Highlights of the day

  • 1936 Creation of La Société Radio-Canada (SRC), the french counterpart of the CBC.
  • 1993 Jean Chrétien sworn in as Canada’s 20th Prime Minister, replacing Kim Campbell.
  • 1995 RADARSAT launched; Canada’s first earth-observation satellite.

List of Facts for November 4

  • 1673 Religion - Blessing of the Chapel of the Hurons at l’Ancienne-Lorette. Ancienne-Lorette, Québec
  • 1776 American Revolutionary War - Loyalist groups join the British fleet at Crown Point on Lake Champlain. Ticonderoga, New York
  • 1797 Robert Bouchette appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada; also administrator of Lower Canada from July 30, 1799 until November 29, 1808. Québec
  • 1804 Fur Trade - The XY Company merges with North West Company on a 100-share basis. Montréal, Québec
  • 1809 Transport - Brewer and banker John Molson arrives at Québec City on the maiden voyage of his steamboat Accommodation, the First on the St. Lawrence River; charges $8 for the 66 hour trip from Montréal. Québec, Québec
  • 1830 Education - Rebellion of the students of the Collège de Montréal, including a young firebrand from the Richelieu Valley, George-Étienne Cartier. Montréal, Québec
  • 1834 Media - William Lyon Mackenzie publishes last issue of his newspaper, The Colonial Advocate. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1837 Rebellion of 1837 - Government issues proclamation banning military drill in Québec and Montréal. Québec, Québec
  • 1837 Rebellion of 1837 - Les Fils de la Liberté (Sons of Liberty) hold a massive Patriote rally in Montréal on the Place d’Armes; a riot breaks out when members of the English Doric Club, determined to ‘crush rebellion in the bud’, throw a hail of stones at the rebels, who fight back; Chevalier de Lorimier and Thomas Storrow Brown are seriously injured in the street fighting; under the eye of the militia, the English youths roam the streets and demonstrate in front of the house of Louis-Joseph Papineau. Montréal, Québec
  • 1838 Rebellion of 1837 - Governor John Colborne declares martial law as Robert Nelson and Cyrille Côté lead a second rebellion in Lower Canada. Montréal, Québec
  • 1838 Rebellion of 1837 - Robert Nelson establishes himself at Napierville with 700 men; he again issues a declaration of independence and is once more proclaimed President of the Provisional Republic of Lower Canada. Napierville, Québec
  • 1838 Rebellion of 1837 - Cyrille Côté and a hundred Patriotes from Châteauguay under the command of Joseph Cardinal, Joseph Duquet and François Lepailleur attack Caughnawaga looking for arms while the Mohawks attend church; the Iroquois counterattack and beat back the rebels, taking Cardinal and Duquet prisoner. Kanawake, Québec
  • 1864 Confederation - Antoine-Aimé Dorion and the Parti Rouge party start an anti-Confederation campaign, in a letter to the electors, Dorion calls the agreement ‘poison’ and ‘a calamity’. Montréal, Québec
  • 1873 Justice - Ambroise Lépine sentenced to death for role in execution of Thomas Scott during the Red River Rebellion; sentence commuted and he serves two years in jail. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1879 Legal - Supreme Court of Canada rules that only the Queen or Governor-General can appoint Queen’s Counsels (QCs). Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1889 Education - First teacher training sessions in Saskatchewan are held at Moosomin Union School. Moosomin, Saskatchewan
  • 1892 Justice - Honoré Mercier acquitted in Baie des Chaleurs Railway bribery scandal, after being removed from office for bribery by Lieutenant Governor Auguste Angers; former Premier of Québec will be reelected in Bonaventure, and serves until his death October 30, 1894. Québec, Québec
  • 1899 NWT Election - Fourth election of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. Saskatchewan
  • 1909 Blairmore Enterprise begins publication. Blairmore, Alberta
  • 1914 First World War - Mobilization of the 21st Battery of Artillery of Montréal, for service in France. Montréal, Québec
  • 1915 Medicine - Opening of tuberculosis sanitarium/hospital in Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1917 Sister Ste. Thérèse of the Grey Nuns dies; founder of St. Boniface General Hospital and St. Mary’s Academy. St. Boniface, Manitoba
  • 1920 Media - Canadian Marconi’s radio station XWA licensed as CFCF Montréal; broadcasts First commercial radio show; station started in December, 1919; reputedly the oldest in the world. Montréal, Québec
  • 1936 Media - Creation of La Société Radio-Canada (SRC), the french counterpart of the CBC. Montréal, Québec
  • 1941 Politics - Tory House Leader R. B. Hanson criticizes government for not introducing a wartime price freeze bill. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1943 Toronto-born actor Walter Huston stars in Samuel Goldwyn’s film The North Star, with Dana Andrews and Ann Baxter. New York, New York
  • 1952 Korean War - Chinese launch offensive against Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Korea. Korea
  • 1952 Fruitvale incorporated as a Village. Fruitvale, BC
  • 1953 Media - Radio-Canada starts broadcasting La Famille Plouffe by Roger Lemelin; the series is Québec’s First téléroman and will be translated into English. Montréal, Québec
  • 1956 Media - Journalist René Lévesque debuts in new Radio-Canada public affairs show, Point de Mire. Montréal, Québec
  • 1956 Diplomacy - External Affairs Minister Lester Pearson proposes a UN police force for Suez, to separate Egypt from the invading French, British, and Israelis. The United Nations implements his international emergency force scheme, and it becomes the model for all later UN peacekeeping actions. United Nations, New York
  • 1959 Science - National Research Council signs agreement with Soviet Academy of Science for exchange of scientists. Moscow, Russia
  • 1959 Ottawa pop star Paul Anka has a #1 Billboard hit with his single, Put Your Head on My Shoulder. New York, New York
  • 1960 Penal - Justice Minister Davie Fulton announces 15-year rehabilitation program for prisoners in federal penitentiaries. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1966 Aviation - Start of direct air service to Moscow by TCA and Aeroflot. Montréal, Québec
  • 1969 Environment - Opening of First Conference of the Users of the Great Lakes at Toronto; to discuss pollution. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1969 Task Force on Government Information Services recommends forming of Information Canada; to coordinate all government information services. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1970 New St. Lawrence River bridge upstream from Québec City renamed the Pont Pierre-Laporte, to honour the former lawyer, Québec Labour Minister and Le Devoir correspondent Pierre Laporte 1921-1970, kidnapped and killed by FLQ terrorists. Ste-Foy, Québec
  • 1971 Canadian Transport Commission outlines plans to merge CN and CP passenger service by 1973; origin of VIA Rail Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Canadian country rock group The Band’s single, Don’t Do It, peaks at #34 on the Billboard pop charts. New York, New York
  • 1977 Canadian country rock group The Band’s documentary film ‘The Last Waltz’ is released. New York, New York
  • 1977 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers move to the new Northlands Coliseum. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1978 Springhill, Nova Scotia-born Anne Murray’s single, You Needed Me, peaks at #1 on the Billboard pop charts. New York, New York
  • 1978 Greg Reeves, former bass player for Neil Young’s group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, sues the group for $1 million in unpaid back royalties. Los Angeles, California
  • 1981 Constitution - Pierre Trudeau and René Lévesque discuss holding a referendum on the BNA Act amending formula and Charter of Rights within two years; Lévesque later backs down, claiming a gang-up by the anglophone provinces. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1982 Justice - Ontario Supreme Court orders extradition of Canadian citizen Helmut Rauca to West Germany; charged in connection with murder of over 11,000 Lithuanian Jews in Second World War; First extradition of a Canadian accused of war crimes. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1983 Energy - Atomic Energy of Canada sells Turkey a Candu nuclear reactor worth over $1 billion. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Washington Capitals get their First NHL overtime victory, beating the Vancouver Canucks 5-4. Vancouver, BC
  • 1985 Canadian Red Cross starts testing donated blood for HIV, the syndrome linked to the AIDS virus; some tainted blood is already in the system, so thousands of Canadians will contract HIV and Hepatitis. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Jean Doré re-elected Mayor of Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1990 Brian Mulroney offers apology to Canadians of Italian origin forced to live in internment camps during Second World War; earlier apology to Japanese Canadians. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Diplomacy - External Affairs Minister Barbara McDougall bans Canadian trade with Haiti to protest Sept 30 overthrow of government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Kingston, Ontario-born Bryan Adams’ single, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, peaks at #1 on the Billboard pop charts. New York, New York
  • 1992 George Klein dies at age 88; prolific inventor worked for National Research Council for 40 years; led team that designed First nuclear reactor, gear design of Canadarm. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Hockey - Trois-Rivières, Québec goaltender Manon Rhéaume signs with the Atlanta Knights of the IHL; the 20-year-old becomes the First woman to sign a professional hockey contract; she suits up for a game on Nov. 6, but doesn’t play. Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1993 Jean Chrétien sworn in at Rideau Hall as Canada’s 20th Prime Minister, replacing Kim Campbell; among his new Cabinet are six women, Sheila Copps, Sheila Finestone, Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Diane Marleau, Christine Stewart and Anne McLellan. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Space - RADARSAT earth observation satellite launched aboard a Delta-II; Canada’s First non-communication satellite launched since 1971; Canada’s first earth-observation satellite. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1996 Strike - Thirty out of 45 Québec CÉGEPs or community colleges go on strike. Québec
  • 2003 Literature - Kenyan-born former physicist M.G. Vassanji is awarded this year’s Giller Prize, Canada’s most lucrative literary award; takes home C$25,000 prize for his novel, “The In-Between World of Vikram Lall.
  • 2004 Immigration - Citizenship and Immigration Canada web traffic jumps sharply as many US Democratic Party supporters react to Bush victory in the American presidential election, and consider emigrating to Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2004 Marriage - Two couples file suit for same-sex marriage in Newfoundland and Labrador. after approval by the Assembly. St, John’s, Newfoundland
  • 2006 Frank Calder dies; aboriginal politician, first Status Indian to be elected to any legislature in Canada. Vancouver, BC
  • 2010 Politics - Environment minister Jim Prentice announces his retirement from politics; to take a position as vice chairman of CIBC, in January 2011. Ottawa, Ontario