Highlights of the day

  • 1861 US warship stops British steamer Trent off Cuba, removing two Confederate diplomats. War Office orders 18 troopships to Canada.
  • 1867 John A. Macdonald opens debate on Canada’s first Speech from the Throne.
  • 1946 Viola Desmond arrested for sitting in white section of Nova Scotia theatre.

List of Facts for November 8

  • 1603 Pierre de Monts gets royal commission to colonize Acadia as Governor, or Lieutenant General of New France after death of Aymar de Chaste; gets ten year monopoly of fur trade. Paris, France
  • 1620 Fur Trade - The Duc de Montmorency acquires the Prince de Condé’s commercial interests; discusses new company with Guillaume de Caen. Dieppe, France
  • 1622 Fur Trade - The Duc de Montmorency founds the Compagnie de Montmorency pour la Nouvelle France; unites the Rouen and de Caen companies in New France. Paris, France
  • 1634 Religion - Father Robert Giffard baptizes an Indian child of 6 months. Québec, Québec
  • 1811 War of 1812 - William Henry Harrison’s defeat of Tecumseh’s brother The Prophet and burning of Prophetstown drives Tecumseh’s allies into an alliance with the British and sparks the War of 1812. Prophetstown, Indiana
  • 1819 Fire - Huge forest fires in northern Ontario and Québec blacken midday skies between Québec City and Kingston. Ontario Québec
  • 1838 Lower Canada Rebellion - Cyrille Côté marches toward Odelltown, Québec with 600 Frères Chasseurs (Hunters Lodges), as martial law is declared in the province; traitors in the ranks try to capture Robert Nelson at Lacolle, but fail. Lacolle, Québec
  • 1838 Lower Canada Rebellion - George-Étienne Cartier and seven other exiled Patriotes return from Vermont on the promise of good behaviour. Montréal, Québec
  • 1844 Education - The Presbyterian Church opens Knox College in Toronto; today affiliated with the University of Toronto. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1861 Trent Crisis - Union Captain Charles Wilkes of the USS San Jacinto stops the British mail steamer Trent in the old Bahama Channel (off Cuba), removing two Confederate diplomats en route to Europe. With the threat of war, Lord John Russell wrote to Palmerston that we may now expect 40 or 50,000 Federal troops to invade Canada; there were only 4,300 British regulars in Canada, 2,100 of them stationed in Nova Scotia. The War Office immediately orders eighteen British transport ships loaded with men, arms and supplies to Canada. Bahamas
  • 1861 Christ Church Anglican in Hope is consecrated; designed by Captain J. M. Grant and raised by his Royal Engineers. Hope, BC
  • 1867 John A. Macdonald opens debate on the Speech from the Throne for the first sitting of the first Parliament of Canada; in session from November 6, 1867 until July 8, 1872. Ottawa, Ontario - Read it HERE
  • 1873 Winnipeg incorporated; originally known as Upper Fort Garry. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1889 Border - Montana, south of the Alberta/BC border, is admitted to the Union as the 41st state.
  • 1897 Shipping - The Kootenai River Transportation Company launches the steamboat J.D. Farrell onto the Upper Kootenay River at Jennings, Montana.
  • 1902 Rail - The Edmonton, Yukon, and Pacific Railway is connected to the CPR. Alberta
  • 1906 Religion - The First Union Church in Saskatchewan is established at Melville. Melville, Saskatchewan
  • 1913 Disaster - End of a two-day storm on the Great Lakes that sinks some thirty-four ships. Ontario
  • 1915 Education - The Supreme Court of Ontario rules that Regulation #17 is valid; bans the French language in Ontario schools past Grade 1. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1917 Media - Canada’s daily newspapers found the Canadian Press as a co-operative cross-Canada news gathering service called; CP sets up offices in the Maritimes, Ontario, Québec and BC. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1919 Robert Borden leaves Ottawa with a delegation to attend the Paris Peace Conference; Canada will sign the Treaty of Versailles. Versailles, France
  • 1920 Theatre - The Capitol Cinema opens in Ottawa; the capital’s only true movie palace. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1926 Theatre - Inaugural performance in Vancouver’s new Orpheum Theatre. Vancouver, BC
  • 1932 Maurice Duplessis becomes leader of Québec’s provincial Conservative Party, replacing Camillien Houde. Québec, Québec
  • 1935 Maurice Duplessis and Paul Gouin found the Union Nationale Party before the 1935 provincial election; in 1934 Gouin had established the Action Liberale Nationale, composed of Liberal reformers and nationalists; Duplessis had been leader of the provincial Conservatives since 1932; Gouin soon grows disenchanted with Duplessis, and leaves the coalition before the 1936 elections, which the UN wins, since most of Gouin’s followers stay with Duplessis. Québec, Québec
  • 1936 The Globe and the The Mail and Empire join to become Canada’s largest daily newspaper, The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1939 Adélard Godbout sworn in as Liberal Premier of Québec, replacing Conservative Maurice Duplessis. Québec, Québec
  • 1940 Symbols - Mackenzie King government appoints a joint committee of the Senate and House of Commons to recommend adopting a new Canadian national flag; 2,695 designs were submitted and on May 9, 1946, the committee will report back with a recommendation “that the national flag of Canada should be the Canadian red ensign with a maple leaf in autumn golden colours in a bordered background of white”. The Legislative Assembly of Quebec, however, had urged the committee to not include any “foreign symbols”, including the red ensign, and King declined to act on the report.
  • 1942 Second World War - German spy Werner Janowski lands from a U-boat U-518 at New Carlisle; he is arrested a day later by the local RCMP; Janowski is persuaded to become a double agent, feeding the Germans with false information. New Carlisle, Québec
  • 1942 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens’ Maurice Richard scores his First goal in his 3rd NHL game. Montréal, Québec
  • 1942 Second World War - Canadian warships help back Allied landings in Algeria and French Morocco; Operation Torch the first major seaborn invasion by the Allies.
  • 1942 Second World War - PEI native Capt Frederick Peters rams his cutter, HMS Walney into a line of of ships blocking access to Oran harbour during Operation Reservist (part of Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French North Africa); the attack, to prevent the Vichy French from sabotaging the harbour, is a failure; Peters is captured, badly wounded, but is released on November 10, 1942 when the French garrison surrenders. He is awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in face of point blank fire and the explosion of his ship, but is killed in a plane crash before the award ceremony. Oran, Algeria
  • 1943 Strike by metal workers ends at the Aluminium Company in Shawinigan Falls. Shawinigan, Québec
  • 1944 Second World War - The First Canadian Army is victorious in the Scheldt campaign; British and Canadian troops overcome Germans in Beveland and Walcheren. Scheldt, Netherlands See: Canadians Liberate the Netherlands
  • 1945 Flag - House of Commons debates creating a new Canadian flag to replace the Red Ensign. Ottawa, Ontario 1946- November 8 - Human Rights - Viola Desmond is arrested for sitting in the white section of a theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
  • 1952 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens’ Maurice Richard gets his 325th career goal in a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks; becomes the NHL’s all-time goal scorer in his 517th game played. Montréal, Québec
  • 1952 Chibougamau incorporated; a mining and forestry centre between Abitibi, Québec and Lac St-Jean, Québec. Chibougamau, Québec
  • 1952 Harold Innis dies; political economist, communications theorist born in Otterville, Ontario, November 5 1894; major works are The Fur Trade in Canada (1930), The Cod Fisheries (1940), Empire and Communications (1950). Innis had a strong influence on Marshall McLuhan Toronto, Ontario
  • 1955 Crime - RCMP seize 16 kg of pure heroin on a freighter at Pointe-au-Père. Pointe-au-Père, Québec
  • 1961 John Robarts sworn in as Conservative Premier of Ontario, succeeding Leslie Frost. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1962 Currency - Government orders Royal Canadian Mint to change the nickel victory coin back to a round shape. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 Federal Election - Lester Pearson wins re-election for the Liberals with 131 seats, to 97 PC; 21 CCF; 9 Creditistes, 5 Social Credit, 2 others; his second consecutive minority government. Canada
  • 1965 Pierre Trudeau first wins a seat in the House of Commons, as Liberal MP for Mount Royal; one of the Three Wise Men (les trois colombes) from Québec, with labour leader Jean Marchand and journalist Gérard Pelletier. He will hold the seat until 1984. Another Montréal area Liberal First elected is Warren Allmand, MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, who will hold the seat until February 24, 1997. Montréal, Québec
  • 1969 Blood Sweat and Tears And When I Die breaks into the Top 10 on the Billboard charts. New York, New York
  • 1969 Religion - Paul-Emile Léger resigns his post as Cardinal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1969 Shipping - Reinforced US oil tanker Manhattan stops at Halifax on return voyage through the North West Passage. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1971 Census - Metropolitan Montréal has a population of 2,720,413. Montréal, Québec
  • 1971 Hockey - NHL approves franchises in Long Island and Atlanta; Islanders and Flames begin play in the 1972-73 season. Montréal, Québec
  • 1974 Environment - Ontario report states that fish containing over one part per million of mercury may be health hazard. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1976 Burton Cummings starts solo career with concert at Manitoba Centennial Hall; former lead singer of the Guess Who. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1976 Farming - US-Canadian syndicate pays $235,000 for Hanover Hill Barb; highest price ever paid to date for a cow to that date. Oakville, Ontario
  • 1979 Terrorism - Jacques Lanctôt sentenced to 36 months in jail for FLQ activities in the 1960s and 1970s, including over 200 bombings; leader of the Liberation cell, based in Montréal, while the south shore gang (later the Chenier cell) was led by Paul Rose. Montréal, Québec
  • 1980 Environment - Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior escapes captors after being held on $140,000 bond for interfering with Spanish whaling ships at sea; port authorities had disabled the vessel, but the crew made repairs and fled to international waters. El Ferral, Spain
  • 1982 Dictionary of Newfoundland English published. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1983 State Visit - Pierre Trudeau meets leaders of France, Holland, Belgium, West Germany, Britain, and Pope John Paul II; on a farewell 3 day European peace mission. Europe
  • 1991 Diplomacy - Brian Mulroney says Canada will join European Community in imposing economic sanctions on Yugoslavia in an attempt to stop the Balkan civil war; attending NATO summit meeting; confirms alliance still needed; wife Mila Mulroney born in Croatia. Rome, Italy
  • 1991 Bryan Adams’s single, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, certified Gold. New York, New York
  • 1991 Hockey - Penguin Paul Coffey sets NHL scoring mark for defensemen with his 311th goal; born in Weston, Ontario, he previously played with the Edmonton Oilers, and in the 1990s will play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1991 Diplomacy - Brian Mulroney says Canada will join European Community in imposing economic sanctions on Yugoslavia in an attempt to stop the Balkan civil war; attending NATO summit meeting; confirms alliance still needed; wife Mila Mulroney born in Croatia. Rome, Italy
  • 1991 Bryan Adams’s single, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, certified Gold. New York, New York
  • 1991 Hockey - Penguin Paul Coffey sets NHL scoring mark for defensemen with his 311th goal; born in Weston, Ontario, he previously played with the Edmonton Oilers, and in the 1990s will play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1991 Diplomacy - Brian Mulroney says Canada will join European Community in imposing economic sanctions on Yugoslavia in an attempt to stop the Balkan civil war; attending NATO summit meeting; confirms alliance still needed; wife Mila Mulroney born in Croatia. Rome, Italy
  • 1991 Bryan Adams’s single, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, certified Gold. New York, New York
  • 1991 Hockey - Penguin Paul Coffey sets NHL scoring mark for defensemen with his 311th goal; born in Weston, Ontario, he previously played with the Edmonton Oilers, and in the 1990s will play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1991 Diplomacy - Brian Mulroney says Canada will join European Community in imposing economic sanctions on Yugoslavia in an attempt to stop the Balkan civil war; attending NATO summit meeting; confirms alliance still needed; wife Mila Mulroney born in Croatia. Rome, Italy
  • 1991 Bryan Adams’s single, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, certified Gold. New York, New York
  • 1991 Hockey - Penguin Paul Coffey sets NHL scoring mark for defensemen with his 311th goal; born in Weston, Ontario, he previously played with the Edmonton Oilers, and in the 1990s will play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1992 Media - Conrad Black’s Hollinger Inc. acquires Torstar’s 22.5% stake in Southam Inc. for $259 million; chain’s losses this year total $186 million; Southam owns 19 dailies, with sales of 1.5 million copies; also Coles Books stores (part of today’s Chapters Indigo). Toronto, Ontario
  • 1993 Marriage - Céline Dion announces her engagement to René Angélil, who had managed her career since January, 1981; he was formerly the manager of René Simard and Ginette Reno. Montréal, Québec
  • 1994 Crime - Radical anti-abortion sniper shoots and wounds a Vancouver abortion clinic doctor at his home. Vancouver, BC
  • 1995 Country Dick Montana, lead singer of the Beat Farmers, collapses and dies on stage during a concert at Whistler. Whistler, BC
  • 1998 Tennis - Montréal, Québec born tennis player Greg Rusedski downs No. 1 ranked Pete Sampras 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in the final of the Paris Open. Paris, France
  • 1999 Strike - Lockout of 2,000 BC waterfront workers disrupts trade valued at $60 million per day. Vancouver, BC