Today’s Features

  • 1784 Thomas Carleton arrives at Parrtown as First Governor; proclaims the new Province of New Brunswick.
  • 1921 King George V proclaims Canada’s Coat of Arms, with white and red as the official Canadian colours.
  • 1988 Brian Mulroney wins second majority for PCs with 170/295 seats (43.3% pop vote); the Free Trade election

List of Facts for November 21

  • 1642 Education - Welfare - Opening of First home for girls in Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1648 Religion - First Ursuline nun born in New France takes her vows; the order came to Canada in 1639 with Marie de l’Incarnation. Québec, Québec
  • 1694 Health - Opening of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1737 Religion - Marguerite d’Youville welcomes her First protege to the Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns); ten years later they will take over the Hôpital Général de Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1763 James Murray officially appointed Governor-in-Chief of Québec; serves from August 13, 1764 to May 12, 1768; was former military Governor; clashed with the British and Yankee merchants who swarmed into Québec, because he would not violate his promises to the French. Recalled to England in 1766 to face charges of partiality, he saw the charges dismissed, but never went back to Canada. Québec, Québec
  • 1784 Thomas Carleton arrives at Parrtown as First Governor to proclaim the new Province of New Brunswick; younger brother of Guy Carleton, defender of Québec against the Americans in 1775-76. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1817 Fire - St John’s suffers second disastrous fire in three weeks, after previous conflagration of November 7, 1817 and another February 12, 1816; 2,600 of a total population of 10,000 are made homeless. Other fires will level the city on June 9, 1846, and July 8, 1892, before proper water mains and pumps are finally installed. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1825 Theatre - Opening of the Theatre Royal in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1829 Media - Religion - Egerton Ryerson publishes First issue of the Christian Guardian, organ of the Methodist Church; origin of The United Church Observer. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1838 Rebellion - US government finally states that Americans entering Canada in violation of US Neutrality Act and other law will not be given protection when they return across the border; this effectively ends the activities of the Hunters Lodges, Frères chasseurs and other Republican factions. Washington, DC
  • 1856 Rail - The Grand Trunk Railway completes its last stretch from St. Mary’s, Ontario to Sarnia, adding 1,789 km of track to its 3,200 km of lines already in Canada; the line will go on to Chicago. Sarnia, Ontario
  • 1876 Communications - Kathleen Weldon, operator at the Humboldt station; is the First woman telegrapher in the NWT, as the western section of the Dominion Telegraph is completed. Humboldt, Saskatchewan
  • 1899 Auto - Verdun real estate agent U-H Dandurand invites Mayor Raymond Préfontaine for a drive in the first automobile to be seen on the streets of Montréal; an electric Crestmobile built in Boston by the New England Motor Carriage Company; Dandurand later bought a French gasoline powered De Dion-Bouton (now the property of the Musée du Chateau Ramezay). Montréal, Québec
  • 1902 Edward Prior sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, replacing James Dunsmuir; serves to June 1, 1903. Victoria, BC
  • 1902 Henri-Elzéar Taschereau appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1914 Football - Billy Mallett of the Hamilton Tigers kicks 9 singles in a rugby football game. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1919 Sculpture - After years of delay, the 5-ton Golden Boy statue is installed atop the Manitoba Legislative Building. Winnipeg, Manitoba 1921 -
  • November 21 - King George V proclaims Canada’s Coat of Arms, designates white and red as the official Canadian colours. London, England
  • 1922 Fire - Major fire hits downtown Bellevue. Bellevue, Alberta
  • 1927 Media - University of Alberta radio station, CKUA, goes on the air with a 500-watt signal. Canada’s first public broadcaster began as a project to take the University to the people via the new medium of radio; comes into being with the volunteer labour of two engineering students, using 2 windmill towers, some old iron poles and a $700 grant. Edmonton, Alberta - See: CKUA HIstory
  • 1930 Cobourg, Ontario’s Marie Dressler opens in the film Min and Bill, co-starring Wallace Beery; she will win the Academy Award for her performance. Los Angeles, California
  • 1932 Park - Aspen Beach Park becomes Alberta’s First provincial park. Aspen Beach, Alberta
  • 1937 Southern Okanagan Land Project starts selling building lots on its townsite of Osoyoos. Osoyoos, British Columbia
  • 1942 Military - road - First through trucks start running over the Alcan International Highway, a 2000 km long overland military supply route to Fairbanks, Alaska running through the Yukon; the Alaska Highway was built largely by US Army engineers to ease the threat from Japanese invasion of Alaska during Second World War. Dawson Creek, BC
  • 1950 Disaster - Canadian military troop train collides with CNR passenger train at Canoe River, after failing to get off on a siding; 21 killed, 53 injured. Canoe River, BC
  • 1950 Military - Canadian commander Harry Crerar promoted to full General of the Canadian Army; led the First Canadian Army in the invasion of France; commanded the field army throughout the north Europe campaign. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1952 Johnny Metras’ University of Western Ontario Mustangs capture the Yates Cup with a 12-8 win over Toronto Varsity Blues on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Don Getty to Murray Henderson with 45 seconds left in the game. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1954 Military - Arctic - HMCS Labrador arrives in Halifax via the Northwest Passage and around North America via the Panama Canal; a 29,000 km voyage. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1968 Terrorism - FLQ terrorists explode bomb on Boulevard St-Laurent in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1968 Provincial - Québec votes to abolish the upper house or provincial Senate, and change the name of the Legislative Assembly to the National Assembly. Québec, Québec
  • 1970 Newsy Lalonde dies at age 88; hockey and lacrosse player, coach; born at Cornwall, Ontario, October 31, 1887. Lalonde got his nickname as a reporter and printer for the Cornwall Freeholder; 1904 started playing lacrosse at age 16, and spent his summers playing lacrosse for various clubs until 1928 (Vancouver paid him $6,500 for one season); 1910 played pro hockey as one of the original Montréal Canadiens; 1910-11 played for the Renfrew Millionaires; 1913 rejoined the Canadiens; led the league in scoring 4 times, and got 124 goals in 98 games over the next 5 years; on 2 Stanley Cup winning teams; 1926 retired; later coached the New York Americans, Montréal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators; voted as Canada’s Lacrosse Player of the Half Century in the 1950 Canadian Press poll. Montréal, Québec
  • 1976 Orillia, Ontario’s Gordon Lightfoot has a #1 Billboard single with The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1977 Gerald Hannon publishes controversial article Men Loving Boys Loving Men in gay newspaper The Body Politic; recommends pedophilia. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1979 Politics - Pierre Trudeau announces his resignation as Liberal leader after leadership convention in March, 1980 selects his successor; after defeat by Joe Clark’s PCs. He will return, however, after the Clark government is defeated on a Non-confidence motion, and will win the 1980 election. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1982 Joni Mitchell marries her bass player, Larry Klein, at the Malibu home of her manager, Elliot Roberts. Malibu, California
  • 1985 Manufacturing - Québec government lends Korean auto company Hyundai $260 million to build car body plant at Bromont in the Eastern Townships. Bromont, Québec
  • 1988 Federal Election - Brian Mulroney wins second majority for the Progressive Conservative Party, with 170/295 seats (43.3% of the popular vote) to 83 seats (32.4%) for John Turner’s Liberals; 43 seats (19.7%) for Ed Broadbent’s NDP; ran on a platform of Free Trade with the US, and the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. Canada
  • 1989 State Visit - Brian Mulroney makes an official visit to the USSR. Moscow, Russia
  • 1990 Diplomacy - Military - Brian Mulroney signs Charter of Paris for Canada. The treaty and non-aggression declaration among 16 NATO and 6 Warsaw Pact nations effectively ends the Cold War, and reinforces human rights and freedoms in Europe. Paris, France
  • 1992 Politics - Mel Hurtig chosen leader of new nationalist party by 40 delegates at founding convention; most members active in the Council of Canadians. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1995 Politics - Lucien Bouchard announces he will resign as leader of the Bloc Québecois to seek the leadership of the provincial Parti Québecois; will win by acclamation January 20, 1996, replacing Jacques Parizeau as Premier of Québec. Montréal, Québec
  • 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples releases report; RCAP recommends the government set up 60-80 new First Nations bodies with self-government; pegs cost at $30 billion. Ottawa, Ontario See: 1996 - RCAP Summary of Recommendations
  • 1997 Conference - APEC summit opens in Vancouver; controversy arises when RCMP use force and pepper spray to remove protesters; ends November 25, 1997. Vancouver, BC
  • 1999 Space - Nimiq 1 launched by a Proton K Blok DM-3 rocket from the Tyuratam launch centre; Canada’s first direct broadcast digital TV satellite. Tyuratam, Kazakhstan
  • 2000 Space - NASA launches Anik F1 Canada’s most powerful Comsat to date. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 2004 Football - Toronto Argonauts defeat the BC Lions 27-19 to win the 92nd Grey Cup; Argo victory the first since 1997. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2007 Brad Wall sworn in as Premier of Saskatchewan, succeeding Lorne Calvert. Regina, Saskatchewan