Highlights of the day

  • 1659 François de Laval arrives in Canada as Vicar Apostolic of New France; becomes first Bishop of Québec in 1674.
  • 1936 Bob Brown discovers a gusher at Turner Valley, turning it into a major oilfield overnight; marks beginning of Alberta’s oil boom.
  • 1984 John Turner chosen as Liberal Party leader, defeating Jean Chrétien; sworn in June 30.
  • 1993 Canada closes UN peacekeeping mission on Cyprus after 29 years of service by 35,000 soldiers.

List of Facts for June 16

  • 1587 John Davis reaches Gilbert Sound; sails north along Greenland’s west coast to Upernavik; calls it Sanderson’s Hope, after his merchant backer, William Sanderson. Upernavik, Greenland
  • 1604 Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain leave St. Mary’s Bay to further explore the Bay of Fundy. Nova Scotia
  • 1659 François de Laval arrives in Canada as Vicar Apostolic of New France; becomes First Bishop of Québec in 1674. Québec, Québec
  • 1659 King Louis XIV grants aid to emigrants to New France. Paris, France
  • 1703 Sovereign Council reorganized as Superior Council. Québec, Québec
  • 1744 French make unsuccessful assault on Annapolis Royal (Port Royal). Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1755 French and Indian War - Robert Monckton leads 2,000 British troops in capture of Fort Beauséjour on the Isthmus of Chignecto from Louis de Vergor; Fort Gaspereau, the last French fort in Acadia, surrenders the next day; giving the British full control of what is now New Brunswick. Chignecto, New Brunswick
  • 1784 Peter VanAlstine lands with his band of Loyalists in Adolphustown. Adolphustown, Ontario
  • 1832 Prescott hit by First case of Asian cholera in Upper Canada; brought on an Irish immigrant ship. Prescott, Ontario
  • 1833 John Wilson kills 19 year old Robert Lyon in last duel in Upper Canada; Wilson was acquitted, and later became a judge of the Ontario Supreme Court. Perth, Ontario
  • 1845 Lieutenants Henry Warre and Merwin Vavasour depart Fort Garry overland for Fort Edmonton; will cross White Man’s Pass by horse, to Fort Colvile and on to Fort Vancouver. Manitoba
  • 1884 United Empire Loyalists celebrate centennial of the Peter VanAlstine settlement in Adolphustown, Prince Edward County. Adolphustown, Ontario
  • 1890 Newfoundland awards contract for railway from Placentia Junction to Hall’s Bay. Placentia Junction, Newfoundland
  • 1894 Edmonton Bulletin reports presence of oil in what is now Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1898 First issue of the Klondike Nugget published; 50¢ an issue. Dawson, Yukon
  • 1914 First dive to the sunken Empress of Ireland to test diving equipment; as a Commission of Inquiry convenes in Québec under Lord Mersey; on June 22, 1914, diving operations start to recover bodies and valuables from the wreck; on August 20, 1914, the Purser’s safe is raised. Ste-Luce-Sur-Mer, Québec
  • 1920 Mr. and Mrs. C. Henderson take the First aerial honeymoon in Western Canada. Saskatchewan
  • 1921 Ground-breaking ceremony for the Main Peigan Canal of the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District (LNID). Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1925 McCulloch retires as General Superintendent of the Kettle Valley Railway. BC
  • 1936 Bob Brown discovers a gusher at Turner Valley, turning it into a major oilfield overnight; marks beginning of Alberta’s oil boom. Turner Valley, Alberta
  • 1958 Manitoba Election - Duff Roblin leads Progressive Conservatives to victory. Manitoba
  • 1958 First potash to be mined in Canada is brought up near Saskatoon. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • 1966 Daniel Johnson, Sr., becomes premier of Québec, replacing Jean Lesage. Québec
  • 1967 Toronto rocker Neil Young and his band Buffalo Springfield join the Mamas and the Papas (with Halifax native Denny Doherty), Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Who, Otis Redding, The Grateful Dead, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane and Hugh Masekela at the Monterey Pop Festival; 50,000 people attend free rock fest. Monterey, California
  • 1972 Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau pushes a button to start Churchill Falls, Labrador, on the Hamilton River, the largest single-site hydro-electric power project in the western world to that date. Churchill Falls, Newfoundland
  • 1973 Indira Gandhi Prime Minister of India starts 8-day visit to Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1976 Pierre Trudeau visits Washington to reaffirm Canada’s commitment to NATO anti-submarine patrol; presents President Gerald Ford with book ‘Between Friends/ Entre Amis’. Washington, DC
  • 1977 Jean Keable heads Québec Commission of inquiry into illegal police activities; after conviction of three officers for entering a press office without a search warrant. Montréal, Québec June 16, 1980 -
  • 1980 George Braden becomes government leader of the Northwest Territories, as responsible government is reinstituted for the first time since 1905. Yellowknife, NWT
  • 1981 US President Ronald Reagan awards Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada’s former Ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979-80; First foreign citizen given the honour. Washington, DC
  • 1984 John Turner chosen as Liberal Party leader on second ballot, with 1862 votes, to Jean Chrétien’s 1368, Don Johnston’s 192; defeats six others; sworn in to replace retiring Pierre Trudeau as Prime Minister on June 30, but will lose the September election to Brian Mulroney. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1985 Hockey player Harry Oliver dies; played sixteen professional seasons from 1921-1937. Selkirk, Manitoba
  • 1988 Verdi’s opera Aida staged at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium, starring soprano Katia Ricciarelli in the title role and tenor Nicola Martinucci as Radames, with Giuseppe Raffa conducting a 120 piece orchestra and a 140 member chorus; largest operatic production in Canadian history, with a 14 metre model of the Sphinx, elephants, tigers and a python; audience of 30,000 people paid between $20 and $150 each for tickets. Montréal, Québec
  • 1991 Brian Mulroney holds joint news conference with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl; want more aid to Soviet Union; express concern over Québec separation. Deidesheim, Germany June 16 - Atlanta Braves outfielder Otis Nixon steals six bases against the Montréal Expos to set modern National League record; ties major league record set by Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia A’s in 1912. Montréal, Québec
  • 1993 Canada closes UN peacekeeping mission on Cyprus after 29 years of service by 35,000 soldiers; control of Canadian sector handed to British and Australian troops the previous day. Cyprus
  • 1997 Non-profit Corporation du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie takes over former CN line between Chandler and Gaspé; line owned by local municipalities, operated by Chemin de fer Baie des Chaleurs which started operations between Matapedia and Chandler in Dec. 1996 Gaspé, Québec
  • 2005 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licences Canada’s first three satellite radio services: to Canadian Satellite Radio in conjunction with XM Satellite Radio, one to Standard Broadcasting and the CBC in conjunction with Sirius Satellite Radio, and one to a partnership between CHUM Limited and Astral Media. Gatineau, Québec