Highlights of the day

  • 1875 Icelandic immigrants found the settlement of Gimli, Manitoba.
  • 1880 John A. Macdonald signs the final CPR contract with the syndicate of George Stephen.

List of Facts for October 21

  • 1637 First French child born at Three Rivers. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1647 Paul de Maisonneuve returns to France; his colonizing company had built a settlement on the island of Montréal in 1641. France
  • 1690 William Phips orders a retreat from Québec after being turned back in a skirmish on the Beauport Flats; had attacked Québec with 37 ships and 2,200 men from Massachusetts, but Count Frontenac refused to surrender, and his shelling of the town had little effect. Beauport, Québec
  • 1754 Jonathan Belcher appointed First Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1792 William Broughton navigates the Columbia River upstream; claims area for Britain; in brig Chatham. Oregon
  • 1802 David Thompson explores west from mouth of Lesser Slave River and Lesser Slave Lake toward the forks of the Peace River. Alberta
  • 1811 War of 1812 - George Prevost appointed Governor-in-Chief of British North America; serves from July 15, 1812 to May 4, 1814. London, England
  • 1813 War of 1812 - US Major-General Wade Hampton crosses the border into Canada with a force of 3000 men on the way to capture Montréal; Québec light militia (voltigeurs) under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles-Michel de Salaberry erect a barricade where they expect Hampton to cross the Châteauguay River; will do battle October 26, 1813. Québec
  • 1814 Fur Trade War - Miles Macdonell orders the Nor’Westers to quit their posts throughout Assiniboia - HBC territory. Manitoba
  • 1864 Québec Conference - Bachelors Ball held at the Québec Parliament for the delegates to the Québec Conference. Québec, Québec
  • 1870 Lieutenant-governor Adams Archibald appoints First three members of the First Executive Council and Legislative Council of the NWT and Rupert’s Land. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1874 NWMP force recrosses Prairies to Swan River barracks at Pelly; others continue on to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pelly, Saskatchewan
  • 1875 Icelandic immigrants found the settlement of Gimli. Gimli, Manitoba
  • 1876 First shipment of western wheat to Eastern Canada arrives from Manitoba. Sarnia, Ontario
  • 1876 Steele Brothers millers of Toronto purchases the First Manitoba grain exports. Sarnia, Ontario
  • 1878 John Labatt’s India Pale Ale wins a gold medal at the International Exposition. Labatt devised the recipe for the light-colored ale at his brewery in London, Ontario. Paris, France
  • 1880 Rail - John A. Macdonald signs the final Canadian Pacific Railway contract with the syndicate of George Stephen, J.J. Hill, J.S. Kennedy, R.B. Angus and Donald A. Smith, providing a subsidy of $25 million dollars in cash and 25 million acres of land in return for completion of the line within 10 years and a guarantee that the Company would operate the railway ‘efficiently’ forever. Macdonald was feeling his age, and thought the line would not be completed in his lifetime. However, five years later, on November 7, 1885, Donald A. Smith, his old enemy, drove home the Last Spike at Craigellachie, BC, and a few years after that, Macdonald himself took his wife Agnes on a summer trip across Canada on the CPR. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1882 Founding of the Canadian Rugby Football Union; shortly after formation of Québec Rugby Football Union in Montréal, the First league in Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1887 Premiers Conference - Québec Premier Honoré Mercier hosts a grand banquet to close the First Interprovincial Premiers Conference; the five premiers adopted 21 resolutions, including one for free trade with the US; John A. Macdonald declined to attend. Québec, Québec
  • 1899 George Ross sworn in as Premier of Ontario, replacing Arthur Hardy. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1899 Rail - C&W Railway steel reaches Greenwood, BC.
  • 1902 Joseph-Israël Tarte resigns his seat in Parliament. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1909 Isaac Stringer Anglican Bishop of the Yukon and a companion stumble into an Athabascan village after being lost in the wilderness for 51 days; left for Dawson City, Yukon in early September, and started a canoe trip down the Bell River, but when the river froze they abandoned their canoe and set off across the mountains back to Fort McPherson; got lost in fog and snow, ran out of ammunition, and by October 17, 1909, they were reduced to eating the soles of the Bishop’s sealskin boots. Fort McPherson, NWT
  • 1909 Mont-Laurier incorporated as a town. Mont-Laurier, Québec
  • 1911 Football - Delegates from the Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta rugby football leagues form the Western Canada Rugby Football Union. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1912 Seventh International Dry Farming Congress opens in Lethbridge. Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1914 First World War - Mobilization of the 22nd Battalion of Infantry of St. Jean, for service in France. St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec
  • 1914 First World War - Mobilization of the 23rd Battalion of Infantry of Québec, for service in France. Québec, Québec
  • 1918 Canadian Northern Railway opens the Mount Royal Tunnel for regular train traffic; today a commuter line operated by VIA Rail. Montréal, Québec
  • 1918 Charles Fitzpatrick sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of Québec; former Mayor of Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1918 Diplomacy - Government appoints Canadian commercial commission for Siberia; based at Vladivostok; will rescue White Russians from the Revolution and protect Canadian property. Vladivostok, Russia
  • 1926 Magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, performing in Montréal, invites a McGill University student to punch him hard in the stomach; the young man complies before Houdini has a chance to brace himself, and the blow leads to his death ten days later from internal bleeding. Montréal, Québec
  • 1931 Alexander McPhail dies; farmer, farm leader, businessman, leading organizer of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. Saskatchewan
  • 1941 Second World War - HMCS The Pas is commissioned. Esquimalt, BC
  • 1941 British Columbia Election - John Hart elected Conservative Premier of British Columbia; after the election, a Coalition government was formed by the Conservative and Liberal members; Liberal Party leader Duff Pattullo objected, stepped down, and sat as a Liberal. Victoria, BC
  • 1942 Gordon Conant sworn in as Premier of Ontario, succeeding Mitch Hepburn. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1943 Second World War - RCN Bangor Class minesweeper HMCS Chedabucto sinks after a night collision with the cable vessel Lord Kelvin, 50 km from Rimouski; one officer is lost. Rimouski, Québec
  • 1944 Smokey Smith’s bravery on the Savio River will earn him the Victoria Cross. Italy
  • 1944 Second World War - Canadian Army troops occupy Breskens. Breskens, Netherlands
  • 1944 Second World War - Prime Minister Mackenzie King and 15 year old Hollywood starlet Shirley Temple kick off 7th Victory Loan campaign on Parliament Hill. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1945 British Columbia Election - John Hart leads Liberal/Progressive Conservative coalition to re-election in British Columbia. BC
  • 1949 Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Company opens the Baldy Mountain strip operation on Natal Ridge northwest of Michel, BC.
  • 1963 Energy - Canada and Britain agree to develop heavy water reactors using Canadian system of natural uranium. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1967 Protest - Groups demonstrate against war in Vietnam at US consulates in Toronto and other large Canadian cities. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1968 Pierre Trudeau dances with actress Louise Marleau after a gala, which sets tongues wagging. Montréal, Québec
  • 1969 Health - Ottawa bans use of artificial sweetener cyclamate; fear it is a carcinogen. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1970 October Crisis - Officials release report on the autopsy performed on the body of Québec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte, murdered by FLQ terrorists. Montréal, Québec
  • 1971 Ontario Election - Bill Davis leads PCs to an eighth consecutive majority in the provincial election. Ontario
  • 1974 State Visit - Pierre Trudeau starts two-day visit to France to discuss trade relations. Paris, France
  • 1975 Strike - 22,000 Canadian Union of Postal Workers (inside workers) start 43-day strike. Canada
  • 1976 Lachine, Québec born writer Saul Bellow wins the Nobel Prize for Literature; novels include Dangling Man (1944), The Adventures of Augie March (1953), Seize the Day (1956), Henderson the Rain King (1959), Herzog (1964), Mr. Sammler’s Planet (1970), Humboldt’s Gift (won 1975 Pulitzer Prize), The Dean’s December (1982), More Die of Heartbreak (1987) and The Bellarosa Connection (1989). Stockholm, Sweden
  • 1980 Constitution - Pierre Trudeau wins support of NDP for constitutional proposals; by agreeing to give provinces more control over natural resources. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1980 Gilbert Templeton dies; Canada’s ‘grand old medicine man’ peddled his patent medicines, T-R-C’s and Raz-Mahs on the radio. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1987 Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Dorval Airport; the following day she will make a speech praising the distinct character of Québec. Montréal, Québec
  • 1988 Canadian rock/folk musician Robbie Robertson’s album, ‘Robbie Robertson’ certified Gold. New York, New York
  • 1991 Saskatchewan Election - Roy Romanow wins NDP Majority in the provincial election, with 55 of 66 seats to Grant Devine’s 10; Liberals under Lynda Haverstock win 1. Saskatchewan
  • 1992 Baseball - Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jimmy Key wins Game 4 of the World Series 2-1 over the Atlanta Braves; Toronto’s third straight victory has them leading the series 3-1; relievers Duane Ward and Tom Henke snuff out late Atlanta rally. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1993 Baseball - Philadelphia’s Curt Schilling outpitches Toronto Blue Jays Juan Guzman 2-0 in Game 5 to send the World Series back to Toronto, Ontario. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1995 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens officially name Réjean Houle as General Manager of the NHL hockey team; Mario Tremblay head coach, assisted by trainer Yvan Cournoyer; all former players from the Stanley Cup winning glory days of the Habs. Montréal, Québec
  • 2003 Newfoundland Election - Danny Williams leads Conservatives to victory in the provincial election over Liberal Premier Roger Grimes. Newfoundland and Labrador
  • 2010 Crime - Russell Williams is sentenced to two terms of life in prison for the murders of two women; the former Canadian Forces Colonel and commandant of the Trenton air base was also charged with other crimes, including sexual assault. Belleville, Ontario October 21 - Symbol - Government of Canada announces that April 6 will be formally recognized as Tartan Day. The red, green and yellow plaid Maple Leaf Tartan incorporates the green of the leaves’ summer foliage, the gold which appears in early autumn, the red which appears with the coming of the first frost, and the brown tones of the fallen leaves. The plaid was created in 1964 by David Weiser in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of Confederation in 1967. The Second Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Pipes and Drums has adopted the Maple Leaf Tartan, and National Defence Headquarters has approved it for issue for Canadian Forces pipers and drummers who do not have a specific regimental affiliation. It was also featured in costumes worn during the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Ottawa, Ontario