion of Canada’s first census shows a population of 3,689,257, including 2,110,000 of British origin and 1,083,000 of French origin. The 1871 questionnaire covered a variety of subjects, and asked 211 questions on area, land holdings, vital statistics, religion, education, administration, the military, justice, agriculture, commerce, industry and finance. Information was collected in tabular form on population, houses and other buildings, lands, industries and institutions. The population field included the age, sex, religion, education, race and occupation of each person. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1872 Music - Canadian soprano Emma Albani makes her London debut singing the role of Amina in La Sonambula. London, England
  • 1873 Lucius Seth Huntington charges that Hugh Allan and G.W. McMullen gave funds to government in return for CPR charter; non-confidence motion defeated 107 to 76. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1875 Aboriginal - Henry Budd dies at The Pas; Canada’s first native Anglican minister. The Pas, Manitoba
  • 1885 Sternwheeler Kootenai (558 tons) launched at Little Dalles on Columbia River by CPR’s contractors, Henderson and H.M. McCartney. Dismantled 1895.
  • 1885 North West Rebellion - Wandering Spirit (Kapapamahchakwew) and seven warriors from Big Bear Tansi’s Cree band enter Frog Lake settlement looking for rations; will kill Indian agent Thomas Quinn, 8 other white settlers and one Métis, and take one man and two women prisoner; Wandering Spirit and five other Cree later convicted of treason for the Frog Lake Massacre and executed at Battleford on November 27, 1885. Saskatchewan
  • 1886 Marysville incorporated as a town; today a suburb of Fredericton, it was a company town owned by lumber baron Alexander Boss Gibson between 1862 and 1907, complete with workers’ housing, a company store, and a company owned school, churches and town hall. In the 1880s, half the goods shipped from the port of Saint John consisted of Gibson lumber, and he used his profits to build the Marysville Cotton Mill; no alcohol was allowed in the town. Marysville, New Brunswick
  • 1886 Education - Mount Allison Wesleyan College & Academies at Sackville gets college charter, as The University of Mount Allison College; today’s Mount Allison University. Sackville, New Brunswick
  • 1887 US seizes Canadian sealing ships in North Pacific; other seizures on the 9,12, and 17th. Juneau, Alaska
  • 1901 Hall Mines re-organized as Hall Mining and Smelting Company.
  • 1902 Military - Battle at Harts River results in the second largest Canadian casualty count of any engagement during the Boer War. South Africa
  • 1902 Manitobans defeat prohibition in a province-wide referendum. Manitoba
  • 1903 Western Canada Collieries incorporated.
  • 1904 A.E. Forget re-appointed as Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories.
  • 1906 First session of the Saskatchewan legislature opens. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1907 Military - Regina Rifle Regiment organized as the 95th Infantry Regiment (later the 95th Saskatchewan Rifles). Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1902 Military - Canadian Army Dental Corps is organized. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1922 CJCG, owned by the Winnipeg Free Press, goes on the air in Winnipeg; Canada’s First commercial radio station. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1928 Camillien Houde elected mayor of Montréal, Québec.
  • 1931 Toronto Stock Exchange and Montréal Stock Exchange make joint ticker arrangements.
  • 1947 First cocktail bars open in ‘Toronto the Good’. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1953 First issue of The Alberta Historical Review (later Alberta History) is published. Alberta
  • 1955 Opening of Angus L. Macdonald Bridge linking Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1957 22-year-old Elvis Presley plays two concerts before 23,000 people at Maple Leaf Gardens; his second concert, before 15,000 fans, was the largest audience he had faced to date; warmup acts included an Irish tenor, a tap dancer and a comedian who imitated a woman taking off a girdle. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1962 Alberta Government Telephones and CN Telecommunications opens 640 km microwave system; from Peace River to Hay River, NWT. Peace River, Alberta
  • 1965 Provinces agree on Canada Pension Plan. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 Lester Pearson gives a speech at Temple University in the United States that calls for a stop to the bombing of North Vietnam, infuriating President Lyndon Johnson.
  • 1968 Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau creates Canada’s First modern lottery, to help pay $250 million deficit from Expo ‘67; First such lottery in Canada. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1969 Australian Prime Minister J. G. Gorton starts visit to Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Ontario rules that ores mined in the province after Jan. 1, 1970 must be processed in Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1970 BC Supreme Court judge upsets compulsory breath test law for suspected impaired drivers; verdict appealed. Victoria, BC
  • 1970 Medical Research Council & University of Alberta start Canada’s First organ transplant research group; based at University of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1973 Montréal announces Canada’s first lottery to help pay for the 1976 Summer Olympics. Montréal, Québec
  • 1974 New Brunswick Supreme Court fines K. C. Irving Ltd. and 3 other companies $150,000 for press monopoly of the province’s English language newspapers. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1975 CN Tower completed; reaches 555.35 metres in height, becoming the world’s tallest free-standing structure; the giant communications mast cost $44 million, uses 145,000 tonnes of concrete and steel. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1977 Hockey - Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 50th goal of the season against Minnesota North Stars.
  • 1977 Hockey - Montreal Canadiens win 34th straight home game without a loss, for an NHL record. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1977 Opening of Vancouver’s restored Orpheum Theatre; new home for Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; originally a vaudeville hall when it opened in 1927, the Orpheum was used mainly as a movie theatre from the 1930s on. Vancouver, BC
  • 1980 Anne Murray wins four Juno Awards, including best single for her hit single, I Just Fall in Love Again. Host Burton Cummings is awarded a Juno as Canada’s top male vocalist. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1980 Hockey - Guy Lafleur scores his 50th goal of the season against Detroit Red Wings.
  • 1980 Hockey - Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores his 50th goal of the season in a 1-1 tie against the Minnesota North Stars, at Northlands Coliseum; first teenaged NHLer to score 50 goals in a season. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1986 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers’ Paul Coffey scores his 47th and 48th goals of the season, in an 8-4 win against Vancouver; breaks Bobby Orr’s NHL record for most goals by a defenseman.
  • 1987 Canadian country rocker k.d. lang makes her Los Angeles debut at The Roxy nightclub; her Angel With a Lariat had just started to show on the Billboard country chart. Los Angeles, California
  • 1990 Donald James Reimer sentenced to life in prison for causing death of three people while drunk driving; toughest penalty ever for the crime; was appealed. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1990 Ontario Law Reform Commission recommends forcing polluters to compensate the public for damaging the environment. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Rita Johnston sworn in as Premier on resignation of Bill Vander Zalm; Canada’s First woman Premier (Catherine Callbeck of PEI will be the First woman elected Premier). Victoria, BC (See also March 29)
  • 1992 Stable fire kills 69 horses at Mohawk Raceway; worst racetrack fire in Canadian history. Guelph, Ontario
  • 1993 Farm Credit Corporation Act passed. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1998 Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Dave Williams takes off on NASA Shuttle mission STS-90; Space Medicine specialist on 17-day mission called Neurolab, dedicated to neuroscience research; First astronaut from outside the US to be named official Crew Medical Officer; seventh Canadian astronaut to fly on a Shuttle mission. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1998 Supreme Court of Canada strikes down Alberta Court of Appeal ruling that barred gay persons from protection under the province’s human rights code; final appeal of the Delwin Vriend case.
  • 1999 Tembec acquires Crestbrook Forest Industries Cranbrook, BC.
  • 2001 Military - Minister of National Defence launches The National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials Web site. Ottawa, Ontario