Highlights of the day

  • 1792 John Graves Simcoe takes office as first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.
  • 1917 Tom Thomson drowns in Canoe Lake in his beloved Algonquin Park.

List of Facts for July 8

  • 1758 French and Indian War - Marquis de Montcalm holds Fort Carillon; drives off 6,000 British regulars and 9,000 American militia under James Abercromby. Ticonderoga, New York
  • 1759 French and Indian War - Brigadier General John Prideaux demands that French Commander Pierre Pouchot surrender Fort Niagara; Pouchot refuses, saying ‘He did not understand English’; the English start their siege by building a zig-zag trench towards the fort to mine the walls; Pouchot sends a dispatch to François de Lignery at Fort Machault, for reinforcements; Lignery immediately cancels his attack on Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh), and departs for Niagara. Youngstown, New York
  • 1760 French and Indian War - John Byron defeats French relief force under François-Gabriel d’Angeac, in last naval battle in New France, the Battle of the Ristigouche, at mouth of the Restigouche River. Restigouche, New Brunswick
  • 1792 American Revolutionary War veteran John Graves Simcoe assumes office as the First Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada; serves until July 20, 1796. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
  • 1822 Chippewas cede title to 234,700 hectares in Lambton, Middlesex, and Kent Counties to the Crown. Ontario
  • 1822 John Cameron assumes the position of Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company post at Fort George. Astoria, Washington
  • 1852 Fire in east end of Montréal leaves over 10,000 homeless. Montréal, Québec
  • 1867 Le Moniteur Acadien first published; First French-language newspaper in the Maritimes. Moncton, New Brunswick
  • 1883 CPR workers lay a record 9.6 km of Canadian Pacific Railway track in one day. Manitoba
  • 1884 North West Rebellion - Louis Riel arrives back in the North Saskatchewan valley at invitation of Gabriel Dumont. Duck Lake, Saskatchewan
  • 1899 Militia troops called in to stop riot during two-day streetcar workers strike in London. London, Ontario
  • 1906 Winnipeg street cars started making Sunday runs despite church opposition to work on the Lord’s Day. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1917 Tom Thomson drowns on about this day in Canoe Lake in his beloved Algonquin Park; a friend and associate of the Group of Seven landscape painters, his death has never been explained. Algonquin Park, Ontario
  • 1927 Rocky Mountain House devastated by a tornado. Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
  • 1927 A tornado kills 3 people near Wetaskiwin. Wetaskiwin, Alberta
  • 1934 First performance of the Vancouver Symphony in the Malkin Bowl, an outdoor performance theatre in Stanley Park; built as a 2/3 size replica of the Hollywood Bowl, it served as the home of the Theatre Under the Stars Company. Vancouver, BC
  • 1937 Imperial Airways flying boat Caledonia arrives in Montréal from Southampton, England; inaugurates new transatlantic air service connecting with TCA. Montréal, Québec
  • 1938 Three miners die in explosion in Michel B mine. Michel, BC
  • 1940 Second World War - Angus Macdonald becomes Navy Minister; former Nova Scotia Premier. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1940 J. L. Ilsley becomes Minister of Finance; serves until December 9, 1946; replaced by Abbott. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1943 Canadian gold mining millionaire Harry Oakes found burned and beaten to death in his villa; murder remains unsolved. Nassau, Bahamas
  • 1944 Second World War - The 3rd Canadian Division and 1st British Corps move into the city of Caen; the 9th Canadian Brigade takes both Buron, France and Authie, France; the 7th Canadian Brigade captures Cussy, France and Ardenne, France; the 8th Canadian Brigade completes its capture of Carpiquet, France as the Germans are pulled back. Caen, France
  • 1958 US President Dwight Eisenhower starts three-day visit to Canada for talks; leads to founding of Canada-US joint committee on defence. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1958 Winnipeg born TV host Monty Hall premieres first episode of Keep Talking on CBS, an ad-lib comedy game show; with Mike Nichols and Elaine May as guests; Hall will later be replaced by Carl Reiner, who later would be succeeded by Merv Griffin. New York, New York
  • 1963 Ottawa transfers building of the Columbia River Treaty’s dams and services to the Province of British Columbia. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference opens in London. London, England
  • 1965 Arnold Heeney releases Report; recommends independent staff relations board for collective bargaining, conciliation; Heeney Report says Civil Service should be reclassified into six major occupational groups. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 Bomb explodes on Canadian Pacific Airlines plane; crashes into Gustafsen Lake, killing 52. Gustafsen Lake, BC
  • 1974 Federal Election - Pierre Trudeau wins majority 141 of 264 seats in federal election; to 95 Conservative; 16 NDP; 11 Social Credit; 1 other.
  • 1974 Federal Election - Andy Hogan the First Roman Catholic priest elected to the Commons.
  • 1975 Second Sasquatch sighting in as many days is reported near Rathwell, at 9:00 pm. Rathwell, Manitoba
  • 1977 Canadian Air Traffic Controllers Association and Canadian Airline Pilots Association support more use of French in air for small planes under visual control. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1981 Energy - Imperial Oil suspends $12 billion Cold Lake oil sands project, pending energy agreement; later scaled down. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1981 Start of 4-day Ontario Games for the Physically Disabled at Burlington. Burlington, Ontario
  • 1981 Toronto police detective Adolphus Payne dies; known for rounding up the Boyd Gang bank robbers in 1952. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1982 Martin Overduin, a missionary pilot from Komoka, Ontario, freed with four other hostages after Sudanese troops attack a rebel camp in southern Sudan. Sudan
  • 1987 Statistics Canada releases figures showing more than half of Canada’s population was over 30. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1988 Newfoundland the eighth province to ratify the Meech Lake Accord; approval later rescinded by Clyde Wells government. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1991 C.D. Howe Institute study points out dangers of post-separation economic alliance between Québec and Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 CDIC to provide funds to needy depositors of Bank of Credit and Commerce Canada; Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Gallup Poll reports that 69% of Canadians want Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to resign; 80% in Ontario, 54% in Québec. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Joseph Burke gets 25 months in prison for abusing boys under care at Mount Cashel Orphanage in 1970s; former teacher for the Christian Brothers. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1994 NASA launches Columbia on Shuttle Mission STS-65; carries the International Microgravity Laboratory 2 (IML-2), which includes a number of Canadian experiments in space medicine and physiology. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1995 Football - Las Vegas Posse meet Sacramento Gold in First CFL game between 2 US teams. Las Vegas, Nevada
  • 2000 Canadian Alliance choses former Alberta Treasurer Stockwell Day as leader, replacing departing CA founder Preston Manning; Day gets 63.4 per cent of the 114,218 ballots cast. Mississauga, Ontario
  • 2000 Stockwell Day replaces Preston Manning as the leader of the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance Party of Canada. Mississauga, Ontario
  • 2003 British Columbia follows Ontario’s lead and permits same-sex marriage. Victoria, BC
  • 2005 Governor General Adrienne Clarkson undergoes pacemaker surgery. Beverly McLachlin, as Chief Justice, becomes administrator of the government during Clarkson’s convalescence. Ottawa, Ontario