Highlights of the day

  • 1813 War of 1812 - John Harvey completes key victory at Stoney Creek over two brigades of Americans.
  • 1919 Canadian National Railways (CNR) consolidates failed Cdn Northern & Cdn Govt Railways.
  • 1891 John A. Macdonald dies at Earnscliffe at 10:15 on a Saturday night.
  • 1944 D-DAY: 14,000 Canadian soldiers join in the Normandy landing on Juno Beach.

List of Facts for June 6

  • 1543 Jean de Roberval explores a short distance up the Saguenay River. Tadoussac, Québec
  • 1707 John March attacks Port-Royal; Massachusetts militia colonel. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1771 Hector Crémahé appointed Lieutenant Governor of Québec; serves from September 26, 1771 to May 23, 1782. Québec, Québec
  • 1813 War of 1812 - Lt.-Col. John Harvey finishes victory at the Battle of Stoney Creek over two brigades of invading Americans, who retreat to Fort George by June 8, 1813. Stoney Creek, Ontario
  • 1821 Laying of cornerstone of Montreal General Hospital. Montréal, Québec
  • 1829 Shanawdithit dies; last known survivor of the Beothuk people (also spelled Shawnadithit). She and two friends were captured by Newfoundland traders in 1823 at Badger Bay; after her friends died of TB, she served in the house of a planter, and before she died gave valuable informaton about her people to the Beothuk Institution in St. John’s. Newfoundland
  • 1853 Alessandro Gavazzi foments a riot in Québec City after lecturing in the Free Presbyterian Church on the Inquisition and the “errors of Rome”; former Italian priest; now a liberal patriot and anti-Catholic lecturer. Troops are called in to keep order. Québec, Québec See June 9.
  • 1858 Steamboat Surprise arrives at Fort Hope loaded with gold rushers. Hope, BC
  • 1861 Maid of the Mist the First vessel to navigate the Niagara River’s whirlpool rapids. Niagara Falls, Ontario
  • 1879 Northern Railway of Canada becomes part of the Northern and Northwestern Railway, now part of Canadian National. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1891 John A. Macdonald dies at Earnscliffe at 10:15 on a Saturday night; the bells of Ottawa toll 76 times for Canada’s First Prime Minister; he will be buried in Kingston, Ontario, where he came as a boy from Scotland. The picture shows him in his final year in the House of Commons. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1891 John Abbott takes office on Macdonald’s death; a Senator; Prime Minister to November 24, 1892; Canada’s 3rd Prime Minister, and First native-born PM. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1891 Cornwall hit by a tornado that destroys 500 homes. Cornwall, Ontario
  • 1907 Fire destroys main portion of Wardner business district. Wardner, BC
  • 1908 Eastern British Columbia Railway enchartered in British Columbia. Victoria, BC
  • 1910 Canada signs reciprocity agreements with Italy; mutual tariff reductions. Rome, Italy
  • 1910 Town Municipality of Coleman, Alberta, incorporated.
  • 1911 Education - Canada’s major universities meet at McGill to found the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada] or UACC. Montréal, Québec
  • 1912 Mt. Katami volcanoin the Alaska panhandle began erupting, its ash cloud beginning to settle on southern British Columbia 4 days later. BC
  • 1913 Queen Mary inaugurates the Battlefield Monument on the centennial of the Battle of Stoney Creek, June 6, 1813. The Queen pushes a button in her bedroom that sends a message by the transatlantic cable. A special line connected Buckingham Palace in London with the office of the Commercial Cable Company, in Grace Church Street, and the cable to which it was linked was kept clear for the ceremony. The signal caused the wrappings about the memorial statue to fall away, while the galvanometer indicated that Her Majesty’s signal had been effective. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1919 Government incorporates the Canadian National Railways Company; the CNR consolidates the failed Canadian Northern Railway with the Canadian Government Railways, and others to follow; David Hanna president. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1919 Government passes an Act to amend the Currency Act, 1910, setting the weight of the 1¢ coin at 50 grains. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1929 The Canadian National Railway (CNR) takes over more failed private rail corporations - the Kent Northern Railway; Inverness Railway & Coal Co; Montréal & Southern Railway; Québec Oriental Railway; Atlantic Railway, Québec & Western Railway; Saint John and Québec Railway. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1929 Saskatchewan Election - Jimmy Gardiner’s Liberals win a plurality, but James Anderson’s Conservatives, will form a coalition with the Progressives against Gardiner, forcing him to resign as premier. Saskatchewan
  • 1931 The Guy Lombardo Orchestra has a #1 hit with its single There Ought To Be A Moonlight Saving Time. New York, New York
  • 1944 Second World War - D-DAY: Operation Overlord’s 60-mile front opens a new campaign in western Europe as about 14,000 Canadian soldiers join in the Normandy landing between Courseulles and St-Aubin-sur-Mer. RCN minesweepers help clear the lanes in, and RCAF bombers and fighters help soften up the German defenses. The main task of the Canadian Army is to push through the gap between Bayeux and Caen. The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion red berets were part of the advance landing during the night, capturing a bridge near Caen with the British. Canadian casualties that day are less than expected - 715 wounded, 359 dead. The Canadians advance further inland on that First day than either the British or the Americans. Normandy, France June 6 - Second World War - Regina Rifles take part in the amphibious invasion of Normandy by the Allies on D-Day. Normandy, France June 6 - Second World War - Royal Winnipeg Rifles are some of the First troops ashore in the Allied invasion of occupied France on D-Day. Normandy, France June 6 - Second World War - The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division lands at Juno Beach, part of the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Normandy, France
  • June 6 - While troops from Alberta are among the Canadians who invade occupied France on D-Day, 15,000 Calgarians gather for a mass prayer meeting that same day. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1945 Provisional civil aviation organization established by 26 UN countries, including Canada; later ICAO. Montréal, Québec
  • 1946 Calgary starts program to accomodate returning soldiers; plans to house Stampede visitors in vacant army huts at the barracks. Visitors are given bedding and assigned to separate dormitories for men, and for women and children. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1956 Louis St. Laurent Ministry forces closure of the Pipeline Debate in the House of Commons, and passes the Trans-Canada Pipelines bill; introduced in May to authorize construction of a pipeline to carry natural gas from Alberta to central Canada and to approve the financing by a syndicate; bill fought by Progressive Conservative opposition, who charged a sell-out to the mainly US syndicate, and by CCF members who wanted public ownership. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1957 CBC TV program Front Page Challenge First broadcast. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1961 Founding of CUSO, the Canadian University Services Overseas, an organization for volunteer work in third world countries by new university graduates. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1966 Presbyterian Church in Canada agrees to ordination of women as elders and ministers. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1970 Military - Black Watch of Canada retired from battle order. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Hockey - Birth of the NHL New York Islanders. Uniondale, New York
  • 1973 Canada bans US oil tankers from Canadian waters to reach planned oil refinery at Eastport, Maine. Eastport, Maine
  • 1973 Ottawa starts program to help illegal immigrants become Canadian citizens; about 50,000 apply for landed immigrant status before October 15, 1973 deadline. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1973 Parliament passes resolution for bilingual federal public service by 1978. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1973 Raising of the world’s tallest totem pole, at 53 metres (173 feet). Alert Bay, BC
  • 1974 Ontario announces plans to examine health hazards in gold and uranium mines. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1979 Labour - British Columbia longshoremen start 13-day strike, disrupting prairie wheat shipments. Vancouver, BC
  • 1980 Newfoundland government adopts a new provincial flag after much debate. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1986 Radio station CHUM-AM, with the longest-running hit record chart in North America, drops its Top 40 format for a mix of oldies and soft rock; became a rock station in 1957; published its hit parade chart for 1,512 consecutive weeks. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1987 Founding of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), with a mandate to help business to create opportunity and jobs; annual budget of $200 million. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Newfoundland House of Assembly rescinds approval of the Meech Lake Accord; government of Clyde Wells essentially kills the Accord, which needed unanimous provincial assent. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1991 Supreme Court of Canada rules 6-1 that public servants can work on election campaigns; except for top bureaucrats, who must remain neutral. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 John Crosbie welcomes 180-nation accord on sustainable fishing on the high seas; at UN Environmental Conference - the Earth Summit. Rio de Janiero, Brazil
  • 1993 Canadian production of Kiss of the Spiderwoman awarded seven Tonys; Brent Carver named best actor in a musical. New York, New York
  • 1994 Canadians join a contingent of 35,000 Second World War Allied veterans (and even some Germans) commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France. Normandy, France
  • 1995 Belgian Brewer Omterbrew SA, Europe’s fourth largest, offers $2.7 billion for John Labatt Ltd., owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Argonauts, the SkyDome and Labatt’s brewery, Canada’s second-largest. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1995 Flood in the Michel Valley, BC reaches the high water mark.
  • 1995 Aboriginal - Upper Nicola First Nation members end 2-week blockade of Douglas Lake Ranch after British Columbia government agrees to discuss native fishing rights. Douglas Lake, BC
  • 1996 Hockey - Peter Forsberg of the Avalanche scores a hat trick in the first period of Colorado’s 8-1 win over the Florida Panthers to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals; sixth player in Stanley Cup finals history to score three goals in a period. Colorado’s Joe Sakic also has three assists in the second period, tying a finals record. Denver, Colorado
  • 1996 Politics - Start of three-day Reform Party convention; will approve party policy of radical decentralizing of government and conservative approach to social issues; endorses Preston Manning as leader. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2004 Peter Gibbons wins CASCAR ‘s Power Water 200 at Cayuga 2000 Speedway. Cayuga, Ontario
  • 2005 Pat O’Brien quits the Liberal Party of Canada to sit as an independent in the House of Commons.
  • 2005 Conservative Party of Canada MP Gurmant Grewal takes a stress leave from Parliament, after revelations that he is under a security investigation.