Today’s Features

  • 1783 Evacuation Day - Thousands of loyal British subjects leave in a large flotilla from New York to Nova Scotia.
  • 1837 Col Wetherall and 350 British troops crush Patriote rebels at St. Charles; burn village.
  • 1851 George Williams founds first YMCA in North America in Montréal.
  • 1944 HMCS Shawinigan torpedoed by U-1228 in the Cabot Strait; all 98 hands are lost.

List of Facts for November 25

  • 1615 Immigration - The Prince de Condé appoints Samuel de Champlain Lieutenant General of New France, with a mandate to organize a trading company that will annually bring six families to the colony in return for a monopoly of trade. Paris, France
  • 1654 Religion - First Ursuline nun born in New France takes her vows. Québec, Québec
  • 1657 Education - Marguerite Bourgeoys starts teaching in Montréal; the following year she will open Montréal’s First school in a converted stable; later organizes a boarding school for girls in Montréal, and a school for Native girls on the Sulpician reserve of La Montagne. Montréal, Québec
  • 1743 Religion - Religious communities and orders are forbidden to acquire land in New France without royal permission. Québec, Québec
  • 1758 French and Indian War - John Forbes renames French Fort Duquesne Fort Pitt, which later becomes Pittsburgh; end of French rule in the Ohio Valley Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1770 Exploration - Samuel Hearne arrives back at Fort Prince of Wales from his travels on the Barrens. Churchill, Manitoba
  • 1783 American Revolutionary War - Evacuation Day - Thousands of loyal British subjects sail in a large flotilla from New York to Nova Scotia (and present-day New Brunswick) to form a new New England in British North America. New York City November 25 - Evacuation Day - The last vestige of British authority in the United States — its troops in New York — departs from Manhattan. The last shot of the American Revolutionary War is also fired on this day, as a British gunner on one of the departing ships fires a cannon at jeering crowds gathered on the shore of Staten Island; the shot fell well short of the mark. Until about 1900, this event was celebrated with much revelry in New York; in Battery Park, boys competing to tear down a Union Jack from a greased pole.
  • 1791 Richard Berkeley appointed Administrator of Nova Scotia on death of Governor John Parr. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1795 Theatre - Beaumarchais’ play le Barbier de Séville and Regnard’s le Retour Imprévu performed in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1823 Opening of fourth session of eleventh Parliament of Lower Canada; meets until March 9, 1824; repeals death penalty for theft Québec, Québec
  • 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion - Col. George Wetherall and 350 British troops charge Thomas Storrow Brown’s 100 Patriote rebels holed up in the Manoir of seigneur Pierre-Dominique Debartzch, south of the village of St. Charles, two days after the rebels declare a republic known as the Confederation of the Six Counties, and after Francis Gore’s defeat at St. Denis. The British storm the manor house, then burn the village before leaving; in two hours of fighting, they lose 7 dead and 23 wounded; the Patriotes lose about 30 wounded and 28 dead, some are shot as they swim across the Richelieu River. Patriote leader Brown flees the battle before it is over, and the spirit of the Patriote forces, elated after the victory of Saint-Denis, is crushed. St-Charles, Québec
  • 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion - Funeral of the Patriotes killed at St-Denis. St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Québec
  • 1851 George Williams founds a branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association in St. Helen’s Baptist Church in Montréal; opens two weeks before the First American YMCA in Boston, making it the First YMCA in North America. Montréal, Québec
  • 1857 George-Etienne Cartier forms the Macdonald-Cartier Ministry with John A. Macdonald on the retirement of E-P Taché. Cartier, who was a rebel in 1837, is Attorney-General Canada East; his French Canadian ‘bleu’ members hold the balance of power in the Union. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1878 Lord Lorne, later 9th duke of Argyll, is installed as Governor General of Canada; the 33 year old Lorne will serve until 1883; his wife is Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter Princess Louise. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1883 Place Name - CRP financier Donald Smith, later Lord Strathcona, names CPR Siding 29, Banff, for his home county in Scotland. Banff, Alberta
  • 1885 Park - Canadian government establishes Rocky Mountains Park at Siding 29 on the CPR, 3 km from present-day Banff, which was relocated 3 years later to be near the local hot springs; now the main town in Banff National Park, Banff was named by CPR financier Donald Smith, later Lord Strathcona, for his home county in Scotland. Banff, Alberta
  • 1899 Rail - C&W Railway extends regular passenger service to Greenwood, BC.
  • 1900 Rail - Bedlington and Nelson branch, Kootenay Valley Railway opens for business. BC
  • 1904 Québec Election - Napoléon Parent wins re-election for the Liberals; will be driven from office by young nationalists in 1905. Québec
  • 1909 British Columbia Election - Richard McBride leads Conservatives to re-election in provincial vote. BC
  • 1911 Football - University of Toronto beats Toronto Argonauts 14-7 in the 3rd Grey Cup game. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1915 Rail - New York Central Railroad signs 21 year lease for the Ottawa and New York Railway; renewed for 99 years in 1936. Montréal, Québec
  • 1923 Weather - Montréal hit with early 30 cm snowstorm. Montréal, Québec
  • 1935 Election - Louis Taschereau wins re-election for the Liberals; Premier since July, 1920; will stay in power for only 6 months, as the Depression deepens, and young rebels in his party join Maurice Duplessis. Québec
  • 1942 Second World War - HMCS Transcona is commissioned for the Royal Canadian Navy. Esquimalt, BC
  • 1943 Second World War - Canadian Army forces in the British Eighth Army smash across the Sangro River. Italy
  • 1944 Second World War - Royal Canadian Navy Flower Class corvette HMCS Shawinigan torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-1228 before dawn while on independant anti-submarine patrol in the Cabot Strait; all hands are lost, 91 perish. Port aux Basques, Newfoundland
  • 1944 Football - Montreal HMCS beat Hamilton Flying Wildcats 7-6 in the 32nd Grey Cup game. Hamilton Ontario
  • 1947 Future Queen Elizabeth II marries Prince Philip in Westminster Abbey. London, England
  • 1948 Jean Béliveau 1931- gets his first junior hockey goal for the Quebec Aces in the Colisée de Québec; the Victoriaville native will play two more years with the Aces before joining the Canadiens in 1953, signing the NHL’s most lucrative contract to that date. Québec, Québec
  • 1950 Military - Korean War - Lt-Col J.R. Stone, commandant of the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, embarks with 927 soldiers for United Nations service in Korea; the PPCLI will be rushed into battle when Chinese armies cross the Yalu River; will suffer first battle casualties in the Korean hills on February 22, 1951. Seattle, Washington
  • 1950 Football - Toronto Argonauts beat Winnipeg Blue Bombers 13-0 in the 38th Grey Cup game. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1956 Religion - Blessing of the new Grand Séminaire d’Ottawa; Oblate seminary. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1957 Start of a two-day federal-provincial conference on financial relations Ottawa Ontario
  • 1959 Donald Grant Creighton 1902-1978 named to Britain’s Monckton Commission, to examine constitution of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. University of Toronto history professor.
  • 1963 Ottawa and provinces start four-day conference; federal revenue concessions offered to provinces. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Music - Canadian actor Lorne Greene, who plays Pa Cartwright on TV’s Bonanza, has a #1 Billboard hit with his narrative song, Ringo. New York City
  • 1966 Canada gives $500,000 for flood relief to Italy.
  • 1967 Walter Weir sworn in as Premier of Manitoba, replacing Duff Roblin. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1968 Police charge 104 students after three-day occupation of Simon Fraser University administration building. Burnaby, BC
  • 1971 Broadcasting - CRTC grants a broadcasting licence to Toronto’s Channel 79 (CITY-TV); Canada’s first commercial UHF television station. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1973 Football - Jack Gotta’s CFL Ottawa Rough Riders beat Edmonton Eskimos 22-18 in the 61st Grey Cup game. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1976 Politics - René Lévesque sworn in as Premier of Québec, replacing Robert Bourassa, in power since May 12, 1970; Bourassa will return to power Dec. 12, 1985. Québec, Québec
  • 1976 The Band bids farewell in a concert at the Winterland Ballroom; backing guests Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and others; event is filmed and made into a movie, The Last Waltz, by Martin Scorsese. San Francisco, California
  • 1979 Football - Hugh Campbell’s CFL Edmonton Eskimos defeat Montreal Alouettes 17-9 in the 67th Grey Cup game. Montreal Quebec
  • 1987 Jehane Benoît 1904-1987 dies; cooking consultant, author and broadcaster, born Jehane Patenaude at Montreal Mar. 21, 1904. Madame Benoît studied at the Cordon Bleu in Paris; 1925 started a cooking school in Montreal called Fumet de la Vieille France; 1935-40 started The Salad Bar, concentrating on vegetarian cuisine; appeared on CBC’s Take 30; wrote over 30 books, including Madame Benoît’s Microwave Cook Book (1975). Sutton, Quebec
  • 1988 Religion - United Church of Canada asks its congregations to discuss the issue of ordaining homosexuals; General Council a few months earlier had voted to let homosexuals become full members of the church, including ordination; policy will be reaffirmed in 1990. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1988 Crime - Allan Legere captured by police after six month killing spree; the convicted murderer had escaped in Moncton May 3, and was the subject of a huge manhunt. Nelson, New Brunswick
  • 1989 Earthquake centred near Chicoutimi measures almost 6.0 on the Richter Scale, and is felt across eastern Canada and in the northeastern United States. Chicoutimi Quebec
  • 1990 Football - Mike Riley’s CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers wallop Edmonton Eskimos 50-11 in the 78th Grey Cup; game attracts 46,968 fans, lowest since 1975; the win is Winnipeg’s second Grey Cup in three years. Vancouver, BC
  • 1992 Military - General John de Chastelain says Canada should specialize in sending peacekeepers to areas of conflict for shorter periods; Canada now providing 10% of UN force. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Venard (Len) Gaudet sentenced to 8 years in jail for his role in the costliest brokerage failure in Bay Street history. former Osler Inc. Chairman. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1997 RCMP officers pepper spray human rights protesters at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Conference in Vancouver, BC. When asked to comment, PM Chrétien says,: “For me, pepper, I put it on my plate.”
  • 1999 Law - Supreme Court of Canada upholds law protecting confidentiality of sexual-assault complainant’s counselling documents. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2006 Politics - No candidate gets 50% of the vote in the first round of balloting in the Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership election; Ed Stelmach will win a December 2 runoff against Jim Dinning and Ted Morton. Calgary, Alberta
  • 2007 Football - CFL Western champion Saskatchewan Roughriders win the 95th Grey Cup, defeating the eastern champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19 in the Rogers Centre. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2010 Danny Williams announces he is resigning as Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and leaving politics. St. John’s