Highlights of the day

  • 1535 Jacques Cartier first visits the big Iroquois town of Hochelaga
  • 1758 Canada’s First Legislative Assembly Meets in Halifax

List of Facts for October 2

  • 1535 Jacques Cartier first visits at the Iroquois town of Hochelaga; legend says he proclaimed “What a royal mountain,” (“Quel Mont Royal (Mont Réal!)”; visits rapids at the head of navigation and calls them La Chine (China); local natives tell him of rapids and rivers to the west, and of mines of gold and copper; a priest blesses the Indian sick. Lachine, Québec
  • 1604 Samuel de Champlain arrives back at Ste-Croix with Jean Ralluau after exploring the coast of Maine; they have a hard winter with Pierre de Monts and 77 others, and the following Spring move across the Bay of Fundy to found Port Royal on the Annapolis Basin. Dochet Island, Maine
  • 1744 Joseph Duvivier ends siege of Annapolis Royal, when he gets order to withdraw to winter quarters at Minas. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1754 Opening session of Supreme Court of Nova Scotia at Halifax; First Supreme Court in English-speaking Canada. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1758 Governor Charles Lawrence convenes the First meeting of the Nova Scotia Legislature in the Halifax Court House; this is the First elected Parliament in Canadian history. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1815 Religion - Congregation of Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) founded by Charles-Joseph-Eugene de Mazenod at Aix-en-Provence, France; Oblates will become well known in Canada as missionaries and teachers. Aix-en-Provence, France
  • 1818 War of 1812 - Great Britain ratifies the Rush-Bagot Convention of 1817, making it a lawful treaty with the United States; already ratified by the US Senate April 28, 1818. London, England
  • 1847 Montreal Telegraph Company opens line into Quebec; three years after Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1861 Lord Monck appointed Administrator of Canada; serves from October 25, 1861 to November 28, 1861; later Governor General. London, England
  • 1871 Rail - Start of construction of Prince Edward Island Railway. PEI
  • 1880 Alex Bannerman of Kildonan dies at age 80; an original Selkirk settler. Kildonan, Manitoba
  • 1883 Medicine - Dr. Jennie Trout opens a women’s medical college at Queen’s University in Kingston. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1887 Fishery - Fraser River fisherman nets a 12 foot sturgeon, weighing 307 kg. Vancouver, BC
  • 1895 Ottawa sets up northern Yukon District, Ungava District, Mackenzie District, and Franklin District, under the administrative control of the Northwest Territories government at Regina; enlarges Athabasca District eastward; Yukon becomes a territory in 1897; others divided into the districts of Mackenzie, Keewatin and Franklin in 1918. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1896 British Columbia Mining and Smelting Company incorporated in British Columbia. Victoria, BC
  • 1906 Tommy Burns KOs Jim Burns in 15 rounds for the World heavyweight boxing championship; born Noah Brusso in Hanover, Ontario. Chicago, Illinois
  • 1914 October 2 - William Hearst sworn in as Premier of Ontario, replacing a retiring James Whitney. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1914 Rail - Last spike driven on Kettle Valley Railway Midway-Penticton section (Carmi subdivision). Penticton, BC
  • 1915 Arthur Meighen appointed Solicitor General in the Union Government; drafts Conscription Bill and Wartime Elections Act. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1926 Bert Gibb of the Hamilton Tigers kicks 9 singles in a football game. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1944 Second World War - First Canadian Army drives to clear Scheldt estuary and open port of Antwerp to shipping; victorious November 8. Antwerp, Belgium
  • 1948 George Drew chosen as party leader on First ballot by Progressive Conservative Party, replacing John Bracken; wins 827 votes, to John Diefenbaker’s (311), Donald Fleming’s (104). Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1950 Fire destroys Alpine Inn at Christina Lake, BC.
  • 1952 Riot breaks out at the Oakalla Prison Farm near Vancouver. Vancouver, BC
  • 1954 NHL All-Stars tie the Detroit Red Wings 2-2 in the 8th National Hockey League All-Star Game. Detroit, Michigan
  • 1955 Detroit Red Wings beat the NHL All-Stars 3-1 in the 9th National Hockey League All-Star Game. Detroit, Michigan
  • 1958 Charles Dunning dies; businessman, politician, Premier of Saskatchewan from 1922-1926. Saskatchewan
  • 1968 Jean-Jacques Bertrand sworn in as Premier of Québec after death of Union Nationale leaderDaniel Johnson. Québec, Québec
  • 1969 State Visit - Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko starts two-day visit; First Foreign Minister of USSR to visit Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Montréal Expos Bill Stoneman pitches his secnd no-hitter, beating the New York Mets 7-0. Montréal, Québec
  • 1973 Energy - Gas main ruptures near Red Deer Lake, forcing evacuation of 500 people from three Alberta towns. Red Deer, Alberta
  • 1976 Crowsnest Highway Bonnington cut-off officially opened; from Castlegar to 3B. Castlegar, BC
  • 1980 Constitution - Pierre Trudeau says he will unilaterally patriate the constitution, and amend it by adding a Charter of Rights and Freedoms; debate starts in the House of Commons October 6, 1980. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Gerald Strang dies at age 75; Canadian composer. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1984 Harry Strom dies at age 72; First Alberta-born and last Social Credit Premier of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1988 Olympics - Close of the 24th Summer Olympic Games, with the Soviet Union coming in first in the medals count, East Germany second, and the United States, third. Canadian super-heavyweight Lennox Lewis defeated Riddick Bowe to win Canada’s first Olympic Boxing gold medal in 56 years. Carolyn Waldo won a gold medal in synchronized swimming, and another gold in the duet competition with Michelle Cameron, becoming the first Canadian female to win two gold medals at a summer Olympics competition. Canadian silver medallists included Egerton Markus (Middleweight Boxing); and Mark Tewksbury, Victor Davis, Tom Ponting, Sandy Goss (Men’s 400-metre Medley Relay Swimming). Bronze medals went to Ray Downey (Light-middleweight Boxing); Cindy Ishoy, Ashley Nicoll, Eva-Maria Pracht, Gina Smith (Equestrian Team Dressage); Lori Melien, Allison Higson, Jane Kerr, Andrea Nugent (Women’s 400-metre Medley Relay Swimming); Dave Steen (Men’s Decathlon); and Frank McLaughlin and John Millen (Yachting Flying Dutchman). Seoul, Korea
  • 1991 October 2 - Record - Toronto Blue Jays baseball club clinches the American League East title and become first team in sports history to draw four million fans in one season. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Eric Lindros, selected First overall in the NHL draft by the Québec Nordiques, refuses to sign with the small market team; his rights are eventually traded to Philadelphia for 5 young players, making the team a strong contender in the Atlantic Division. Québec, Québec
  • 1991 Strike - Gilles Loiselle legislates Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) strikers back to work, after talks break down September 27, 1991; Treasury Board President. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Hazen Argue dies at age 70; Senator; First elected 1945 at age 24 for the CCF; jumped to Liberals in 1961; Canada’s longest serving parliamentarian. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1995 October 2 - Alanis Morissette debut album ‘Jagged Little Pill’ reaches #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in its 15th week; First chart topper for Maverick label, founded by Madonna; Morissette the third female artist to have a debut album reach No. 1 in the 1990s. New York, New York
  • 1995 Paul Reichmann leads investment group in regaining ownership of Canary Wharf, office complex that brought down his Olympia & York Developments real estate empire 3 years earlier; Canadian developer. London, England
  • 1996 Robert Bourassa dies of melanoma at age 63; born in Montréal, Québec July 14, 1933; 1957 admitted to the Québec Bar; 1960-1966 fiscal adviser to the Department of National Revenue, a professor at the universities of Ottawa, Laval and Montréal, and research director for the Bélanger Commission on fiscal policy; 1966 elected MNA for Mercier; 1970 chosen to succeed Jean Lesage as leader of the Québec Liberal Party; served as Premier of Québec from 1970 to 1976, and from 1985 to 1994. Montréal, Québec
  • 1997 Diplomacy - Canada recalls its Ambassador to Israel after discovery that Israeli intelligence organization Mossad has been using forged Canadian passports.
  • 1998 The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority transfers operational control of the Canadian portion of the Seaway to the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation;; Ottawa will continue to own the infrastructure and act as regulator. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2001 Terrorism - Canada joins with other 18 NATO allies, agreeing for the first time in their 52-year history to invoke a joint defence clause known as Article 5, which says that an attack on one member state from abroad was an attack on all members; invoking the clause means supporting the US in its campaign against terrorism is no longer conditional. Brussels, Belgium
  • 2002 Crime - Crown lays four more murder charges against pig farmer Robert Picton, bringing the number of women he is accused of killing to 15. Vancouver, BC
  • 2003 October 2 - Ontario Election - Dalton McGuinty leads the Liberal Party of Ontario to victory in the provincial election, defeating the Conservatives led by Ernie Eves. Ontario
  • 2003 Military - Two Canadian peacekeepers are killed and three injured in a land-mine blast in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Kabul, Afghanistan
  • 2004 Record - Ontario farmer grows a record 1,446 pound pumpkin. Ontario
  • 2008 Federal Election - Newtorks host English-language debate for federal party leaders.
  • 2010 Olive Crane chosen as the new leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown, PEI