Highlights of the day

  • 1541 Roberval appointed first Viceroy of Canada, Newfoundland, and Labrador.

List of Facts for January 15

  • 1541 François I appoints Jean-François de la Rocque, Sieur de Roberval c1500-1560 First Viceroy of Canada, Newfoundland, and Labrador; awards him a commission to head an expedition to colonize the St Lawrence in place of Jacques Cartier; Cartier puts to sea First, on May 23, with 5 ships and a crew of 1500; after a disastrous year at Québec, he will countermand Roberval’s orders and return to France. Paris, France
  • 1634 Robert de Moncel Giffard 1587-1668 granted one of the First royal seigneuries by the Company of New France; he is a master surgeon. Beauport, Québec
  • 1635 Charles de La Tour 1593-1666 moves part of his trading establishment from Cape Sable to mouth of Saint John River; rebuilds Fort Jemseg, erected five years earlier and renames it Fort La Tour. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1635 Jean de Lauzon becomes proprietor of the Island of Montreal. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1636 Charles Huault de Montmagny c1583-c1653 appointed First titular Governor of New France before de Champlain’s death was known in France; a soldier and Knight of Malta. Québec, Québec
  • 1792 Ships carrying 1,196 black Loyalists leave Halifax for the British Colony of Sierra Leone in West Africa, where the families hoped to find more liberty and equality and better land; many who emigrated found broken promises and discrimination in British North America. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1808 George Prevost 1767-1816 appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia; from May 13, 1808 to Aug. 25, 1811. Nova Scotia
  • 1818 Louis-Joseph Papineau elected Speaker of the Lower Canada Assembly. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1831 Journalists Ludger Duvernay and Daniel Tracey arrested for printing defamatory statements against the government of Lower Canada. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1835 Upper Canada bans the sale of liquor to Indians; effective January 5, 1836. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1836 Governor Archibald Acheson, Lord Gosford 1776-1849 bans private army groups, such as the British Rifle Corps, recently formed by 300 young men opposed to the Reformers; the Corps reluctantly dissolves after a demonstration of 1, 000 people in Montréal.
  • 1840 Lighthouse at Cape Forchu begins operations. Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
  • 1852 Opening of Trinity College; founded by Anglican Bishop John Strachan to provide an alternative to secular King’s College. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1878 John A Macdonald’s Liberal Conservative Party adopts a high-tariff National Policy platform, due to frustration in restoring freer trade with the US; the Party opts for protective tariffs, while keeping the door open to reciprocity where possible. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1886 First issue of the Vancouver Weekly Herald and North Pacific News. Vancouver, BC
  • 1892 James Naismith, from Almonte, Ontario, First publishes his ‘Rules of Basketball’ in the YMCA’s Triangle magazine. Springfield, Massachusetts
  • 1895 Augustus Vogt leads the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir in its First concert in Massey Hall; founded a year earlier as an extension of his Jarvis Street Baptist Church choir; disbanded in 1898, and restored with 200 voices in 1900; their rendition of Handel’s Messiah will become a Toronto tradition. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1895 Honourable J.G. Haggart appointed the federal Minister of Railways and Canals.
  • 1898 Founding of the Shawinigan Water and Power Company and incorporation of Grand-Mere . Grand-Mère, Québec
  • 1898 Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton appoints Royal Commission to investigate the living and working conditions of Labour on the Crow’ Nest Line.
  • 1904 Honourable H.R. Emmerson appointed Minister of Railways and Canals.
  • 1908 Manitoba government takes over provincial telephone service. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1909 Society of Equity and the Alberta Farmers’ Association merged, becoming the United Farmers of Alberta. Alberta
  • 1910 Henri Bourassa comes out against Wilfrid Laurier’s bill to create a Canadian navy. Montréal, Québec
  • 1915 Canadian Northern Railway completes line between Québec City and Vancouver, British Columbia; last spike driven at Basque. Basque, BC
  • 1915 Guillaume Couture dies; conductor and composer; led the Montréal Philharmonic Society for 19 years; founder of the First Montréal Symphony Orchestra in 1894. Montréal, Québec
  • 1917 John Chantler McDougall dies; Methodist minister and missionary. Alberta
  • 1928 Toronto’s Hart House String Quartet performs Maurice Ravel’s Quartet with the conductor in attendance, making his US debut as a pianist. New York, New York
  • 1941 J. L. Ilsley warns that Ottawa might have to invade provincial tax turf; in a tough speech to the Dominion-Provincial Conference. Ottawa, Ontario January 15, 1944 -Military - HMCS Malahat commissioned as naval recruiting centre; re-commisioned April 23, 1947 as the Naval Reserve Division. Victoria, BC
  • 1946 US Canadian joint defence conference held at the Chateau Frontenac. Québec, Québec
  • 1949 Canadiens’ Rocket Richard scores his 200th NHL goal in his 308th game. Montréal, Québec
  • 1950 Red Wings goaltender Terry Sawchuk gets the First of his all-time record 103 career shutouts as Detroit beats the New York Rangers 1-0; Sawchuk still holds the NHL record for wins (435) and for games played by a goaltender (971). Detroit, Michigan
  • 1957 Third major fire in downtown Hedley, BC.
  • 1958 Elizabeth Beckett Matheson dies; pioneer doctor practised around Lloydminster for two decades after 1898. Saskatchewan
  • 1961 Toronto middle distance runner Bruce Kidd 1943- wins two mile indoor race in Boston in world record time at age 17; trained by Fred Foote; in 1962, he will win gold medal in the six mile event at the British Empire Games in Perth. Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1962 RCMP Musical Ride placed on permanent, full-time basis. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1963 The Board of Broadcast Governors (today’s CRTC) records its hearings for the First time; distributed to radio and TV stations by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Lester Bowles L. B. Pearson 1897-1972 arrives in Paris; First official visit of a Canadian Prime Minister to France. Paris, France
  • 1970 George Maltby, Police Chief of St. James-Assiniboia, appointed First Ombudsman of Manitoba. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1976 Ontario Legislature votes to end two-month strike by 8, 800 Toronto secondary teachers. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1982 Québec National Assembly forces 2, 200 striking Montréal transit workers back to work. Québec, Québec
  • 1984 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang starts 7-day state visit to Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1986 Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy gets his First NHL shutout; later traded to Colorado. Montréal, Québec
  • 1988 Québec government acquired Blue Bonnets race track for $44 million. Montréal, Québec
  • 1990 Rail - Government announces massive VIA Rail cutbacks, due to $1 billion annual loss; VIA will cut half of its passenger network, eliminating over 2,500 jobs and at least 14 of the company’s 38 routes; will run only one transcontinental train, The Canadian, between Toronto and Vancouver via CN through Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Jasper; end of direct Montréal-Vancouver passenger rail service; rerouting of many intercity trains. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Canadian Forces begin their participation in the Persian Gulf War
  • 1993 New Montreal Casino gets 155,000 applicants for its 776 advertised positions. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1995 CBC airs a home video showing the brutal hazing rituals of the Canadian Airborne Regiment at Camp Petawawa. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1996 David Walsh announces that his Bre-X mining company’s Busang, Indonesia, holdings contain a colossal 30 million ounces of gold; later proven to be a fraud. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1996 Opening of the Corel Centre in Ottawa; new home of the Ottawa Senators; renamed Scotiabank Place. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1996 Lucien Bouchard resigns his seat in the House of Commons to take up the leadership of the Parti Quebecois. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2000 CTV Newsnet mistakenly airs tape of Avery Haines flubbing a line and joking about it in terms many viewers find offensive.
  • 2002 Politics - Jean Chrétien shuffles the cabinet mostly to remove the scandal-tainted minister Alfonso Gagliano. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2007 Close of 2007 Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. The Men’s medalists: Jeffrey Buttle, Gold; Christopher Mabee, Silver; Emanuel Sandhu, Bronze. The Women’s medalists: Joannie Rochette, Gold; Mira Leung, Silver; Lesley Hawker, Bronze. Pairs’ medalists: Jessica Dubé / Bryce Davison, Gold; Valérie Marcoux / Craig Buntin, Silver; Anabelle Langlois / Cody Hay, Bronze. Dance medalists’: Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon, Gold; Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir, Silver; Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje, Bronze.
  • 2008 Crime - Europol Operation Koala arrests 9 Canadians in connection to an international pedophile ring.
  • 2009 Energy - Large electricity blackout hits Toronto, effecting an estimated 250,000 people. Toronto, Ontario