List of Facts for November 14

  • 1606 Samuel de Champlain and de Poutrincourt arrive back at Port Royal and are greeted with Marc Lescarbot’s masque, Le Théâtre de Neptune en la Nouvelle France, the First European drama produced in New France. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1736 Father Emmanuel Crespel shipwrecked on Anticosti Island. Anticosti Island, Québec
  • 1778 American Revolutionary War - George Washington writes Henry Laurens, president of the Continental Congress, that his French ally, the Marquis de Lafayette, a Major General in his army, wants to undertake a campaign against the English in Canada, to regain New France; Washington not sure he wants a European power to the South and North of the United States. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1805 Exporation - Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific at the mouth of the Columbia River and build Ft. Clatsop to overwinter. USA
  • 1835 Medicine - Opening of insane asylum at Saint John; Canada’s First insane asylum. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Battle of the Windmill - Colonel Henry Dundas arrives with four companies of the 83rd Regiment, two eighteen-pounders and a howitzer, to attack Republican Colonel Nils von Schoultz and his 200 Hunters in the windmill; 300 militia from Glengarry, Dundas and Grenville and a force of 70 British marines of the 93rd Regiment from Kingston join the siege; the rebels surrender on November 16. Prescott, Ontario
  • 1849 Capital - Toronto in Upper Canada (Canada West) becomes the new seat of the Union government; after a Tory mob had burned the Montréal parliament buildings. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1858 Sculpture - Monument set up in Côte-des-Neiges Cemetery to commemorate the Patriotes of 1837-38. Montréal, Québec
  • 1879 Military - Formation of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, later the 15th Armored Regiment, Duke of Connaught’s Hussars, in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1895 Harmony Co-operative Industrial Association organized at Hamona; First co-operative association in Saskatchewan. Hamona, Saskatchewan
  • 1898 Rail - CPR takes over Crow’s Nest Branch from Macleod, NWT., to Kootenay Lake in BC. Fort Macleod, Alberta
  • 1903 John Davidson dies in Neepawa, the town he founded in 1880. Neepawa, Manitoba
  • 1909 Joshua Slocum dies at sea on or after this date; ship’s captain, explorer, author, First man to sail solo around the world, born at Wilmot Township, Nova Scotia February 20, 1844; brought up at Westport, Brier Island. Slocum went to sea at 16, and served in merchant ships to Europe and the Far East; wrote Voyage of the Liberdade (1890), Voyage of the Destroyer (1894) and Sailing Alone Around the World (1900), about his epic 75,000 km voyage around the globe in a 13 ton oyster sloop, the Spray, from 1895 to 1898. Atlantic Ocean
  • 1919 Ernest Drury sworn in as UFO Premier of Ontario, replacing Conservative William Hearst. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1922 Bob Edwards dies in Calgary; editor and publisher of the Calgary Eye Opener, born at Edinburgh, Scotland, September 12, 1864. Edwards went into the newspaper business in the south of France, publishing an English-language newspaper on the Riviera; 1894 emigrated to Canada; 1897 started the weekly Free Lance in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, the First newspaper between Edmonton and Calgary; 1902 moved to High River, Alberta and started the Eye Opener, which he soon moved to Calgary, where he was known for his wit and his ability to skewer the famous and pompous; 1909 moved to Toronto, Montréal, Port Arthur, and Winnipeg, returning to Calgary in 1911; 1916 a recovered alcoholic, supported prohibition in the referendum; 1921 elected to the Alberta legislature as an Independent. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1929 Cinema - Empress Theatre in Macleod screens its First talking picture. Fort Macleod, Alberta
  • 1931 Currency - Ottawa Mint Act proclaimed; provides for an independent Canadian Mint, not merely a branch of the Royal Mint. London, England
  • 1938 Lions Gate Bridge opens for two way traffic to and from Stanley Park and North Vancouver, after one and a half years construction at a cost of $5.8 million; construction began on May 29. Vancouver, BC
  • 1945 Symbols - Flag debate in the Commons; future Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent urges keeping the Red Ensign. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1950 Farming - Junior farmer Ricky Sharpe wins the world wheat championship at the Royal Winter Fair; 13 year old from Munson, Alberta, a member of the Drumheller Junior Grain Club; his 18 lb sample of Marquis wheat was judged the finest. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1953 State Visit - US President Dwight D. Eisenhower addresses the Senate and House of Commons. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1955 Strike by 2,000 De Havilland Aircraft workers in Toronto ends after four months Toronto, Ontario
  • 1957 Pro Wrestling - Dick Hutton beats Lou Thesz at Maple Leaf Gardens, to become NWA wrestling champion. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1959 Football - University of Western Ontario Mustangs beat British Columbia 34-7 in the East-West championship before 2,500 people at Varsity Stadium; Western outrushes British Columbia 461 yards to 202, to take their First Canadian university football title. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1960 National Research Council announces formation of Medical Research Council. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1962 Québec Election - Jean Lesage re-elected Liberal Premier of Québec; under the slogan Maîtres chez nous - Masters in our Own House, coined by Natural Resources Minister René Lévesque. Québec
  • 1964 Hockey - Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings set an NHL record as he scored his 627th career goal in a game against Montréal Canadiens. Montréal, Québec
  • 1966 Strike - 5,200 Air Canada machinists and auxiliary workers start two-week strike; First in 29-year history. Montréal, Québec
  • 1967 Education - Ontario announces plans to consolidate 1,500 school boards into 100 county-size boards, by January 1, 1969. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1969 Strike - 16,000 Inco employees end 128-day strike. Sudbury, Ontario
  • 1969 Terrorism - Organizers cancel annual Santa Claus parade in Montréal due to increased violence in the city, and a civic law against demonstrations. Montréal, Québec
  • 1971 Football - University of Western Ontario Mustangs, under new coach Frank Cosentino, a former quarterback, win the First of four Canadian university titles in the 1970s, in a 15-14 squeaker over Alberta that saw quarterback Joe Fabiani’s 97-yard bomb to Terry Harvey; Western coach Johnny Metras retired after 30-year reign. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1972 Military - Canadian Armed Forces installs SAMSON (Strategic Automatic Message Switching Operation Network), for computer-controlled communications and message handling to bases in Europe. Lahr, Germany
  • 1973 Currency - Canada begins production of Olympic coins to help pay for the 1976 Summer Olympics awarded to Montréal. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1975 Olympics - Québec government creates the Régie Olympique; takes full control of finance and construction of main stadium for 1976 Summer Olympics; costs for the Big O were spiraling out of control. Montréal, Québec
  • 1975 Media - First broadcasts by Canada’s First community-based campus radio station, CKCU-FM, Carleton University. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1981 Rail - VIA Rail announces cuts to nearly 20% of its passenger services. Montréal, Québec
  • 1982 Jean Drapeau elected Mayor of Montréal for the 8th time. Montréal, Québec
  • 1982 Sport - Workers raise the inflatable roof of Vancouver’s BC Place, completing Canada’s First domed stadium. The stadium opens the following June. Vancouver, BC
  • 1983 Shipping - Commons ends 86-year-old Crowsnest Pass Agreement for grain freight rates; new railway rates raise costs for farmers but $3.7 billion will be put into rail upgrades. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1989 Labour - CP Rail starts cabooseless train operations; CN Rail follows on February 1, 1990. Montréal, Québec
  • 1991 Nellie Cournoyea sworn in as Government Leader of the Northwest Territories, replacing Dennis Patterson. Yellowknife, NWT
  • 1991 Sport - Ontario sells SkyDome to a consortium of 8 companies for $280 million in cash and tax breaks. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1992 Greg Curnoe dies after cycling collision with pickup truck near London, while riding his Mariposa bicycle with the London Centennial Wheelers cycling club; artist known for bicycle paintings, and mixed-media and print collage works; helped found the Nihilist Spasm Band in 1965, and the Forest City artist-run gallery in 1973; 1981 had a major retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada; major works include Kamekaze (1967), View of Victoria Hospital (1969-1971), Mariposa T.T. (1978-79) and Organic Pigments (1987). Strathroy, Ontario
  • 1994 Pierre Bourque elected the 39th Mayor of Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1997 Crime - Reena Virk, age 14, is beaten to death by classmates under a bridge near Victoria. Victoria, BC.
  • 1998 Politics - Former Prime Minister Joe Clark is selected as the new leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2003 Politics - Paul Martin elected Leader of the Liberal Party, capturing 3,242 of 3,455 votes; will succeed Jean Chrétien, who is retiring as Prime Minister. Ottawa Ontario December