Highlights of the day

  • 1606 Jean de Poutrincourt sails for Port Royal on his trading vessel Jonas to colonize Acadia.
  • 1898 Commons passes the Yukon Territory Act; creating the territory June 13.

List of Facts for May 13

  • 1604 Pierre de Monts and party land at Port Mouton, so named because a sheep fell overboard and drowned, and built cabins there; he sends a small boat to look for Pont-Gravé and the second vessel at Canso, their intended rendezvous. Port Mouton, Nova Scotia
  • 1606 Baron Jean de Poutrincourt sails for Port Royal on the 150 ton trading vessel Jonas, accompanied by his son Charles de Biencourt, and by Marc Lescarbot, the first historian of New France, Louis Hébert, the first officer of justice, and Jean Ralluau. Poutrincourt is partner in the company of his friend Pierre de Monts. The voyage to Acadia will take two and half months. The king of France had given de Monts a monopoly on the fur trade in exchange for colonization of the area. La Rochelle, France
  • 1724 King Louis XV issues a royal edict ordering the building of stone walled fortifications to defend Montréal. Paris, France
  • 1756 The Marquis de Montcalm arrives in Canada to command the French forces under Governor Pierre de Vaudreuil, a native-born Quebecker; Vaudreuil will not get along with Montcalm, fearing a lack of French commitment to save New France. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1815 Edward Winslow dies at Fredericton; descendant of Loyalists, and the Mayflower settlers of 1620; leader of movement to create a separate province of New Brunswick. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1859 King’s College at Fredericton gets charter as the University of New Brunswick. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1859 Edgar Dewdney arrives in Victoria, Colony of Vancouver’s Island. Victoria, BC
  • 1873 Drummond Coal Mine explosion and fire in Pictou County, Westville, Nova Scotia - 60-70 killed in Canada’s First major mine disaster.
  • 1898 Commons passes the June 13. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1908 New Brunswick Premier Douglas Hazen meets with New Brunswick’s Enfranchisement Association, but refuses their request for voting rights; advises women to cling to lines of activity for which they are suited, than be burdened with the public work of the country. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1912 The CPR buys the K&S Railway and begins to rebuild it to standard gauge. Completed November 13, 1913. BC
  • 1917 Visiting French Marshal Joseph Joffre opens the new Montreal Public Library on Sherbrooke Street, in front of Parc LaFontaine. The building cost $550,000 to build and holds 23,000 volumes. Montreal, Québec
  • 1919 Winnipeg General Strike - Fifty-two unions join the metal trades workers, setting the stage for a strike that will paralyze essential services in the city. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1919 First Manitoba Music Competition Festival takes place in Winnipeg, with 2,500 performers taking part; still sponsored by the Men’s Musical Club today. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1923 Next-of-Kin Monument to Manitobans who died in First World War is unveiled on Manitoba’s legislative grounds. Winnipeg, Manitoba May 13 - Industry - Dominion Textile buys Paton Manufacturing. Sherbrooke, Québec
  • 1930 Gilbert LaBine discovers pitchblende ore on the shore of Great Bear Lake; will become a chief source of uranium and radium. Fort Radium, NWT
  • 1940 Second World War - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her daughter Princess Juliana flee to London as the Nazis occupy Holland; Princess Juliana will bring her children to Ottawa for safety. The Hague, Netherlands
  • 1940 R. B. Hanson chosen as interim leader by the Conservative Party, replacing R.J. Manion; serves to November 12, 1941. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1942 Second World War - Two more Canadian ships lost to German U-Boats in the St. Lawrence River. Anticosti Island, Québec
  • 1943 Second World War - HMCS Drumheller helps sink the German submarine U-753 in mid-Atlantic. Atlantic Ocean
  • 1950 Red River Flood of 1950 reaches its crest. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1954 U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower signs into law the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Act, a bill approving the St. Lawrence Seaway agreement with Canada, and authorizing joint construction. Washington, DC
  • 1954 Canadian National Railways (CNR) amalgamates its National Transcontinental Railway Branch Lines Company and 5 other subsidiaries. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1959 Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood announces plans to build a new campus for Memorial University. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1961 Ottawa to subsidize shipyards; reserves shipments between Canadian Great Lakes ports to Canadian ships only. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Quebec National Assembly passes Education Bill 60, establishing the Quebec Department of Education; Montreal lawyer Paul-Gerin-Lajoie, who fought to establish government control over education, is appointed minister. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1966 Court of Canadian Citizenship for Saskatchewan holds its First sitting at Regina. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1968 Bank of Canada borrows $262 million from West German, US, and Italian sources, to increase cash reserves. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1971 Ottawa to build Short Take-Off and Landing airport in Montréal; with commuter service to a similar Ottawa and Toronto STOL port. Montréal, Québec
  • 1974 Bank of Canada raises prime lending rate to 8.75%. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1978 Ottawa-born singer Paul Anka opens a disco in Las Vegas named Jubilation, after his early gospel-disco hit song. Las Vegas, Nevada
  • 1979 NDP leader Ed Broadbent, Liberal leader Pierre Trudeau and PC leader Joe Clark debate on national television during the 1979 election campaign. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Nine fishermen charged with piracy after West Pubnico incident. West Pubnico, Nova Scotia
  • 1985 Selma Diamond dies at 64; born in Montréal, Québec, August 5, 1920; actress, scriptwriter, played Too Close For Comfort’s Mildred Rafkin, and Night Court’s Selma Hacker (1984-85). Los Angeles, California
  • 1987 Hockey - Detroit Red Wings 3, Edmonton Oilers 6; Oilers win Conference Finals 4 games to 1.
  • 1987 Vancouver songwriter David Foster named Songwriter of the Year at the annual Broadcast Music Incorporated dinner; for his songs Glory of Love (from The Karate Kid, Part Two), for Love Theme and Man in Motion (from St. Elmo’s Fire) and for Now and Forever (You and Me). Los Angeles, California -May 13 - Industry - Alcan resident Serge Sénéchal-Tremblay announces construction of a new smelter in La Terrière. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1989 Art - Painting by artist Jean-Paul Riopelle sells for $4 million USD, a record sum for a Canadian artist. “The zeros multiply,” quipped Riopelle. -May 13 - Hockey - Swift Current Broncos defeat Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in overtime to win the Memorial Cup, Canada’s Major Junior A Championship. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • 1991 Baltej Dhillon, a Sikh, becomes the First RCMP officer to wear a turban since the force’s creation in 1873. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1991 Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn delivers Throne Speech; promises Commons-Senate Committee to study the Constitution; education; Aboriginal Affairs; reform of Parliament. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Nolan Ryan pitches his record seventh major league baseball no-hitter, in a 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, striking out 16 batters. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1992 CBC VP Public Affairs Trina McQueen moves the network’s flagship TV news shows The National and The Journal from 10 pm slot to 9 pm. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1997 Radio Canada journalist Claire Lamarche faints two hours into the French portion of the federal leaders’ debate; Jean-François Lépine had just posed the First question on Canadian unity to Jean Chrétien: ‘Since you declared victory with only 50.6% of the votes in the last referendum, will you recognize a Yes victory with the same proportions?’ The debate is cancelled and the unity portion resumed May 18. Montréal, Québec
  • 1998 Great Princeton Bank Robbery. A Cat 950F front-end loader used at 4:15 a.m. to remove night-deposit box from wall of the CIBC. Princeton, BC
  • 2002 Politics - Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper wins a byelection in Calgary Southwest. Alberta
  • 2003 Aviation - Air Canada cuts routes and grounds 40 planes after steep drop in traffic due to the SARS outbreak. Montreal,Québec
  • 2005 Aviation - Michel Leblanc announces his discount Jetsgo airline is declaring bankruptcy, owing creditors an estimated $108 million. Montréal, Québec
  • 2007 Hockey - Undefeated Canadian team wins gold at the World Hockey Championship with a 4-2 win over Finland.
  • 2008 Human Rights - Harper government earmarks $29 million in spending for its “historical recognition programs” to atone for historical rights abuses such as the Japanese and Ukrainian Canadian internments and aboriginal residential schools. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2009 Canadian Space Agency announces two new members of its astronaut program - fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen, and MD David Saint-Jacques, also a PhD in astrophysics. Montreal, Québec -*May 13 - Energy - Quebec Premier Jean Charest announces plans for four new hydro dams on the Romaine River on Quebec’s Lower North Shore; to be completed by 2020. Québec
  • 2010 Environment - Ottawa extends the moratorium on oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank for another three years, to December 31, 2015. Halifax, Nova Scotia -*May 13 - Military - Pte. Kevin McKay, serving with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, killed by an IED blast while on foot patrol in the Panjwaii district village of Afghanistan.