Highlights of the day

  • 1669 Jean Talon grants a royal bounty to large families in New France
  • 1958 Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows blown up; largest peacetime non-nuclear non-volcanic explosion to date.

List of Facts for April 5

  • 1669 Jean Talon grants a royal bounty to large families in New France in the name of Louis XlV; in Canada’s first baby bonus, the Crown gives 300 livres to families of 10 children, 400 to families of 12 Quebec, Quebec
  • 1790 First town meeting in Ontario held at Grimsby; marks start of local self-government in the province. Grimsby, Ontario
  • 1815 Disaster - “The Year Without a Summer” - Mount Tambora volcano erupts over an 8 day period on the island of Sumbawa; volcanic ash blown into the atmosphere will affect weather worldwide, causing the summer of 1816 to be extremely dark and cold throughout eastern North America. Indonesia
  • 1832 Brockville incorporated as a town. Brockville, Ontario
  • 1842 Geologist Abraham Gesner opens the First public museum in Canada at the Mechanics Institute in Saint John. The Gesner Museum displayed over 2,000 items, mostly natural history, and is the forerunner of the New Brunswick Museum. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1858 Columbia reaches San Francisco with news of gold in Fraser River. San Francisco, California
  • 1876 Fort Calgary’s name is approved by Order-in-Council. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1885 North West Rebellion - First Canadian troops, on their way to suppress the North-West Rebellion, reach Winnipeg by rail. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1885 Two permanent artillery batteries arrive in Winnipeg. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1891 Census reports that Canada’s population totals 4,833,239, with the three Maritime Provinces accounting for 18 percent. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1897 F.P. Armstrong and J.D. Miller partner with James F. Wardner to form the International Transportation Company. $60,000 in capital, headquarters in Spokane, Washington.
  • 1897 Crahan and Company in the Rookery Building, Spokane, begin selling building lots in Wardner, British Columbia.
  • 1898 BC Southern steel reaches Bull Head Prairie near McGillivray Loop in the mouth of BC’s Michel Creek valley. Michel, British Columbia.
  • 1900 R.C. Clute mediates an agreement betwwn the Rossland miners and mine management: Union accepted contracting and Owners agreed not to discriminate against Union members. Rossland, British Columbia.
  • 1908 First dial telephones in Canada for general use were put into service in Edmonton. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1914 Last spike driven in Grand Trunk Pacific at Finmoore, British Columbia.
  • 1917 British Columbia grants women (with the exception of Asians and Aboriginals) the right to vote in provincial elections with passage of An Act to amend the Provincial Election Act. Victoria, BC
  • 1917 Explosion in Coal Creek No.3 kills 34. Coal Creek, BC
  • 1919 Hockey - Montreal’s Joe Hall dies in the Spanish flu epidemic; ends Stanley Cup Finals with no winner declared between Montreal and Seattle. Vancouver, BC
  • 1922 Charles Avery Dunning is sworn in as Saskatchewan’s third Premier, , replacing William Martin. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1926 Ausby Auloff dies in the penitentiary at Prince Albert. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
  • 1932 Invention - Henry T. Austin patents a sardine can that is openable with a detachable key, for Connors Bros. Ltd., the largest sardine plant of its kind in the world. Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick
  • 1932 Group of petitioners ransack the Newfoundland Assembly when their demands are not met. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1932 Hockey - Toronto’s Busher Jackson gets a hat trick in the second period of a 6-4 Maple Leafs’ win over the Rangers, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals; first player to score 3 goals in one period of a playoff game. New York City
  • 1935 Politics - First Social Credit convention is held in Calgary. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1942 Second World War - Team of at last 15 Canadian airmen of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force help the Ceylonese defend their island against the Japanese attack. Sri Lanka
  • 1947 Military - Royal Canadian Air Force receives its first of seven Sikorsky H-5 helicopters, for search and rescue operations.
  • 1949 Crowsnest Pass Hospital opened. Blairmore, Alberta
  • 1951 Vincent Auriol President of France starts three day visit to Ottawa; addresses Senate and House of Commons. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1958 Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows leveled by the explosion of 1,375 tonnes of Nitramex 2H, an ammonium nitrate–based explosive; world’s largest peacetime non-nuclear non-volcanic explosion to date; between 1850 and 1958, over 120 vessels were sunk or damaged colliding with the underwater hazard. The accidental Halifax Explosion of 1917 was the largest non-nuclear non-volcanic explosion to date. Campbell River, BC
  • 1961 Royal Commission on Transportation recommends paying annual subsidies of $40 million to CN and CP; also letting them abandon uneconomic lines. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Hockey - Gordie Howe scores one goal in a 3-2 loss to Chicago; gives him 127 career playoff points in 122 games, breaking the mark held by Montreal’s Maurice Richard as the highest career point scorer in Stanley Cup playoff history. Chicago, Illinois
  • 1966 Canada signs three-year deal to sell $550 million worth of wheat to China. China
  • 1970 Boston’s Bobby Orr has an assist in the final game of the season, a 3-1 win over Toronto, to become the first NHL defensemean to win the scoring title. Orr finishes the season with 33 goals, 87 assists, and 120 points in 76 games.
  • 1971 Frances Phipps the First woman to reach the North Pole; wife of Canadian pilot Weldy Phipps. Nunavut
  • 1971 Energy - Gentilly nuclear power station starts service near Trois-Rivières; the CANDU reactor is world’s First to be fueled by natural uranium, and cooled by ordinary water. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1972 China’s championship Table Tennis team visits Norman Bethune House in Gravenhurst. Gravenhurst, Ontario
  • 1972 Baseball - Montreal Expos trade Rusty Staub to the NY Mets for Ken Singleton. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1974 Alexander Young ‘AY’ Jackson dies at age 91; painter, storyteller, leading member of the Group of Seven. Kleinburg, Ontario
  • 1977 Aboriginal - Willy Adams appointed Senator for the Northwest Territories; first Inuit to sit in Parliament; Rankin Inlet NWT native. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1980 Hockey - Marcel Dionne has two assists in the Kings 5-3 loss to Vancouver, finishing the season with a leading 53 goals and 137 points, and giving him his only NHL scoring title; Oilers Wayne Gretzky also had 137 points, but had two fewer goals.
  • 1981 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky scores five points against Winnipeg Jets to set a record for points per game average in one season; also reaches 300 point plateau faster than any player in NHL history. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1983 British Columbia Lieutenant-Governor David Lam summons Premier Bill Bennett to Government House to issue emergency warrants to cover spending until a snap election.
  • 1984 Hockey - Winnipeg Jets 4, Edmonton Oilers 5 (OT).
  • 1994 Gangland shooting in Just Desserts restaurant. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1987 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky wins 7th straight NHL scoring title. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1995 Crime - Mark Chahal kills kills nine relatives in Vernon mass murder, then turns the gun on himself. Vernon, BC.
  • 2002 Hockey - New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur leads the Devils to a 3-1 win over the Thrashers; first goaltender in NHL history to win 35 games in 6 consecutive seasons. Atlanta, Georgia