Highlights of the day

  • 1666 Jean Talon’s New France census Canada’s first: pop 3,418; Montréal 584; Québec 555.
  • 1864 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Delegates in Charlottetown to talk Maritime Union.

List of Facts for August 31

  • 1527 John Rut writes to English King Henry VIII noting that there are 14 French and Portuguese fishing vessels in the St. John’s harbour; also describes Labrador; the First recorded letter written from Canada. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1578 Martin Frobisher sets out for England; other 13 ships leave three days later. Frobisher Bay, Nunavut
  • 1583 Two remaining ships of Humphrey Gilbert return to Cape Race and head for England; Gilbert and the ‘Squirrel’ lost during a storm in mid-ocean. Cape Race, Newfoundland
  • 1604 Jean de Poutrincourt sails for France leaving Pierre de Monts, Samuel de Champlain and 77 others to spend the winter on St. Croix. Dochet Island, Maine
  • 1666 Census - Intendant Jean Talon takes First census. Here are some results: population of New France 3,418; Beauport 172; Beaupré 678; Ile d’Orléans 471; Montréal 584; Québec 555; Sillery 217; Trois-Rivières 461. In addition, 63% are males; 257 women and 791 men are unmarried; 40% are aged 14 and under; 7 married women are aged 14 or under. Québec, Québec
  • 1673 Welfare - All beggars in Québec ordered to leave by authorities. Québec, Québec
  • 1676 Welfare - Beggars ordered to get permission from priests to beg in the streets of Montréal and Québec; others must return to live in their homes within eight days and endeavour to cultivate their land to support themselves; those convicted of giving alms to beggars will have to pay a fine of 10 livres. Québec, Québec
  • 1721 New France harvests 216,000 lbs of tobacco. Québec
  • 1721 Québec region harvests 50,000 lbs of tobacco. Québec, Québec
  • 1814 War of 1812 - John Sherbrooke captures Castine, Maine, with a force from Halifax. Castine, Maine
  • 1864 Confederation - Charlottetown Conference - Arrival of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Delegation in Charlottetown to discuss Maritime Union the following day; when the delegates from Canada East and Canada West arrive, the conference moves to discussing the confederation of BNA. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1882 First synod of the District of Saskatchewan Anglican Diocese is held. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1883 Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden publish the First issue of their Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranch Advocate and General Advertiser newspaper; a four pager published, edited and typeset from a tiny hand-press in a tent on the banks of the Elbow River; one year subscription available for $3.00 (in advance); today’s Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1883 Gold Commissioner Edward Kelly and Queen’s Counsel A.E.B. Davie arrive at Sproule’s camp to adjudicate the contested Bluebell claims. BC
  • 1900 Lemuel Tweedie sworn in as Premier of New Brunswick, replacing Henry Emmerson. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1900 Tracy Holland awarded provincial charter for Grand Forks and Kettle River Valley Railway. Victoria, BC
  • 1901 Kettle River Valley Railway/Republic and Kettle River Railway begins construction toward Republic, Washington, from Grand Forks, BC
  • 1906 Roald Amundsen reaches Alaska in his veseell Gjoa; First ship to sail the North West Passage. Alaska
  • 1908 Work begins on the building the Saskatchewan Legislature. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1929 Welfare - First Alberta old age pension cheque is issued. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1929 Baker Lumber shuts down operations at Waldo, BC.
  • 1938 Disaster - Torrential rains hit St. Lawrence Valley; 12 persons killed in flooding and landslides. Québec
  • 1939 Montréal actress Norma Shearer stars in George Cukor’s The Women, premiering on this day; adapted from the Claire Boothe play, it also stars Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, and Mary Boland. Hollywood, California
  • 1940 Second World War - RCAF planes join RAF in First bombing attack on centre of Berlin. Berlin, Germany
  • 1940 Mgr. Joseph Charbonneau becomes Roman Catholic Archbishop of Montréal on the death of Mgr. Gauthier. Montréal, Québec
  • 1942 Coinage - Federal Finance Minister announces Victory design on new 5¢ copper-zinc alloy (Tombac) coin, 12-sided to help distinguish it from the penny and quarter; change in metal is to preserve nickel supplies for war uses. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1942 Second World War - German U boats sink 108 merchant ships this month, with a loss of 544,000 tons. Atlantic Ocean
  • 1944 Second World War - Canadian Army troops break through Gothic Line south of Rimini; enter Po Valley; until September 3, 1944. Rimini, Italy
  • 1945 Fire - ‘The Big Burn’ in the Rocky Mountain Trench is extinguished after destroying 5,920 acres of fir, pine, spruce, cedar and balsam. BC
  • 1955 Church of England in Canada changes its name to The Anglican Church of Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1955 Riot - Placard-carrying mob of Ukrainian-Canadian nationalists punch and kick four RCMP plain-clothes officers at Winnipeg airport, thinking they are part of a visiting delegation of Soviet farming experts; Mounties, Winnipeg city police and the railway police stop a potential riot; Soviets put under protective guard in a downtown hotel. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1956 Henri Bourassa dies; founder of newspaper Le Devoir. Montréal, Québec
  • 1964 Centennial of Charlottetown Conference of 1864 re-enacted. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1969 Toronto rock group The Band fronts Bob Dylan at his First paid appearance since his motorcycle accident three years earlier. Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
  • 1971 Alberta Election - Peter Lougheed leads Progressive Conservatives to majority victory in Alberta provincial election over the Social Credit government under Harry Strom; upsetting 36 years of Socred rule. Alberta
  • 1973 Shell Canada announces plans to build $700 million oil sands extraction plant on Athabasca tar sands. Fort McMurray, Alberta
  • 1974 Paul Anka’s hit single (You’re) Having My Baby stays at #1 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1976 Carallyn Bowes arrives in Burnaby after running the 6180 km from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Burnaby, British Columbia in 133 days; First woman to run across Canada. Burnaby, BC
  • 1981 Crime - Clifford Olson charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of nine children, after RCMP make a deal to lead them to the bodies and other evidence, in exchange for a $100,000 trust fund for his wife and infant son; native of Coquitlam, BC, will later be charged with killing 11 boys and girls aged nine to 18, and sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole. Langley, BC
  • 1985 Bryan Adams’ hit single, ‘Summer of ‘69’, peaks at #5 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1987 Quatre Saisons network launches La Maison Deschênes; 30 minute drama (téléroman) Canada’s first daily TV soap opera. Montréal, Québec
  • 1988 Canada-US Free Trade Agreement becomes law. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Trial - CP Rail sues Pays Plat Ojibwa Band for $37 million for blockading rail lines August 21 to 23 in sympathy with Oka occupation; also suit against Pic Mobert band at White River, Ontario. Schreiber, Ontario
  • 1991 Peacekeeping - United Nations awards UN service medals to 226 Canadian peacekeepers for their work in Yugoslavia with the Bosnian Serbs. New York, New York
  • 1992 Westar Mining Limited granted protection under the Company Creditors Arrangement Act. Victoria, BC
  • 1993 Fishery - Mulroney Government slaps a complete ban on cod fishing after stocks dwindle. A year earlier, Fisheries Minister John Crosbie ordered the $700 million northern cod fishery shut down for two years to conserve stocks; in total, 40,000 Atlantic Canadians lose their jobs, in the single largest mass layoff in Canadian history. At its peak in the late 1960s, the northern cod fishery hauled in up to 800,000 tonnes a year. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Sûreté de Québec provincial police swear in First 6 Inuit constables. Québec