Highlights of the day

  • 1957 Royal Canadian Navy commissions its first and only aircraft carrier, HMCS Bonaventure, a light fleet aircraft carrier acquired in 1952.

List of Facts for January 17

  • 1651 Jean de Lauzon appointed Governor of New France; serves from October 14, 1651 to September 12, 1657. Paris, France
  • 1823 Politics - Louis-Joseph Papineau and Robert Nelson leave for London, England, to argue for the rights of the Lower Canada Assembly. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Francis Bond Head inspects Navy Island, scene of a former rebel stronghold. Niagara Falls, Ontario
  • 1839 John Colborne appointed Governor of British North America. London, England
  • 1840 French Canadians complain that Lower Canadians were not consulted about the union of Upper and Lower Canada. Québec, Québec
  • 1850 Elizabeth Simcoe dies; buried beside husband John Graves Simcoe, first Governor of Upper Canada. Wolford Lodge, England
  • 1854 Rail - Celebration marks completion of Great Western Railway between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Windsor, Ontario; later part of Grand Trunk Railway and CNR. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1861 Human Rights - Mass meeting at Montreal protests forced return of escaped slaves to the US. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1881 Interprovincial Bridge opened between Hull, Québec, and Ottawa, Ontario.
  • 1888 Aboriginal - Big Bear dies on his reserve near Battleford; Plains Cree Chief. Battleford, Saskatchewan
  • 1902 Farming - Territorial Grain Growers’ Association is incorporated. Indian Head, Saskatchewan
  • 1903 Disaster - Huge explosion destroys the Longueuil Gunpowder Works; plant belonged to the Hamilton Powder Company; no deaths. Longueuil, Quebec
  • 1906 Fire destroys Blairmore Hotel and adjoining businesses. Blairmore, Alberta
  • 1922 Elizabeth Greenfield dies; wife of Alberta Premier Herbert Greenfield. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1933 Richard B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada, hosts the interprovincial conference on social, economic and constitutional issues; urges the provinces to cooperate with the federal government to create a system of unemployment insurance. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1933 Newfoundland asks Britain to solve financial difficulties; wants Royal Commission. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1944 Founding of the Music Conservatory of Quebec in Quebec City; led by Wilfrid Pelletier until 1946.
  • 1947 Religion - Cardinal Villeneuve, Archbishop of Quebec, dies in Los Angeles, California.
  • 1949 Education - Members of the Alliance of Catholic teachers go on strike; ends a week later when the Catholic School Commission of Montreal promises not to punish teachers.
  • 1957 Military - Royal Canadian Navy commissions its First and only aircraft carrier, HMCS Bonaventure, a light fleet aircraft carrier acquired in 1952; sold for scrap in 1970. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1961 John Diefenbaker signs the Columbia River Treaty with US President Dwight D. Eisenhower; Canada gets half of power from dams on Canadian section; three dams in Canada. Washington, DC
  • 1961 External Affairs - Canadian officials return Polish national treasures stored in Canadian vaults for safekeeping during Second World War. Warsaw, Poland
  • 1963 Skiing - Fernie’s Snow Valley ski resort officially opened. Fernie, BC
  • 1964 Aviation - Opening of the Winnipeg International Airport terminal. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1964 Rail - CPR discontinues passenger service on its southern mainline, (the Kettle Valley Railway, the C&W, the C&K, and the BC Southern. BC
  • 1965 Crime - Two robbers steal a large collection of ancient coins held at the Chateau Ramezay in Montreal, Québec.
  • 1970 Politics - Robert Bourassa elected Leader of the Québec Liberal Party at age 36, succeeding Jean Lesage as Premier of Québec; MNA Mercier; serves as leader to January 19, 1977 and in the years 1983-94; later elected 26th Premier of Québec May 12, 1970, and 29th Premier of Québec December 12, 1985. Québec, Québec
  • 1972 Aviation - Over 1600 Canadian air traffic controllers start 12-day strike, grounding most commercial flights.
  • 1974 Pauline McGibbon installed as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the First women to hold a vice-regal post in Canada; Chancellor of the University of Toronto 1971-74. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1974 Weather - Lakelse Lake hit by 118.1 cm of the white stuff; Canada’s greatest one-day snow fall on record. Lakelse Lake, BC
  • 1975 Military - Canadian Forces sets up separate Air Command. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1976 Communications - NASA launches Canada’s $60 million Communications Technology Satellite from Cape Canaveral; CTS the world’s most powerful; will provide TV and phone services to Northern communities. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1979 Edward Schreyer installed as Governor General of Canada, replacing Jules Léger. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Politics - Saskatchewan MLA Colin Thatcher resigns as Minister of Energy and Mines after several well-publicised disputes with Premier Grant Devine. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1994 Politics - Gilbert Parent elected Speaker of the House of Commons. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Currency - Canadian dollar skids to a nine-year low of US 70.49 cents.
  • 1996 Politics - Newfoundland Liberal Party elects Brian Tobin as party leader, replacing Clyde Wells; sworn in as Premier of Newfoundland January 26, 1996. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1996 Hockey - Ottawa native Steve Yzerman scores his 500th goal, to help his Red Wings beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2; 22nd player in NHL history to score 500 goals. Detroit, Michigan
  • 1997 Taxation - The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules against Canadian protectionist policies such as taxing Canadian editions of US magazines, preferential postal rates and tariff restrictions to protect its magazine industry from U.S. competition. Canada to look for other means to help industry. Geneva, Switzerland
  • 1997 Military - Department of National Defence reports disciplining 57 Canadian soldiers who engaged in sexual misconduct and abuse while guarding a mental hospital as part of peacekeeping operations in Bakovici, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1998 Hockey - NHL donates $500, 000 to help ice storm victims. Montreal, Quebec
  • 2001 Currency - Bank of Canada unveils new Canadian $10 bill with enhanced security features. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2001 Acting - Al Waxman dies in Toronto of complications following heart surgery; actor born in Toronto Mar. 3, 1935; 1975-80 played title character Larry King in CBC situation comedy King of Kensington (ACTRA award 1976); 1981-88 played Lt. Bert Samuels on Cagney & Lacey; 1989-92 Chair of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television; 1900 directed CBS-TV movie Maggie’s Secret (Emmy nomination); 1997 played Willy Loman in the Stratford Festival’s production of Death of a Salesman; films include Meatballs 3, and Spasms. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2004 Disaster - Cessna 208 regional plane carrying hunters goes down in Lake Erie about one mile west of Pelee Island; all 9 on board are killed. Pelee Island, Ontario