Highlights of the day

  • 1838 Lount & Matthews hanged for treason after Rebellion of 1837.
  • 1980 Terry Fox starts ‘Marathon of Hope’ for Cancer Society.

List of Facts for April 12

  • 1751 New France Governor Jacques-Pierre de La Jonquière requires all Acadians in French territory north of the Missaguash River or moving to French territory to take an oath of allegiance to France and join the militia. Nova Scotia
  • 1820 Lord Dalhousie, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, is appointed Governor General of British North America. London, England
  • 1838 Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews publicly hanged for treason and sedition during the Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada. Lount had seven children, Matthews fifteen; petitions for mercy and clemency and a personal appeal by his wife Elizabeth Lount to Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur failed. Before mounting the gallows, Lount said he would do it again, in order that Canada would be free. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1855 Politics - New Brunswick the first province in British North America to adopt the secret ballot for electing members to the House of Assembly. Fredericton, NB
  • 1861 Confederation - Confederate forces attack a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina; opening hostilities in the American Civicl War; a major driver of the move to a Confederation of BNA.
  • 1867 British Parliament passes the Imperial Canada Railway Loan Act, which provides for a British guarantee of £3 million to begin construction of the Intercolonial Railway between Halifax and Québec; promoted by George-Etienne Cartier. London, England
  • 1872 Winnipeg hit with record 33 cm of snow. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1876 Founding of Beaver Steamship Line, formerly the Canadian Shipping Company, with three new iron-screw steamers to replace the old sailing ships; the Montréal to Liverpool service is sold to the CPR in 1903, and was the origin of CP Ships. Montréal, Québec
  • 1876 Indian Act (An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians) receives royal assent. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1876 Parliament enacts 39 Victoria chapter 21, creating the new District of Keewatin out of northern Manitoba and north-western Ontario. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1891 Crow’s Nest and Kootenay Lake Railway Act re-written to transfer assets to the British Columbia Southern Railway and extend its mandate to build from the Crowsnest Pass through to the Coast. Victoria, BC
  • 1893 British Columbia passes the Red Mountain Railway Company Act, 1893. Victoria, BC
  • 1893 British Columbia passes the British Columbia Southern Railway Act, extinguishing the Crow’s Nest and Kootenay Lake Railway and transferring its assets to the BCS, extending completion dates. Victoria, BC
  • 1893 British Columbia passes the Nakusp and Slocan Railway Company Act. Victoria, BC
  • 1898 John Moodie imports a Winton automobile, First gasoline-powered automobile brought to Canada. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1902 Kettle River Valley Railway/Republic and Kettle River Railway (Republic and Grand Forks Railroad) opened from Grand Forks, BC to Republic, WA.
  • 1911 CPR launches Castlegar (154 tons) at Okanagan Landing, BC. Withdrawn 1925.
  • 1913 Municipality of Rozilee pays $0.25/hour for road labourers; $0.50/hour if they bring a team of horses. Rozilee, Saskatchewan
  • 1917 Ontario gives women the provincial vote for the First time. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1917 First World War - The Canadian Corps finally routs the remaining Germans from Vimy Ridge, by capturing “The Pimple”, a large hill on the north end of the Ridge. Arras, France. - See Canadians Capture Vimy Ridge
  • 1924 Alberta passes An Act to Provide for Government Control and Sale of Alcoholic Liquors, thus ending prohibition in Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1935 Royal Proclamation sets design of Canada’s new Jubilee Silver Dollar. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1936 Disaster - Frank Willis broadcasts non-stop for 69 hours after explosion traps three men in Moose River mine; two survivors; C.R.B.C. broadcasts picked up by 650 US stations and 58 in Canada. Moose River, Nova Scotia (CBC Archives - “North America’s very first live 24-hour news event.”)
  • 1938 Hockey - Chicago Blackhawks beat Toronto Maple Leafs 3 games to 1 for the Stanley Cup. Chicago, Illinois
  • 1941 Hockey - Boston Bruins sweep Detroit Red Wings in four games for the Stanley Cup. Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1945 Second World War - Canadian Army troops liberate the Nazi concentration camp at Westerbork. Westerbork, Netherlands
  • 1945 Hockey - Toronto Maple Leafs’ rookie tender Frank McCool bags his third consecutive playoff shutout, 1-0 over Detroit Red Wings; a new Stanley Cup record.
  • 1945 C. D. Howe presents White Paper on Employment and Income; a blueprint for the coming election. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1946 Sir Harold Alexander named the new Governor General of Canada, replacing the Earl of Athlone; serves until January 28, 1952. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1949 First baby, Margaret Savinkoff, born in Crowsnest Pass Hospital at Blairmore, Alberta.
  • 1957 Military - RCN minesweeper, HMCS Cordova, is paid off (decommissioned).
  • 1960 Hockey - Rocket Richard scores his last NHL goal before retiring, helping his Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1964 Empire Hotel in Coleman, Alberta, burns down. Built 1905.
  • 1967 House of Commons recommends making Calixa Lavallée’s song ‘O Canada’ the national anthem; ‘God Save the Queen’ to be the Royal Anthem in Canada. O Canada will be proclaimed Canada’s national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years after it was First sung on June 24, 1880. Lavallée was a concert pianist from Verchères, Québec. The song was commissioned to celebrate the visit to Québec by Governor General Lord Lorne and his wife Princess Louise, who was Queen Victoria’s daughter. Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier, later chief justice of Québec, wrote the French lyrics to accompany the music. In 1908, Montréal lawyer and Judge Robert Stanley Weir wrote the version on which the official English lyrics are based, recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The French lyrics stayed unchanged. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Founding of the Southern Alberta Opera Association; First production in March 1973 will be La Boheme, directed by Herman Geiger-Torel and conducted by Stefan Minde. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1980 CBC Archives)
  • 1982 Ottawa bans imports from Argentina, to protest invasion of Falkland Islands. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Five Vancouver-area residents, members of a group called Direct Action, are charged with 1982 bombing of the Litton Systems plant in Toronto that makes guidance systems for cruise missiles. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1984 Hockey - Calgary Flames 2, Edmonton Oilers 5
  • 1986 Hockey - Islanders’ Mike Bossy scores his 83rd career playoff goal to break Maurice Richard’s NHL record of 82.
  • 1987 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers 6, Los Angeles Kings 3
  • 1988 Federal government brings in legislation to sell 45 per cent of Air Canada’s shares initially, with the remainder to be disposed of at a later date. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1988 Hockey - Winnipeg Jets 2, Edmonton Oilers 6; Won Division Semi-Finals 4 games to 1.
  • 1990 Hockey - Winnipeg Jets 3, Edmonton Oilers 3
  • 1996 Hockey - Detroit Red Wings win 5-3 over Chicago Blackhawks, to became First NHL team with 61 wins in a season,breaking the record of 60 set by Montreal in 1976-77; also match NHL record of 36 home wins in a season, set by 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers. Detroit, Michigan
  • 1999 Juanita Westmorland-Traore appointed judge of the Quebec court; First black to be appointed to a judicial position by the Quebec government. Quebec, Quebec
  • 2004 Hockey - Toronto Maples Leafs’ goalie Ed Belfour records his second consecutive shutout (and the 13th of his playoff career) in Toronto’s 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals; despite Toronto being outshot 37-17. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2005 Kelly Ellard found guilty of second degree murder in the 1997 death of Reena Virk. Victoria, BC