Highlights of the day

  • 1860 Prince of Wales lays cornerstone of the Province of Canada’s Parliament Buildings.
  • 1864 Canadian Delegates arrive at Charlottetown to discuss the union of British North America.
  • 1905 Alberta Act & Saskatchewan Act proclaimed; founding Canada’s 8th & 9th provinces:
  • 1980 Terry Fox abandons his Marathon of Hope 135 days & over 5,000 km after it started at St. John’s

List of Facts for September 1

  • 1542 Jacques Cartier arrives in St-Malo with a cargo of quartz and pyrites (fool’s gold); left Roberval in Newfoundland June 20, 1542. St-Malo, France
  • 1557 Jacques Cartier dies at age 66 at his estate of Limoilou; the navigator’s birth date is unknown. St-Malo, France
  • 1615 Samuel de Champlain leaves Huron town of Cahiagué with 14 French and 500 Huron warriors; Étienne Brulé left two days earlier to visit Susquehannahs, southern enemies of the Iroquois living in what is now Pennsylvania. Oro, Ontario
  • 1625 Construction begins on the Séminaire de Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1650 Diplomacy - Jesuit Father Gabriel Dreuillettes authorized to proceed to Boston as Governor’s ambassador, to negotiate trade pact and help establish an alliance against the Iroquois; First official Canadian envoy to a foreign country. Québec, Québec
  • 1658 Robert Giffard gets patent of Nobility; First Canadian to receive this distinction. Québec, Québec
  • 1659 Education - Collège des Jésuites offers First philosophy course. Québec, Québec
  • 1676 Education - Collège des Jésuites now has six professors. Québec, Québec
  • 1715 King Louis XIV dies of gangrene; King of Canada; his 72 year reign is the longest in European history. Paris, France
  • 1715 Census - Louisbourg’s population recorded at 746. Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
  • 1739 Forges de St-Maurice smelt 227,000 livres of iron in one year from bog iron nodules. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1740 Jean Duquesnel appointed Governor of Île Royale (Cape Breton). Paris, France
  • 1745 Peter Warren First British Governor of Cape Breton Island. London, England
  • 1755 French and Indian War - Jean-Armand Dieskau starts attack against British expedition under William Johnson which threatens Fort St-Frédéric; Johnson built Fort Edward at head of Lake George. Ticonderoga, New York
  • 1760 French and Indian War - English troops capture Fort Chambly. Chambly, Québec
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - Troops of the Continental Congress attack Fort St. John. St-Jean, Québec
  • 1812 War of 1812 - Isaac Chauncey appointed Commander of US naval forces on Great Lakes; makes headquarters at Sacket’s Harbor. Sackett’s Harbor, New York
  • 1824 Ceremony to lay foundation stone of l’Église Notre-Dame, Canada’s oldest gothic revival church. Montréal, Québec
  • 1851 James Douglas officially appointed Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island. Victoria, BC
  • 1858 First transatlantic cable fails after less than 1 month of operation. Newfoundland
  • 1858 Crime - Government of the Province of Canada abolishes imprisonment for debt. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1858 Coinage - New Canadian decimal coins introduced. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1860 Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales lays the white marble cornerstone of the Parliament Buildings of the Province of Canada; future King Edward VII spends the afternoon descending the Chaudiere Falls lumber chute. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1864 Confederation - Charlottetown Conference - Five delegates each from the Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island convene a Conference on Maritime Union; representatives from the government of the province of Canada arrive on the steamer Queen Victoria to discuss the union of British North America; dinner at Government House; first of a series of meetings that ultimately led to the formation of the Dominion of Canada. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1873 Opening of the Séminaire de Chicoutimi. Chicoutimi, Québec
  • 1879 Labour - Springhill mine workers organize Provincial Workmen’s Association, after wage cuts; First trade union to be legalized for Canadian coal mines. Springhill, Nova Scotia
  • 1889 Official opening of the new Québec Assembly building; a provincial member earns $800 per session. Québec, Québec
  • 1897 Spokane and Fort Steele Telegraph Company inaugurates service. Fort Steele, BC
  • 1905 The Alberta Act, 1905 and the Saskatchewan Act, 1905 are proclaimed; founding of Alberta and Saskatchewan on this day; enter the Dominion as 8th and 9th provinces. In 1882 Canada’s North West Territory had been divided into four districts: Athabasca, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Assiniboia (where the capital, Regina, was located). In 1888, a territorial legislature was created, which under Premier Frederick Haultain pressured the federal government for more autonomy. In 1897, the territory got responsible government, and in 1900, Haultain pressed for provincial status. Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton and Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier refused, fearing the province would have too much power, but saying that settlement was still too sparse; the angry response - the Calgary Herald predicted another North West Rebellion - led Laurier to promise provincial status if he won the 1904 election. Haultain, a Conservative, had campaigned for one province, but Laurier suggested three. The final decision was to create two - Alberta, named for the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, and Saskatchewan, derived from ‘kisiskatchwanisipi’, the Cree word for ‘swift-flowing river’.
  • 1905 See: Haultain Asks For One Province
  • 1905 George Bulyea sworn in as First Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta; serves to October 20, 1915. Alberta
  • 1905 See: Alberta Inauguration Day
  • 1905 Amédée Forget sworn in as First Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan
  • 1905 S. A. Speers opens First post office in Yahk, BC.
  • 1906 Alberta adopts Mountain Standard Time. Alberta
  • 1913 Weyburn becomes the sixth city in Saskatchewan. Weyburn, Saskatchewan
  • 1913 Mining - Big Blast at the Mother Lode mine at Deadwood, BC at 10:00 a.m. Greenwood, BC
  • 1916 Governor General H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught lays the cornerstone of the new Parliament Buildings, to be rebuilt after disastrous fire earlier that year. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1917 First World War - total of 331,578 men sent overseas to Canadian Expeditionary Force to date; 831 officers and 20,179 men presently in training in Canada. Valcartier, Québec
  • 1917 Media - Founding of the Canadian Press; a co-operative news agency set up to provide a news fed of war events. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1918 First World War - US troops land in Vladivostok, joining an international force that includes Canadians; the force, sent to protect commercial interests and protect White Russian refugees from the German-backed Russian revolution, stays until 1920. Vladivostok, Russia
  • 1919 Edward, Prince of Wales lays cornerstone of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill; son of King George V; future King Edward VIII. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1919 Third session of 13th Parliament meets until November 10, 1910; amends Criminal Code; prohibits aliens from having weapons or firearms. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1920 Faster Cunard and Canadian Pacific transatlantic liners now make the Montreal to Liverpool, England crossing in only 5 days and 23 hours. Montréal, Québec
  • 1921 Toronto Transportation Commission (later renamed the Toronto Transit Commission) starts operations; TTC formed after 1920 referendum accepted proposal to replace privately-run Toronto Railway Company. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1925 Union Bank of Canada amalgamates with Royal Bank of Canada. Montréal, Québec
  • 1926 Founding of the British Columbia Rugby Football Union. Vancouver, BC
  • 1928 Old Age Pension Act comes into effect in Manitoba. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1937 Trans-Canada Air Lines makes its First passenger and First international flight from Vancouver to Seattle, Washington. Vancouver, BC
  • 1939 Second World War - Mackenzie King proclaims the War Measures Act, retroactive to August 25, 1939, as Nazi Germany invades Poland; appropriates required regulatory acts and authority from provinces; war will be declared on September 3, 1939. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1942 Second World War - HMCS Morden sinks the German submarine U-756. Atlantic Ocean
  • 1944 Second World War - Second Division of the First Canadian Army liberates Dieppe, returning in triumph to the scene of a disastrous Canadian raid two years earlier; will continue on to clear Boulogne, France and Calais, France, then move to take the strategically important port of Antwerp, Belgium. Dieppe, France
  • 1944 Raymond Massey stars in Frank Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace, co-starring Cary Grant and Peter Lorre, opening at the Strand. New York, New York
  • 1951 Nellie McClung dies; author and advocate for women’s rights; began her political activities in Manitoba, where she was active in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and continued her fight for female suffrage and dower rights for women when she moved to Alberta in 1915. She served as a Liberal MLA for Edmonton, Alberta, from 1921-1926. Her First novel, Sowing Seeds in Danny, published in 1908, launched a successful writing career. Victoria, BC
  • 1952 Saskatchewan-born entertainer Art Linkletter debuts his Art Linkletter’s House Party on CBS-TV; variety show began on radio in 1944. New York, New York
  • 1959 Prince Edward Island Election - Walter Shaw leads Progressive Conservatives to majority win in provincial election. PEI
  • 1960 Opening of Isabelle Sellon High School, Blairmore, Alberta.
  • 1961 Energy - First oil-drilling rig in Arctic unloaded in preparation for drilling on Melville Island. Melville Island, Nunavut
  • 1961 Taxation - Ontario Premier Leslie Frost’s Conservative government brings in 3% sales tax; known as the ‘Frost Bite’. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1962 Place Ville Marie office complex opens in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1971 British Columbia the First province to ban tobacco advertising. Victoria, BC
  • 1971 Canex mine ceases operations at Jersey, BC, near Salmo, BC.
  • 1972 Crime - Arsonists set fire to the Blue Bird Club, killing 37 and injuring 54; Montréal’s worst fire since 1927. Montréal, Québec
  • 1972 Strike - BC orders striking longshoremen back to work to keep wheat shipments to China, Japan and USSR moving. Victoria, BC
  • 1972 Olympics - Canadians Bruce Robertson and Leslie Cliff win Olympic silver medals in swimming at the Munich Summer Olympics; Cliff in the 400m individual medley, Robertson in the 100m butterfly, losing to Mark Spitz. Munich, Germany
  • 1975 Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5, in the last Monday Night Baseball game broadcast by NBC-TV; ABC-TV will pick up the games in 1976. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1977 Robert Simmonds appointed 18th Commissioner of the RCMP; serves to August 31, 1987. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1978 Edmonton Eskimos star Jackie Parker named the Canadian Football League’s outstanding player over a quarter century; former CFL quarterback and coach. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1980 Terry Fox abandons his Marathon of Hope 135 days and over 5,000 km after it started at St. John’s, Newfoundland, on CBC Archives)
  • 1980 Saskatchewan and Alberta celebrate the 75th anniversaries of their founding as provinces, after a summer full of festivals and special events
  • 1981 Energy - Alberta premier Peter Lougheed and prime minister Pierre Trudeau finish a six day bargaining marathon, and sign an energy-pricing agreement; with two-tiered price system, one price for old oil, one for new. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1981 Strike - CBC signs agreement with 2,100 broadcast technicians to end 14-week strike. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1981 Québec’s French language sign law comes into effect. Québec
  • 1982 Statistics Canada reveals that Canadian economy shrank 2.1% in second quarter of 1982; deepest economic decline since Second World War. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Disaster - Soviet SU-1 5 fighter shoots down Korean Air Lines 747 commercial jet after the plane entered Soviet airspace, killing 269 passengers, including 10 Canadians. North Pacific
  • 1984 Vancouver rocker Corey Hart’s single Sunglasses At Night peaks at #7 on the Billboard pop singles chart. New York, New York
  • 1985 Canadian Commercial Bank folds. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1985 Bob Ballard’s US-French expedition locates the wreckage of the RMS Titanic off Newfoundland. Atlantic Ocean
  • 1986 Media - Quatre-Saisons (TQS) TV network starts broadcasting. Montréal, Québec
  • 1987 Norm Inkster appointed 19th Commissioner of the RCMP; serves to June 24, 1994. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1987 Québecair privatized. Québec, Québec
  • 1988 Media - CBC the First Canadian broadcasting group to use people meters to measure its audience. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1988 Media - New cable specialty channels start broadcasting in French: Canal Famille, Méteo-Média, Musique Plus and RDS (Réseau du sport). Montreal, Quebec
  • 1990 Oka Crisis - Canadian Army invades the Mohawk reserve at Kanesatake to end the standoff, while at Kanawake, the Army takes control of the Mercier Bridge. Oka, Québec
  • 1990 See: The Oka Crisis
  • 1990 Record - CFL Toronto Argonauts beat the British Columbia Lions 68-43, setting a Canadian Football League combined scoring record of 111 points. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Allan Grossman dies at age 80; cabinet minister under three Ontario governments 1955-75; father of former Ontario PC leader Larry Grossman. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Bryan Adams’ single (Everything I Do) I Do It for You stays at #1 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1992 Statistics Canada estimates 115,000 new cases of cancer in 1992; 58,300 deaths. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Statistics Canada says lung cancer soon to pass breast cancer as leading killer of women; more men than women quitting smoking. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1994 Crime - Sûreté du Québec provincial police raid Chambly, arresting over 100 including the town’s entire police force, on suspicion of smuggling, prostitution and racketeering; most suspects later released. Chambly, Québec
  • 1995 Trial - Jury finds Paul Bernardo guilty of first-degree murder in sex-slayings of Ontario schoolgirls Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French; also guilty of seven other charges, including kidnapping and sexual assault; will be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years on the two murder counts. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1997 Fire destroys Cameron Block in Coleman; built in 1904. Coleman, Alberta
  • 1998 Strike - Air Canada pilots go on strike for the first time in the association’s 61 year history; ends after two-weeks. Montréal, Québec
  • 1999 Media - The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, or APTN makes its debut as a national network that airs and produces programming made by, for, and about Aboriginal peoples in Canada; the CRTC requires all Canadian cable television operators to carry the network; 1992 first went on the air as Television Northern Canada (TVNC). It was originally available only in the NWT on CHTY-TV, channel 11 in Yellowknife, CHWT-TV, channel 11 in Whitehorse, Yukon, and several rebroadcasters across the Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador; network is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and consists of a terrestrial feed for the Arctic territories (the original TVNC network); and a cable-only, cross-Canada feed; programming is about 60% English, 15% French, and 25% Aboriginal languages.
  • 1999 Opening of 8th biennial Summit of Francophone nations (La Francophonie). Moncton, New Brunswick
  • 2001 Robert Piché, from Mont-Joli, Québec saves the lives of over 300 passengers on Air Transat Flight 236 as a gas leak caused by faulty maintenance causes his plane to run out of gas over the Atlantic. When the plan’s two engines die, Captain Piché pilots his Airbus 330 to a runway on the Azores in a long 20 minute glide, and lands at high-speed with only seconds to spare; 90 seconds after stopping on the runway, all passengers are evacuated safely.
  • 2001 Utilicorp Networks Canada takes over TransAlta Utilities’s transmission and distribution business. Alberta
  • 2004 Trial - State of Washington announced that it will join in an environmental lawsuit against Teck-Cominco. Vancouver, BC
  • 2005 Saskatchewan and Alberta celebrate the centennials of their founding as provinces, after a summer full of festivals and special events.
  • 2009 Aboriginal - Former Assembly of First Nations chief Phil Fontaine appointed “Special Advisor” to the Royal Bank of Canada, with a mandate to “provide advice and counsel to RBC’s Canadian businesses to help the company deepen its relationships with Aboriginal governments, communities and businesses in Canada”.