Highlights of the day

  • 1867 Lord Monck reads first Speech from the Throne.
  • 1873 Alexander Mackenzie Canada’s 2nd Prime Minister
  • 1885 Donald Smith Drives in CPR Last Spike

List of Facts for November 7

  • 1678 Religion - Parish priests in New France required to keep careful parish records. Québec, Québec
  • 1760 Pontiac’s Resistance - Robert Rogers camps on Lake Erie to meet Pontiac, who agrees to submit to British rule. Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1795 Fur Trade - Edmonton House is completed by the HBC. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1810 Crime - Antoine Romaine put in a pillory for running a bawdy house. Québec, Québec
  • 1811 War of 1812 - Some argue that the War of 1812 began on this day, with William Henry Harrison’s attack on Tecumseh’s growing American Indian Confederation, at the Battle of Tippecanoe, or Prophetstown in present-day Indiana. Tecumseh’s Confederacy never regained its former strength. Public opinion in the United States blamed the Native American uprising on British interference. This suspicion served as a catalyst to the War of 1812, which began only six months later.
  • 1838 Lower Canada Rebellion - Cyrille Côté and his 600 Frères Chasseurs (Hunters Lodges) are attacked by Lower Canada militia; cannon fire causes them to disperse, leaving eight rebels dead; over 150 prisoners are rounded up. Lacolle, Québec
  • 1850 Education - Upper Canada School of Medicine affiliates with the University of Toronto. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1867 Governor General Lord Monck reads the Speech from the Throne in the First session of the new Parliament of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1873 John A. Macdonald, PM since July 1, 1867; Mackenzie in power to October 8, 1878. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1873 David Laird sworn in as Minister of the Interior. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1884 Calgary incorporated as a town. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1885 Donald A. Smith, later Lord Strathcona, drives home the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway at 9:21 am at Craigellachie, in the Eagle Pass. Craigellachie, BC
  • 1886 Fire starts at 6 am behind a feed store on Atlantic Avenue in Calgary (today’s 9th Avenue); quickly spreads out of control, burning four hotels, three warehouses and four stores; town council later recommends building civic and religious buildings out of sandstone instead of wood. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1886 Dr. John McLean dies; First Anglican Bishop of Saskatchewan. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1892 Shipping - Slocan Trading and Navigation Company launches steamboat William Hunter (51 tons) on Slocan Lake; scrapped in 1903. Slocan, BC
  • 1898 Alaska Boundary Crisis - Opening of second Alaska Boundary Conference, after meeting at Québec failed to come to a decision; will last until February 21, 1899. Washington, DC
  • 1900 Federal Election - Wilfrid Laurier wins a second consecutive majority, 133 seats to 80; re-elected as Liberal Prime Minister of Canada with a majority of the popular vote. Canada
  • 1900 Boer War - Troop of Canadian cavalrymen, 90 officers and men of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, supported by two guns of the Royal Canadian Field Artillery, cover retreat of British infantry column under attack by several hundred Boer horsemen near Leliefontein farm, East Transvaal; 3 dragoons killed, 11 wounded; three Canadians win the Victoria Cross, including Hampden Cockburn, Edward Holland and Lt. Richard Turner, wounded in the neck and arm; later Lieut-General Sir Richard Turner; Battle of Leliefontein, South African War. Leliefontain, South Africa - see Arthur Bishop, Saving the Guns in South Africa
  • 1902 Immigration - North-West Mounted Police near Minnedosa cut short a Doukhobor pilgrimage to find the Promised Land. Minnedosa, Manitoba
  • 1904 Urban - The Town of Edmonton becomes the City of Edmonton. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1907 Coinage - Test tokens struck for First issue of Canadian coins at the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1910 Military - Former Royal Navy light cruiser Rainbow arrives at Esquimalt to serve as a training and fisheries patrol vessel for the new Royal Canadian Navy; in July, 1914 the ship will persuade the Komagata Maru, with its load of illegal immigrants, to leave Vancouver harbour; at the outbreak of First World War in August, 1914 the ship will go on defensive patrols when German cruisers appear in the North Pacific; 1920 sold for scrap. Esquimalt, BC
  • 1913 Disaster - Start of a two-day storm on the Great Lakes that will sink some thirty-four ships. Ontario
  • 1914 Charlesbourg incorporated as a town. Charlesbourg, Québec
  • 1918 Diplomacy - Government establishes a Canadian Trade Mission in London. London, England
  • 1935 Football - Winnipeg Winnipegs beat the Hamilton Tigers, 18-12 in the 23rd Grey Cup. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1947 Atkinson Dredging Company of Vancouver begins operations few miles above Princeton; quits on November 8, 1949. Princeton, BC
  • 1948 Manitoba Election - Douglas Campbell elected Premier of Manitoba for the Liberals, replacing Stuart Garson. Manitoba
  • 1950 Korean War - Arrival of First contingent of Canadian troops to join the United Nations force in Korea. Pusan, Korea
  • 1957 BC Premier W. A. C. Bennett opens $4 million West Arm Bridge at Nelson, BC.
  • 1961 Woodrow Lloyd sworn in as Premier of Saskatchewan, succeeding Tommy Douglas; serves until 1964; he inherits the NDP’s universal government health plan, and after a bitter fight, and the withdrawal of doctors’ services on July 1, 1962, negotiates a settlement on July 23, 1962. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1962 Hockey - Blackhawks goalie Glenn Hall forced to leave a game against the Boston Bruins with a back injury in the First period, during his 503rd consecutive complete game; an NHL record; streak began at the start of the 1955-56 season. Hall played in parts or all of 18 seasons (1952-53, 1954-1971) in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. Chicago, Illinois
  • 1967 Resources - Supreme Court of Canada rules that under the BNA Act, offshore mineral rights on the west coast belong to Ottawa and not BC. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Taxation - Finance Minister Edgar Benson tables tax reform legislation; brings in tax on capital gains with incentives to hold Canadian shares. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Gambling - Manitoba sets up lottery in conjunction with Manitoba Derby, to be run on July 15, 1970. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1971 Media - Radio Canada International inaugurates two new 250 kW transmitters which are five times more powerful than the existing units; this significantly improves RCI’s broadcast signal quality in Europe and Africa; three additional units will be added this year and next to give RCI almost complete global coverage. Montréal, Québec
  • 1971 State Visit - Yugoslav President Josip Tito makes his first visit to Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1975 Bill Hawrelak dies; Mayor of Edmonton. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1976 Politics - André Fortin elected Leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada. Montréal, Québec
  • 1978 Anne Murray’s single, You Needed Me, hits #1 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1981 James Lee sworn in as Progressive Conservative Premier of Prince Edward Island, succeeding Angus MacLean. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1982 Football - Edmonton Eskimos Warren Moon passes for 341 yards against the Regina Roughriders to become First pro quarterback to complete 5,000 passing yards in a season; exceeded 5,000 in 1983. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1988 Media - Sun Publishing acquires the Ottawa Herald newspaper and relaunches it as the daily Ottawa Sun. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Hugh MacLennan dies at age 83; the Nova Scotia native, author of such novels as Barometer Rising, Two Solitudes and The Watch That Ends The Night, won the Governor General’s Literary Award five times. Montréal, Québec
  • 1991 Gun Control - Justice Minister Kim Campbell passes gun control law 189-14; bans import of military assault guns; age of ownership from 16 to 18; also waiting period; storage regulations; smaller clips. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 John Ostashek sworn in as government leader of the Yukon, replacing Tony Penikett. Whitehorse, Yukon
  • 1992 Polling - The Angus Reid Southam poll says majority of Canadians want unity; only 38% in Québec want separation; most want 5 year moratorium on talks; poll taken week after referendum. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1992 Awards - Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn inaugurates the National Arts Centre Award to honour an outstanding contribution to Canadian culture by any individual performer or group in the previous year; First winner is filmmaker Norman Jewison. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1994 Jean Doré announces he is retiring from civic politics and as Mayor of Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1994 Tornado roars through Charlebois region, killing an estimated 1 million trees. Charlebois, Québec
  • 1997 Strike - Five unions representing 126,000 Ontario teachers end strike against reforms put forward by Mike Harris government; largest teacher strike ever in North America started October 27, 1997. Ontario
  • 2007 Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party defeats Lorne Calvert’s NDP in the general election in Saskatchewan.