October 8

Highlights of the day

1970 October Crisis continues; FLQ Manifesto broadcast on Radio-Canada at 10:30 pm.
1978 Gilles Villeneuve wins his First Formula One (F1) race at the Montréal Grand Prix.
1992 Expansion Ottawa Senators beat Montréal Canadiens 5-3; first regular season NHL game for a Senators team in 58 years.

List of Facts for October 8

1613 King Louis XIII decides to continue his Québec venture; names nephew, Charles de Bourbon, Comte de Soissons, as his Lieutenant Governor; after collapse of the Pierre de Monts partnership. Paris, France
1643 Medicine - Jeanne Mance opens the Hôtel Dieu, Montreal’s First hospital and the First lay hospital in North America; she will treat the French and Aboriginal populations for over 30 years. Montreal, Québec
1783 Loyalists from New York travel through Québec and settle at Adolphustown. Adolphustown, Ontario
1804 Disaster - The Government schooner ‘Speedy’ is lost with all hands in an October gale on Lake Ontario; dead include Judge Cochrane; Solicitor-General Gray; Surveyer Stegman. Ontario
1898 McGill University beats Queen’s University, 3-2, in the First Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union football game; the game was the First played under CIAU jurisdiction (originally called the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union or CIRFU); McGill and U of T actually played the First college game on the University of Toronto lawn on October 22, 1881; they tried to play annually after that [Source: Frank Consentino]. Montreal, Québec
1900 October 8 - Simon-Napoléon Parent sworn in as Premier of Québec, replacing Félix Marchand Québec, Québec
1900 Edmonton incorporated. Edmonton, Alberta
1904 October 8 - Prince Albert incorporated as a city; third city in Saskatchewan. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
1904 Edmonton incorporated as a city of the Northwest Territories. Edmonton, Alberta
1916 First World War - James Richardson awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for inspiring men of 16th Canadian Battalion to capture a German position at the Battle of the Somme. Richardson fearlessly marched in front of the enemy playing his bagpipes, and was killed. London, England
1918 First World War - Coulson Mitchell of Winnipeg saves a bridge from demolition and wins the Victoria Cross at the 2nd Battle of Cambrai. Cambrai, France
1923 Strike by stevedores in Vancouver harbour. Vancouver, BC
1928 Immigration - US Supreme Court decides that Canadians working in the US are not liable for immigration fee when crossing. Washington, DC
1945 Second World War - US President Harry Truman says that the secret of the atomic bomb will only be shared with Britain and Canada Washington, DC
1950 Detroit’s Ted Lindsey scores a hat trick as the Red Wings beat the NHL All-Stars 8-1 in the 4th National Hockey League All-Star Game at the Olympia. Detroit, Michigan
1951 Princess Elizabeth arrives at Dorval Airport to start cross-country tour with her husband Prince Philip, later Duke of Edinburgh; her First Royal Tour lasts until November 12, 1951; she will be crowned Queen Elizabeth II the following year. Montréal, Québec
1952 Hugh John Flemming sworn in as Premier of New Brunswick, replacing John McNair. Fredericton, New Brunswick
1953 Hillcrest-Mohawk Collieries buys a bigger stake in Coleman Collieries. BC
1960 Federal-Provincial Conference of Attorneys-General meets to discuss amendments to BNA Act. Ottawa, Ontario
1969 Strike - Québec National Assembly legislates Montreal police and fire fighters back to work; state of emergency declared; at special session. Montreal, Québec
1970 October 8 - October Crisis continues; the FLQ Manifesto is broadcast on Radio-Canada at 10:30 pm. Montréal, Québec
1970 Opening of 3rd session of the 28th Parliament; sits until February 16, 1972. Ottawa, Ontario
1970 Strike - Québec medical specialists go on 10-day strike over Medicare issues. Québec
1971 October 8 - Henri Richard elected captain of the NHL Montréal Canadiens hockey team. Montréal, Québec
1971 Supreme Court of Canada rules that Aboriginal women cannot be deprived of Indian status because of marriage to non-Indian; under the Bill of Rights. Ottawa, Ontario
1974 Paul Martin Sr. appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Britain. London, England
1975 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens Guy Lafleur scores his First NHL goal. Montréal, Québec
1978 Auto Racing - Gilles Villeneuve wins his First Formula One (F1) race at the Montréal Grand Prix. Montréal, Québec
1979 New Brunswick Acadians announce desire for new political status for Acadia as Canada’s 11th province. New Brunswick
1980 Hockey - Calgary Flames, playing their First game in the Stampede Corral, tie the Québec Nordiques 5-5. Calgary, Alberta
1984 October 8 - Springhill, Nova Scotia’s Anne Murray wins the Country Music Association’s Album of the Year Award for ‘A Little Good News’; sold over 12-million copies; First woman and First Canadian to win the award. Nashville, Tennessee
1984 William Davis announces he will retire early in 1985; Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario since 1971. Toronto, Ontario
1989 Baseball - Toronto Blue Jays lose American League title to Oakland A’s with 4-3 loss in Game 5. Rickey Henderson, who hit .400 with 8 stolen bases, is named Series MVP as Oakland reaches the final for the second straight year. Toronto, Ontario
1992 October 8 - Hockey - Doug Smail scores a pair of goals, as the expansion Ottawa Senators beat the Montréal Canadiens 5-3 in the Civic Centre; First regular season NHL game for a Senators team in 58 years. Ottawa, Ontario
1992 Sculpture - Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn unveils new $2.8 million peacekeeping monument on a traffic island in Ottawa; called Reconciliation; to honour 90,000 Canadians who served, 80 who died on duty since 1947. Ottawa, Ontario
1998 Diplomacy - Canada is elected to a seat on the United Nations Security Council. New York, New York
1999 Bill Clinton dedicates the new Embassy of the United States in Ottawa, Ontario
2003 Justice - Jury finds Colin Thatcher eligible to apply for early parole after serving 19 years of his 25-to-life sentence for murder. BC