Highlights of the day

  • 1754 Hudson’s Bay Company trader Anthony Henday the First European to visit Blackfoot Nation.
  • 1849 Over 325 prominent Montréal citizens sign The Annexation Manifesto.
  • 1864 Opening of the Quebec Conference; 33 delegates start drafting 72 Resolutions for Confederation.
  • 1970 Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte kidnapped by FLQ cell from his St-Hubert home.

List of Facts for October 10

  • 1613 John Guy explores Trinity Bay with 18 men, to establish contact with the Beothuk Indians. Trinity Bay, Newfoundland
  • 1615 Samuel de Champlain and his party of 500 Huron warriors move to attack Onondaga and Seneca strongholds. Syracuse, New York
  • 1663 Immigration - Council of New France devises First Act to control and promote immigration. Québec, Québec
  • 1663 Seigneurial System - Council of New France approves the dîme law, whereby the Habitants of New France are obliged to pay one-thirteenth of their harvest to the seigneur. Québec, Québec
  • 1682 Military - Meeting at Québec to discuss how to deal with the problem of Iroquois raids on settlements. Québec, Québec
  • 1710 First Anglican church service in southern Canada held at Chebucto. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1725 Philippe de Vaudreuil dies at Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1754 Hudson’s Bay Company trader and explorer Anthony Henday becomes the First European to visit the Blackfoot First Nation, near modern Red Deer. Red Deer, Alberta
  • 1806 William Weekes killed in a duel with William Dickson, a member of the Legislative Council; Weekes represented Durham, Simcoe and East York in the Upper Canada Assembly. Niagara, Ontario
  • 1814 War of 1812 - Kingston Navy Dockyard launches big three-deck warship St. Lawrence, but too late for action; largest wooden ship ever built on fresh water. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1836 William Lyon Mackenzie and others found the Toronto Political Union to press for constitutional reform. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1838 Hudson’s Bay Company party with Fathers François Blanchet and Modiste Demers crest the Rocky Mountains. Alberta
  • 1848 Library - Manitoba’s First public library founded at Fort Garry. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1849 Annexation - Over 325 prominent Montréal citizens sign The Annexation Manifesto, advocating the union of Canada and US unless the British assist the Canadian economy; signers include future finance minister Alexander Galt and John Abbott, a future prime minister; later published in Montréal Gazette. Montréal, Québec
  • 1851 Disaster - The Great American Gale destroys 80 fishing vessels, mainly American, and kills 130 men; one of Prince Edward Island’s worst natural calamities. PEI
  • 1864 Confederation - Opening of the Quebec Conference at the Hotel St. Louis in Quebec City; 33 delegates start drafting the 72 Resolutions as an outline to the proposed union, which will form the core of the British North America Act; ends October 29, 1864. Québec, Québec
  • 1864 Education - Collège Saint-Joseph opens its doors as an Acadian institution of higher education. Moncton, NB See: Opening of the Acadian Collège St-Joseph
  • 1878 Federal Election - Alexander Mackenzie resigns with his Liberal government after election defeat by John A. Macdonald. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1885 North West Rebellion - Start of trial of five Aboriginal people for involvement in the massacre at Frog Lake; found guilty and sentenced to hang. Battleford, Saskatchewan
  • 1895 Alberta and British Columbia Exploration Company incorporates the International Trading Company, orignially based in the State of Idaho but now transferred to Alberta. Alberta
  • 1899 Education - Wardner School closes. Wardner, BC
  • 1903 Henry Ford starts auto production at Walkerville; Ford of Canada makes 117 cars in its First year. Walkerville, Ontario
  • 1911 Robert Borden sworn in as Prime Minister succeeding Wilfrid Laurier; was Leader of the Opposition 1901-1911; serves to July 10, 1920. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1911 Francis Cochrane sworn in as Minister of Railways and Canals in the new Borden government. October 10 - Robert Rogers sworn in as Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in the new Borden government.
  • 1920 J. D. Reid sworn in as Minister of Railways and Canals.
  • 1921 Prohibition - New Brunswick votes against importing liquor for personal use. New Brunswick
  • 1925 F. M. Crapper dies; Regina’s First non-Aboriginal settler. Saskatchewan
  • 1927 Politics - Opening of Conservative Party convention in Winnipeg; R. B. Bennett will be chosen to succeed Arthur Meighen as Tory leader. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1949 NHL All-Stars beat Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in the 3rd National Hockey League All-Star Game, played at Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1959 Highway - Inauguration of the Autoroute des Laurentides from Montréal to [{St-Jovite, Québec. Montréal, Québec
  • 1960 Football - Ottawa Rough Riders star Ron Stewart rushes for 287 yards against the Montréal Alouettes, to set a single game CFL record. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1961 State Visit - Urho Kekkonen President of Finland starts six-day visit to Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1962 Disaster - Collision between TCA Viscount and RCAF fighter kills 2, injures 5 over Bagotville. Bagotville, Québec
  • 1964 Olympics - Canadian team joins 92 other nations at the opening of the 18th Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo; total of 5,140 athletes compete until Oct. 24. Canada will take home one gold medal (Coxless pairs: George Hungerford, Roger Jackson); two silver (Judo: Plus 80 kilograms: Doug Rogers; and Track and Field: 800 m: Bill Crothers); and one bronze (Track and Field: 100 m: Harry Jerome). Tokyo, Japan
  • 1964 NHL All-Stars beat Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in the 18th National Hockey League All-Star Game, played at Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1964 Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Québec marred by demonstrations; police wield nightsticks to break up crowds; called le Samedi de la Matraque. Québec, Québec
  • 1965 Cartography - Yale University historians introduce the Vinland Map as being the First known map of America, drawn in about 1440 to illustrate a book of journeys by Norse explorer Lief Eriksson; in fact, if authentic, it is the First known map of a part of Canada, in that is shows Labrador and the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland; however in 1974, ink analysis by Walter McCrone showed the New World portions may be a forgery, although Yale historians still insist it may be genuine. New Haven, Connecticut See: The Vinlanda Mystery Map
  • 1969 Elections - Manitoba cuts voting age in provincial elections from 21 to 18. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1970 October Crisis - Chronology of this day: 5:30 pm - Québec government refuses to free Front de Libération du Québec prisoners; 5:45 pm - Government rejects other FLQ conditions; 6:00 pm - Québec Justice Minister Jérôme Choquette opens a news conference to announce that the government is refusing to negotiate with FLQ terrorists; 6:18 pm - Québec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte is kidnapped by an FLQ cell while playing football with his son outside his suburban home in St-Hubert, Québec; 7:10 pm - intense police activity around Montréal as the search begins for Laporte. Montréal, Québec - (CBC Achives)
  • 1971 Réal Caouette re-elected Leader of the Crédit Social (Ralliement des créditistes). Québec
  • 1972 Women - PEI Premier Alex Campbell appoints Jean Canfield minister responsible for the PEI Housing Authority; First woman cabinet minister in Prince Edward Island history. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1973 Pierre Trudeau starts six-day visit to China, where he meets with Chairman Mao Tse-Tung; First visit by a Canadian Prime Minister. China
  • 1973 Energy - $200 million oil refinery at Come By Chance starts production; capacity of 100,000 barrels a day. Come By Chance, Newfoundland
  • 1974 Cycling - Canadian cyclist John Hathaway begins a two year world cycle trip of 81,500 km.
  • 1975 Canadian Wheat Board sells the Soviet Union up to $100 million of grain. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1978 Women - Female pages are hired for the House of Commons for the First time. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1979 Hockey - Morris Lukowich scores the First NHL goal for the Winnipeg Jets; in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1979 Hockey - Québec Nordiques Réal Cloutier scores three goals in the Nordiques’ First game in the NHL; his hat trick a League record for a First game; Nordiques still lose 5-3 to Atlanta Flames. Québec, Québec
  • 1986 Crime - Mafia boss Frank Cotroni arrested in Montreal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1992 Constitution - Ottawa releases legal text of The Charlottetown Accord; some changes to Senate and native rights; not yet signed or legally binding. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 k. d. laing hit song Constant Craving peaks at #38 on the Billboard pop singles chart; Alberta country singer. New York, New York
  • 1996 Keith Milligan sworn in as Premier of Prince Edward Island; former silver fox fur farmer chosen Liberal leader October 5, 1996, after resignation of Catherine Callbeck. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 2004 Diplomacy - Prime Minister Paul Martin arrives in Russia for two days of talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and others. Moscow, Russia
  • 2005 Education - Strike by British Columbia teachers closes down 40,000 schools, affecting 600,000 students; will end October 24. BC
  • 2006 October 11 – Cinema - Media reports that film “Bon Cop, Bad Cop” has beaten “Porky’s” to become the top-grossing Canadian film of all time in domestic box office; numbers later disputed as not having taken inflation into account.
  • 2007 Ontario general election won by Dalton McGuinty’s governing Liberals.
  • 2008 Crime - Start of British Columbia pipeline bombings: bomber sends message to local media outlets warning oil and gas companies to leave the area: “We will no longer negotiate with terrorists which you are as you keep endangering our families with crazy expansion of deadly gas wells in our home lands”.