Highlights of the day

  • 1817 The Bank of Montréal opens its first branch and trades its first shares.
  • 1999 Beverley McLachlin first woman appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

List of Facts for November 3

  • 1634 Religion - Father Jérôme Lalemant baptizes Matchonon, a 25 year old Huron. Québec, Québec
  • 1644 Martin Prevost marries Manitouabewich; First religious marriage between French-Canadian and an Aboriginal woman; the newly married couples are given a cow, bull and a hog. Québec, Québec
  • 1653 Treaty - The Iroquois League signs a peace treaty with the French, vowing not to wage war with other tribes under French protection; some Mohawks, Oneidas and Onondagas continue to fight on in spite of the treaty of Neutrality. Québec, Québec
  • 1655 Oliver Cromwell turns over ownership of Acadia to Thomas Temple, William Crowne and Charles de La Tour who was a knight baronet of Nova Scotia; La Tour was required to pay debts he ran up in Boston and to help pay for the garrisons that Robert Sedgwick left in Acadia after taking the forts there. London, England
  • 1657 Genevieve Skanudharoua dies at Québec a few hours after taking holy vows; daughter of Huron chief the First Native woman to enter religious life. Québec, Québec
  • 1662 Pierre des Monts returns to France after leaving a garrison of 100 soldiers at Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - Richard Montgomery captures Fort St. John after two day siege; continues up the Richelieu River from Lake Champlain toward Montréal. St-Jean, Québec
  • 1815 Robert Semple leaves Colin Robertson in charge of the Red River Colony. Selkirk, Manitoba
  • 1817 Banking - The Bank of Montréal opens its First branch and trades its First shares; the bank will open agencies in London and New York in 1818, and be incorporated (chartered) three years later, on December 20, 1820, by English and French merchants. BMO is the oldest continuously operating bank in North America. Montréal, Québec
  • 1838 Rebellion of 1837 - Hunters Lodges (Frères Chasseurs) mobilize in towns around Montréal such as Beauharnois, Ste-Martine, St-Mathias and St-Constant (where they disarmed a body of Loyalists); the Hunters were republican rebels backed by American sympathizers, who wanted to keep the revolution alive. Québec
  • 1843 Capital - Montréal chosen as the capital of the Province of Canada, and the seat of Parliament. Montréal, Québec
  • 1869 Football - Founding of the Hamilton Foot Ball Club; the rugby football club will later evolve into the Hamilton Tigers; origin of today’s CFL Hamilton Tiger Cats. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1873 Police - First 150 North West Mounted Police (NWMP) recruits sworn in at Lower Fort Garry after arduous overland journey from the east; training begins for their march westward in 1874; recruited by the militia from Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Selkirk, Manitoba
  • 1873 Pacific Scandal - John A. Macdonald defends himself against the Pacific Scandal charges in a 5 hour speech to parliament; he resigns two days later. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1892 First Calgary and Edmonton Railway (C&ER) train arrives on the southern branch at Mekastoe (Macleod West). Alberta
  • 1900 Smelting - Dominion Copper Company contracts to have a smelter built in Boundary Creek region; cancelled in 1901. BC
  • 1904 Federal Election - Seven Liberals and three Conservatives are elected by the NWT in the last general election before the province of Saskatchewan is created. Saskatchewan
  • 1904 Federal Election - Wilfrid Laurier wins landslide in 10th general election, defeating Robert Borden’s Conservatives; re-elected with a majority of 64 seats; 138 seats to 75 for the Conservatives; Henri Bourassa one of the new MPs elected for the Liberals. Canada
  • 1908 Religion - Roman Catholic Church declares that it will no longer consider Canada as a country for missionary activities. Vatican City, Italy
  • 1918 First World War - Austria signs an armistice with the Allies, a prelude to the German surrender November 11, 1918. Vienna, Austria
  • 1930 Transport - Opening of the auto tunnel to Detroit, the world’s First vehicular tunnel from one country to another. Windsor, Ontario
  • 1937 Hockey - NHL All-Stars beat Montréal Canadiens 6-5 in the Howie Morenz Memorial Game, the First NHL All-Star game (the regular annual games begin after the war, in 1947). Montréal, Québec
  • 1941 Second World War - US Lend-Lease Act becomes law; cash and carry provisions of Neutrality Act of 1939 changed to permit direct transfer of munitions to Allies, especially Canada and Britain. Washington, DC ‘1943 - November 3 - Second World War - Fire - US freighter Volunteer, carrying explosives, catches fire in Halifax harbour; courage of navy men saves city from disaster. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1944 Second World War - Japanese begin launching unmanned, unguided balloon bombs at North America; with incendiary devices to start west coast forest fires. Japan
  • 1950 Canada’s Hank Snow has a #1 Billboard country hit with his single, I’m Moving On. New York, New York
  • 1951 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens star Maurice Richard gets his 300th goal in his 481st NHL game. Montréal, Québec
  • 1952 Invention - US Baker Clarence Birdseye markets his First frozen peas; learned the technique of flash freezing from Labrador Inuit. Chester, New York
  • 1956 immigration - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sends First request to Canada to accept Hungarian refugees fleeing the revolution and Soviet invasion. Geneva, Switzerland
  • 1957 Energy - National Research Unit nuclear reactor starts operation at Chalk River; one of world’s most advanced nuclear reactors to be used for research into power generation, production of plutonium and manufacture of radioactive isotopes for use in medicine, industry and food preservation. Deep River, Ontario
  • 1959 Jean-Paul Desbiens publishes the First of his Frère Untel (Brother Anonymous) letters in Québec newspapers, member of the Marist order of brothers and a teacher, Desbiens later published his writing in a book, Les Insolences du Frère Untel, describing the failure of the Québec school system; helped influence Québec’s Quiet Revolution. Montréal, Québec
  • 1959 Diplomacy - Paul Tremblay appointed Canada’s Ambassador to Chile. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1960 Constitution - Opening of second federal-provincial constitutional conference on amendment of the BNA Act. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Military - Defence Minister Paul Hellyer announces disbanding of almost 60 militia units. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Diplomacy - Department of External Affairs closes 3 Canadian missions in Latin America, and in Cambodia, Laos, Cyprus, and West Berlin; cost-cutting measure. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1973 Hockey - Chicago forward Stan Mikita registers his 1,000 career NHL point in the Black Hawks 5-4 loss to the Minnesota North Stars; born in Czechoslovakia and brought up in St. Catherines, Ontario, he played for Chicago 1958-80. Chicago, Illinois
  • 1974 Winnipeg rock group Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) have a #1 Billboard hit with their single You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet/ Free Wheelin. New York, New York
  • 1975 Housing - Ottawa announces program to make more low and medium-cost housing available through the CMHC. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1981 Energy - Dome Petroleum finds huge new oil deposits in the Beaufort Sea; about 109 km north of the Mackenzie River delta. Inuvik, NWT
  • 1981 Taxation - Ontario government invokes closure to end debate in Legislature, to get access to tax funds; First time since 1874. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1981 Constitution - René Lévesque and seven anglophone provinces try to get a compromise agreement to permit the federal government to act with unanimity in the patriation of the BNA Act. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Justice - Allan Legere convicted of four counts of First-degree murder in the beating deaths of three women and a Catholic priest during a reign of terror in the Miramachi region after his 1989 jail break; will file a hand-written appeal few days later. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1991 Toronto rocker Neil Young reunites with Crosby, Stills & Nash before 300,000 people in a free concert in Golden Gate Park in memory of rock promoter Bill Graham; others include Grateful Dead; Joan Baez; Santana; and Journey. San Francisco, California
  • 1995 Frank Stronach takes home annual pay packet of $47.3 million (Canadian) from auto parts maker Magna International, by far a Canadian record. Markham, Ontario
  • 1995 Media - House of Commons passes bill to prevent foreign magazines from publishing split-run regional editions in Canada to attract advertising; bill passes Senate December 14, 1995. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Media - Thomson Corp announces sale of its last British newspaper property; had owned 66 newspapers at the beginning of 1995. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1995 Basketball - Toronto Raptors beat the New Jersey Nets 94-79 at SkyDome, and Vancouver Grizzlies thump the Portland Trail Blazers 92-80 on opening night; First games for Canada’s new NBA expansion teams. Toronto, Ontario Vancouver, BC
  • 1996 Human Rights - Government accepts resignation of Québec’s Lieutenant Governor Jean-Louis Roux, after revelations he wore a swastika while a student. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1996 Québec pop diva Céline Dion wins 7 Félix awards at the 18th Gala de L’ADISQ. Montréal, Québec
  • 1997 Military - Canada destroys the last land mines in its arsenal. Canada
  • 1999 Beverley McLachlin First woman appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada; sworn in January 7, 2000. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2010 Historian Desmond Morton wins the 2010 Pierre Berton Award. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2010 British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell announces that he will stepping down as Premier in the new year. Vancouver, BC
  • 2010 Harper government rejects $40 billion takeover bid by Australian giant BHP Billiton for the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan. Ottawa, Ontario