Highlights of the day

  • 1967 First 90 people appointed as Companions of the Order of Canada, created April 17.
  • 1969 Commons passes Official Languages Act, declares French and English equal in federal institutions.

List of Facts for July 7

  • 1534 Jacques Cartier trades furs with Micmac; First known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. New Brunswick
  • 1620 Hélène de Champlain arrives in New France; Samuel de Champlain’s young wife enchants the Indian children, who admire her clothes and ask her to sing. Tadoussac, Québec
  • 1667 Marquis de Tracy makes peace with the Mohawks. Québec
  • 1759 French and Indian War - Brigadier General John Prideaux arrives from Fort Oswego at French Fort Niagara with a thousand Iroquois warriors under Sir William Johnson; the following day, they demand surrender from French Commander Pierre Pouchot. Youngstown, New York
  • 1776 American Revolutionary War - John Johnson founds battalion of American loyalists, known as the King’s Royal Regiment of New York. Montréal, Québec
  • 1787 Frances Barkley arrives in British Columbia; wife of Charles Barkley, captain of the Imperial Eagle; the 17 year old is the First European woman in BC. Nootka Sound, BC
  • 1793 First meeting of the Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1858 Frederick Gisbourne starts laying underwater telegraph cable from Ireland to Newfoundland. Newfoundland
  • 1882 NWMP ordered to move its western headquarters from Fort Walsh to Pile of Bones (Regina). Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1886 British Columbia Election - W. Smithe returned as Premier of British Columbia; Colonel James Baker elected as MPP for the Kootenay Electoral District; serves to 1900. BC
  • 1888 First Hungarian settlers in Saskatchewan arrive at Whitewood. Whitewood, Saskatchewan
  • 1894 British Columbia Election - Theodore Davie returned as Premier of British Columbia in 7th General election; James Baker retains East Kootenay, J.M. Kellie in North Kootenay, J.F. Hume in South Kootenay. BC
  • 1894 Kootenay Mining & Smelting Company registered in New Jersey, capitalized to $2.3 million.
  • 1896 International Navigation and Trading Company launches steamboat International (525 tons) at Mirror Lake Yards; withdrawn from service in 1909. Kaslo, BC
  • 1919 Soldier Settlement Act, revised, given Royal Assent. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1927 Forty tornadoes are reported in central Alberta from July 7-8. Alberta
  • 1938 R. J. Manion chosen as party leader by Conservative Party, replacing R.B. Bennett; leader until May 13, 1940.
  • 1944 Second World War - Highland Light Infantry ordered to attack fortified German positions in Buron, France, a source of dangerous fire from Germans, while Canadian and British bombers of Bomber Command drop 2,572 tons of explosives on Caen. Caen, France
  • 1944 Second World War - RCN motor torpedo boat MTB 463 hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel; the crew survive, although 5 men are wounded. France
  • 1954 Rainbow Stage opens in Winnipeg’s Kildonan Park to present operettas and musicals using local performers; First full-length musical is Brigadoon, in September, 1955; Canada’s longest running outdoor theatre. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1964 Opening of traffic on Great Slave Lake Railway, operated by Canadian National, from Roma Junction, Alberta to Pine Point, NWT.
  • 1966 Parliament passes Bill to incorporate Bank of Western Canada; Canada’s ninth chartered bank. Ottawa, Ontario April 17 to honour outstanding Canadian citizens; those honoured include Vincent Massey, Louis St. Laurent, Hugh MacLennan, David Bauer, Gabrielle Roy, Donald Creighton, Thérèse Casgrain, Wilder Penfield, Arthur Lismer, and Maurice Richard. Ottawa, Ontario
  • July 7 - St. Patrick’s College merges with Carleton University; formerly part of the University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Commons passes Pierre Trudeau’s Official Languages Act, declares French and English to be the official languages of Canada; makes French equal to English in federal institutions; eases francophone access to the federal public service. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Ottawa legislates end to seven-week longshoremen’s strike in St. Lawrence River ports. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1973 World Record - Glenda Reiser of Canada sets a world track and field record in the women’s mile, with a time of 4:34.9; she will go on to win gold at the 1974 Commonwealth games in the 1500m. Victoria, BC
  • 1975 Ed Broadbent chosen leader of New Democratic Party on fourth ballot; replacing David Lewis; 984 votes, to Rosemary Brown 658. [picture: with Stephen Lewis] Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1976 Canada signs agreement with the European Economic Community for mutual cooperation. Brussels, Belgium
  • 1980 Former Canadian lightweight boxing champion Cleveland Denny dies 17 days after being knocked out by champion Gaetan Hart. Montréal, Québec
  • 1981 Prince Edward Island police get power to take citizens from homes without warrant and hold for drug treatment; wide powers in two new Acts. PEI
  • 1981 RCMP charges 6 companies, including Crown corporations Eldorado Nuclear Ltd. and Uranium Canada Ltd., with conspiracy to fix prices in an international cartel. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1989 Almost 250 forest fires force 23,000 northern Manitoba residents from their homes. Manitoba
  • 1992 Joe Clark reaches agreement with 9 premiers on constitutional reform proposals sent to Québec’s premier Robert Bourassa; elected Senate of 8 seats per province; forms basis of Charlottetown Accord that will be rejected October 26, 1992. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Memphis Mad Dogs play their First CFL home game against the BC Lions. Memphis, Tennessee
  • 1996 Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Dr. Bob Thirsk lands with his Shuttle STS-78 mission crewmates at Kennedy Space Center at 8:37.30 a.m. EDT, after Columbia completed 272 revolutions of the earth, and a record 16 day 21 hours 48 min 30 sec flight. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1996 Over 15,000 participants at 11th World Conference on AIDS hear researchers report evidence of major gains in the treatment of the disease; Vancouver conference lasts five days. Vancouver, BC