Highlights of the day

  • 1663 Louis XIV cancels charter of Company of 100 Associates; makes New France a royal colony.
  • 1905 Members of the Ottawa Silver Seven boot the Stanley Cup into the Rideau Canal.
  • 1956 Queen Elizabeth authorizes the Coats-of-Arms of the Yukon and North West Territories.

List of Facts for February 24

  • 1662 Bishop François de Laval announces that those selling liquor to the Indians will be excommunicated from the Church. Québec, Québec
  • 1663 King Louis XIV 1638-1715 cancels charter and takes over assets of the Company of One Hundred Associates (or Company of New France) which was given exclusive rights over fur trading in the New World in exchange for promises to colonize; also takes over other private trading and colonizing charters; New France made a royal colony of New France; law courts come into existence. Paris, France
  • 1797 Political rivals John Coffin and James Genie fight a duel; neither is killed, as the combatants fire into the air, and honour is restored. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1812 War of 1812 - Isaac Brock as Governor of Upper Canada issues a “Proclamation Against Sedition”; targets persons recently arrived with “seditious intent to disturb the tranquility” of the Province. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1843 Charles Metcalfe, Baron Metcalfe 1785-1846 appointed Governor-General of Canada; serves from March 30, 1843 to Nov. 26, 1845. London, England
  • 1875 Louis Riel 1844-1885 re-elected for Provencher and again expelled and declared an outlaw. Provencher, Manitoba
  • 1887 Thomas Keefer 1821-1915 presides at the first meeting as founding President of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. Montréal, Québec
  • 1887 Vancouver loses city charter after failing to control rioting against Chinese immigrants. Vancouver, BC
  • 1904 Fierce 3-day blizzard leaves five trains snowbound between Winnipeg and Calgary. Saskatchewan
  • 1905 Members of the Ottawa Silver Seven, winners of the Stanley Cup, celebrate their victory by booting the cup onto the frozen Rideau Canal; Captain Harry Smith retrieves it unharmed the following day. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1915 Canadian Corps takes over 6.5 km section of trench line near Armentières. Armentières, France
  • 1925 Treaty - Canada and US sign Lake of the Woods boundary treaty; create International Lake of the Woods Control Board, with joint Canadian-American control of the lake. Washington, DC
  • 1932 Labour - Workers in West Canadian Collieries’ Bellevue mine walk out. Bellevue, Alberta
  • 1942 Second World War - Canadian minister of Justice, Louis St. Laurent, empowered to evacuate all Japanese to places of internment at least 100 miles inland. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1944 Second World War - HMCS Waskesiu sinks German submarine U-257 in the North Atlantic.
  • 1945 Broadcasting - Radio Canada International begins operation.
  • 1945 Walter Charles Murray dies; educator, First President of the University of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan
  • 1952 Hockey - The Edmonton Mercurys win the Ice Hockey gold medal for Canada at the 1952 Winter Olympics. Oslo, Norway
  • 1956 Queen Elizabeth authorizes the Coats-of-Arms of the Yukon and North West Territories. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 New Brunswick proclaims its official flag. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1970 Hockey - Vancouver group awarded rights to NHL expansion team; the Vancouver Canucks join the league months later. Vancouver, BC
  • 1972 Panarctic Oils makes First oil discovery in the Arctic, on Ellesmere Island. Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
  • 1976 Federal government tables new criminal legislation, including abolition of hanging, increased minimum sentences for murder, stricter gun control and greater wire-tapping power for police. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1979 Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders scores his 50th goal of the season against Detroit Red Wings.
  • 1982 Canada proposes cutting sulphur dioxide emissions by 50% by 1990; with equal US pledge, to reduce acid rain; no US response. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1982 Dome Petroleum and Hudson’s Bay Oil and Gas withdraw from $13.5 billion Alsands project. Alberta
  • 1982 Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores his 77th goal of the season to break Phil Esposito’s single-season NHL scoring record; adds goals 78 and 79 before the game ends; en route to his awe-inspiring 92 goal season. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1986 Tommy Douglas dies; former Saskatchewan CCF Premier and national NDP leader was the First in North America to bring in government Medicare health plan. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1993 Brian Mulroney announces he is stepping down as Prime Minister and Progressive Conservative Party leader; says his biggest disappointment was the failure of the Meech Lake Accord; Justice Minister Kim Campbell will win the June Tory leadership convention. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Justice Horace Krever releases interim report of his commission inquiring into Canada’s blood system; recommends annual government inspections of Red Cross blood centres. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Basketball - Toronto Raptors NBA team announce arena-naming partnership with Air Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1998 Finance Minister Paul Martin brings in $151 billion budget; Ottawa’s first balanced budget in 30 years; includes a new $2.5 billion education fund. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1998 International study released showing Canadian students placing fifth in science in the world, but only average in mathematics; male students far outperformed female students. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1999 Music - Three Canadian singers: Céline Dion (Best Female Performer), Alanis Morissette (Best Rock Song) and Shania Twain (Female Country Vocalist) win major Grammy Awards. Los Angeles, California
  • 2000 Ujjal Dosanjh becomes premier of British Columbia, replacing Dan Miller. Victoria, BC
  • 2002 Olympics - Canadian team attends opening of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Canada will win gold for men’s and women’s hockey. Controversy erupts when Jamie Salé and David Pelletier are given only silver for the pairs’ figure skating. Salt Lake City, USA
  • 2004 Prime Minister Paul Martin suspends three Crown corporation heads in steps dealing with the sponsorship scandal. Those suspended are Michel Vennat, president of the Business Development Bank of Canada, Via Rail president Marc LeFrançois and Canada Post president André Ouellet. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominates Marshall Rothstein to the Supreme Court of Canada; Rothstein will be the first Supreme Court nominee to face an all-party committee hearing in Parliament before his appointment is confirmed. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2006 Olympics - Canadian mens curling team beats Finland 10-4 and wins its first gold in Men’s Curling. Turin, Italy
  • 2006 Rodney MacDonald is sworn in as the 32nd Premier of Nova Scotia. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 2006 Earthquake of 4.5 in magnitude strikes the Ottawa Valley ranging from Eastern Ontario to Western Quebec.
  • 2010 Olympics - Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse win a gold medal in the Two-woman bobsleigh competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Fellow Canadians Shelley-Ann Brown and Helen Upperton take the silver, marking the first time Canadians had won two medals in one Winter Olympics event. Vancouver, BC February 24 - Olympics - Jessica Gregg, Kalyna Roberge, Marianne St-Gelais and Tania Vicent win a silver medal in the Women’s 3000 metre Short track relay at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Vancouver, BC February 24 - Olympics - Clara Hughes wins a bronze medal in Women’s 5000 metres Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Vancouver, BC February 24 - Olympics - Canada’s mens hockey team defeats Russia 7-3 to advance to the semi-finals against Slovakia. Vancouver, BC