Highlights of the day

  • 1672 Count Frontenac appointed Governor of New France
  • 1886 Vancouver incorporated as a city 125 years ago today.
  • 1968 Pierre Trudeau chosen as Liberal Party Leader

List of Facts for April 6

  • 1609 Henry Hudson sails ‘Half Moon’ up Hudson River to site of Albany; searching for North West Passage for Dutch East India Company. Albany, New York
  • 1672 Count Frontenac appointed Governor of New France; a godson of Louis XIII, he serves from September 12, 1672 to Sept., 1682; then 1689-98. Paris, France
  • 1815 War of 1812 - The Lower Canada Assembly proclaims a day of thanksgiving to mark the “End of the war with the United States of America and restoration of the blessings of Peace”. Québec, Québec
  • 1829 Opening of the First Bytown Post Office. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1851 Canadian postal service transferred from British control; sets uniform postal rate of 3 pence a letter. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1864 A.E. Kennedy succeeds James Douglas as governor of the Colony of Vancouver’s Island (to November 19, 1866). Victoria, BC
  • 1870 Federal Order-in-Council approves formation of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1885 Frederick Middleton leads about 800 militia from Fort Qu’Appelle toward Batoche. Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan
  • 1886 Royal assent given to British Columbia’s An Act to encourage the erection of Smelting Works, promising a $7,000 award to pre-approved projects capable of treating 30 tons/day. Victoria, BC
  • 1886 Vancouver incorporated as a city. Vancouver, BC
  • 1889 British Columbia awards charter to Columbia and Kootenay Railway and Navigation Company. R.P. Cooke, A.G. Ferguson, George Turner, Harry Abbott. Capitalized to $5 million. Victoria, BC
  • 1891 Census - Canada’s third census taken on this day.
  • 1897 Maiden voyage of Kootenay. Kootenay Lake, BC
  • 1897 Electric power generation begins for the smelter at Trail. Trail, BC
  • 1906 CNP Coal shuts down the Carbonado mine at Morrissey, British Columbia. Morrissey, BC
  • 1907 Alberta Premier Alexander Rutherford announces that the University of Alberta will be located in Strathcona. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1909 Commander Robert Peary claims to have reached the North Pole on this date, with a party of six, including his black servant Matthew Henson and four Inuit; began journey, his sixth attempt, at Ellesmere Island; his claim has been thoroughly debunked, most recently by Ottawa adventurer Richard Weber, who skied the route, and says Peary can only have drifted far to the north-east of the Pole. Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
  • 1912 Territory of Manitoba is increased to its present extent. Manitoba
  • 1912 Town of Transcona is incorporated. Transcona, Manitoba
  • 1916 First World War - Battle of Messines; Canadian forces forced to retreat by the intensive German onslaught; to April 19, 1916.
  • 1926 Hockey - NHL Montreal Maroons beat WHL Victoria Cougars 3 games to 1 for the Stanley Cup. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1929 Hope, British Columbia, incorporated as a District. Hope, BC
  • 1942 Second World War - General Andy McNaughton forms the First Canadian Army in Britain with five divisions, two armored brigades, and 3 other divisions slated for home defence. Aldershot, England
  • 1944 The Guy Lombardo Orchestra has a #1 Billboard hit with It’s Love, Love, Love (vocal: Skip Nelson). New York, New York
  • 1952 Saskatchewan Landing Bridge, 30 miles north of Swift Current, is swept away by ice and flood waters. Saskatchewan Landing, Saskatchewan
  • 1954 Montreal Canadiens score three goals in 56 seconds in a Stanley Cup playoff game against Detroit. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1960 Paul Anka’s single Puppy Love peaks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1961 Canada presents cheque for $260,000 collected by Canadian children for UNICEF. United Nations, New York
  • 1964 Canada’s Stratford Festival starts three weeks of performances in Chichester to celebrate 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth. Chichester, England
  • 1965 Leonard Marchand appointed Special Assistant to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration; First aboriginal Canadian appointed to Cabinet staff. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 Ottawa starts program to equip and train air force of Tanzania. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 1966 Lester Pearson announces plans to promote bilingualism in the public service. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1967 George Brinton McClellan named ombudsman of Alberta, First in Canada; former Commissioner of the RCMP. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1968 Pierre Trudeau chosen as Liberal Party leader on fourth ballot, replacing Lester Pearson; gets 1203 votes, to Robert Winters’ 954, John Turner’s 194. The Justice Minister becomes Canada’s 15th Prime Minister when Pearson officially steps down on April 22; serves to June 16, 1984. Click to see him with three other Liberal Prime Ministers, John Turner, Jean Chrétien and Lester Pearson. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Bomb explosion at the Cuban Trade Commission in Montréal kills one person. Montréal, Québec
  • 1976 Québec Superior Court rules against 10 Protestant school boards opposed to the Official Languages Act. Québec, Québec
  • 1979 Hockey - Guy Chouinard of the Atlanta Flames scores his 50th goal of the season against the New York Rangers.
  • 1980 Hockey - Gordie Howe completes record 26th season as a hockey player. Houston, Texas
  • 1982 Brian Peckford leads Progressive Conservatives to reelection victory in Newfoundland, winning 44 of 52 seats. Newfoundland
  • 1985 Bryan Adams’ single Somebody peaks at #11 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1987 US President Ronald Reagan addresses the House of Commons; says he and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney have agreed to discuss a bilateral accord on acid rain. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1988 Hockey - Winnipeg Jets 4, Edmonton Oilers 7
  • 1990 Don Mazankowski Deputy Prime Minister ends three day visit to Poland by signing $30 million loan guarantee; for Canadian businesses, mostly in cattle and dairy modernization. Poland
  • 1990 Environment Minister Lucien Bouchard announces Québec/Ottawa agreement to set up Saguenay Marine Park to save St. Lawrence beluga whales; autopsies of dead whales show high toxin levels in their blubber. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Constitution - Liberals and Parti Quebecois team up to pass motion rejecting any modifications to Meech Lake accord; hours before Newfoundland rejection. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1990 Constitution - Newfoundland Legislature votes to rescind support for Meech Lake Accord. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1990 Hockey - Winnipeg Jets 2, Edmonton Oilers 3 (OT)
  • 1991 Preston Manning stresses Reform Party wants Québec to stay in Canada, but not at any cost; wants strong central government, tighter spending controls. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • 1999 Pierre Lebrun shoots and kills 4 ex-co-workers and wounds another before killing himself; former employee of Ottawa bus company OC Transpo. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2001 Health Minister Allan Rock announces rules to allow terminally or chronically ill patients to buy, grow and use marijuana to alleviate pain. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2004 Sponsorship Scandal - Jean Pelletier, former chief of staff to Jean Chrétien, alleges there was no direction in the federal sponsorship programme. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2004 Canada orders slaughter of 19 million British Columbia poultry due to avian influenza (bird flu).
  • 2004 Canada’s national women’s ice hockey team wins the IIHF 2004 Women’s World Ice Hockey Championships defeating the United States 2-0. Halifax, Nova Scotia