On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1943 - Trans-Canada Air Lines inaugurates transatlantic service; forerunner of Air Canada

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1885 - Trial of Louis Riel for treason begins at Regina, the capital of the North-West Territories; Riel wishes to plead not guilty, but his lawyers enter an insanity plea over his objections.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1821 - Start of excavation of the Lachine Canal, in Montreal 

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1814 - Eight traitors captured during the War of 1812 are hanged at Ancaster, Upper Canada; two days later, their headless bodies are put on public display to discourage disloyalty to the British Crown.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1771 - Samuel Hearne and his Chipewyan guide, Matonabbee, reach the partially frozen Arctic Ocean after descending the Coppermine River to its mouth; first European to reach the Arctic overland.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1945 - US scientists explode first atomic bomb near White Sands, New Mexico, using Canadian U-235 refined in Port Hope, Ontario.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1982 - Montreal Expos host first All-Star Game played outside the US; the National League defeats the American League 4-1.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1812 - US Brigadier General William Hull crosses the Detroit River with 2,500 troops and occupies the town of Sandwich; first American invasion in the War of 1812; worried about a new alliance between the British and the Indians led by Tecumseh, Hull will soon retreat to Detroit, and surrenders to the British a month later.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1990 - Corporal Marcel Lemay, a 31 year old constable, killed during gun battle as 100 members of La Sûreté du Québec attack Mohawk barricades, put up in March to block expansion of a golf course on land they claim was never signed away. Mohawks at Chateauguay (Kahnawake) set up sympathy blockade at Mercier bridge leading into Montreal, causing massive traffic jams for thousands of south shore commuters.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1789 - Near Inuvik, NWT, Alexander Mackenzie reaches flats and marshes of the Mackenzie Delta, struggles to within a short distance of the Arctic Ocean before turning back.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1749 - Edward Cornwallis founds new settlement of Halifax; founded as a naval settlement to counter Louisburg.  

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1924 - Winnipeg-born inventor and radio pioneer William Stevenson sends first photo across Atlantic by radio, to England.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1937 - Temperature at Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan reaches 45C (110F), the highest ever recorded in Canada.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1905 - House of Commons passes bill establishing Alberta and Saskatchewan as provinces

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1797 - Law Society of Upper Canada is established

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1922 - France formally transfers ownership of 100 hectares at Vimy Ridge to Canada; German bastion along Vimy Ridge won by all four divisions of the Canadian Corps on Easter 1917; Parks Canada now operates Vimy memorial park and monument dedicated by Edward VIII in 1936. This land is not strictly speaking part of Canada, but France granted "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes". Unlike an embassy, it is subject to the laws of France.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1988 - Parliament passes law banning tobacco advertising.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1975 - Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau opens National Historic Park at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland at tip of Great Northern Peninsula; evidence of Viking landing in North America found in 1961.

On This Day In Canadian History....  

1970 - Parliament lowers voting age in federal elections from 21 to 18; revises Canada Elections Act.

On This Day In Canadian History.... 

1625 - Missionary Nicolas Viel murdered by Iroquois while paddling in a canoe; first priest reported killed by Indians.