1788
Northwest Company Explores Western Canada
Northwest Company traders and explorers are active in the western interior of Canada, extending the fur trade network and mapping previously uncharted territories.
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Northwest Company traders and explorers are active in the western interior of Canada, extending the fur trade network and mapping previously uncharted territories.
Upper Canadian heroine Laura Secord completes her famous 30-kilometre trek through difficult terrain near Queenston to warn British Lieutenant James FitzGibbon of a planned American attack during the War of 1812.
The North-West Mounted Police begin their famous March West from Fort Dufferin, Manitoba, traveling to the prairies to establish Canadian sovereignty and law and order in the new territories.
Parliament passes the Naval Service Act, creating the Royal Canadian Navy as an independent naval force, ending years of debate between those favouring a separate Canadian navy and those preferring contributions to the Royal Navy.
The Winnipeg General Strike officially comes to an end after six weeks, with workers returning to their jobs following government intervention and the arrest of strike leaders.
Parliament passes the Bank of Canada Act, creating the Bank of Canada as Canada's central bank. The Bank will open for business on March 11, 1935.
Louis St. Laurent wins the Liberal leadership convention, succeeding William Lyon Mackenzie King as leader of the governing Liberal Party of Canada.
Trans-Canada Air Lines completes its first transatlantic flight, beginning regular service connecting Canada with Europe and transforming international travel for Canadians.
John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservative Party wins the federal election, ending 22 years of Liberal government and beginning a period of sweeping social and economic changes.
Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson introduces a resolution in the House of Commons to adopt a new distinctive Canadian flag, sparking a prolonged and passionate national debate.
Expo 67 in Montreal sets daily attendance records as visitors from around the world flock to the World's Fair celebrating Canada's centennial, with the National Film Board's Labyrinth pavilion drawing particular acclaim.
A federal government feasibility study on building a fixed link between Prince Edward Island and the mainland is released, beginning a decades-long debate that will result in Confederation Bridge.
The Constitution Act, 1982, comes into full effect, patriating the Canadian Constitution and including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Confederation of Regions Party is founded in New Brunswick, representing growing western and regional discontent with the federal political establishment in the 1980s.
The Canada-US Free Trade Agreement is debated vigorously in Parliament, with the Mulroney government defending the deal as essential to Canadian prosperity and the opposition arguing it threatens Canadian sovereignty.
Governor General Roméo LeBlanc proclaims June 21 as National Aboriginal Day (later renamed National Indigenous Peoples Day) to honour the heritage, cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
The Northwest Territories becomes the first Canadian jurisdiction to recognize National Aboriginal Day as a statutory holiday, following passage of the National Aboriginal Day Act.
The House of Commons declares June as National Aboriginal History Month, now National Indigenous History Month, recognizing the history, heritage and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces the renaming of National Aboriginal Day to National Indigenous Peoples Day, acknowledging the diversity of Indigenous communities in Canada.
Canada establishes September 30 as a federal statutory holiday to honour the children who never returned from residential schools and the families and communities still healing from intergenerational trauma.