Highlights of the day

  • 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion flares up west of Hamilton, led by Dr. Charles Duncombe.
  • 1915 Dr. John McCrae’s poem, In Flanders Fields, published in Punch magazine.
  • 1941 Canadian Troops Fight in the Battle of Hong Kong
  • 1986 John Polanyi & 2 Americans share Nobel Prize in chemistry for chemical laser.

List of Facts for December 8

  • 1649 Religion - Jesuit missionary Noel Chabanal murdered on the way to Île Saint-Joseph by renegade Huron Indian Louis Honarreennha, who hated the black robes; one of the North American Jesuit martyrs canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930. Christian Island, Ontario
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - American General Richard Montgomery, who had started the siege of Québec on December 6, sends a personal letter to British Governor Guy Carleton, demanding surrender. He uses a woman as the messenger, so she wouldn’t be fired on, but Carleton had the letter burned. Québec, Quebec
  • 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion - Dr. Charles Duncombe with a rousing speech launches open rebellion in the western half of Upper Canada; gathers a force of rebels at Scotland Township and Oakland (Malcolm’s Mills) on the road to Dundas, Ontario, southwest of Brantford; the force will reach 500 to 600 in number by December 13, 1837. Brantford, Ontario
  • December 8 - Upper Canada Rebellion - Governor Francis Bond Head orders Col. Allan MacNab to leave Toronto, assemble a force and confront the rebels west of Hamilton, Ontario. Toronto, Ontario
  • December 8 - Upper Canada Rebellion - William Lyon Mackenzie, chief organizer of the rebellion, flees toward Niagara after the militia defeat his rebels at Montgomery’s Tavern. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Polish born Republican Nils von Schoultz, leader of the Prescott rebels, is hanged at Fort Henry, along with fellow Battle of the Windmill rebels Dorrephus Abbey, Daniel George, Martin Woodruff, Joel Peeler and Sylvanus Swift; young Kingston lawyer John A. Macdonald had served as their counsel. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1852 Education - Université Laval receives a Royal Charter; founded by priests of the Séminaire de Québec, it was named after Bishop François de Laval, who founded the Seminary in 1663; North America’s oldest French University initially offered courses in theology, law, arts and medicine; today situated in the suburb of Ste-Foy, Québec; in 1876, Laval opened a branch in Montréal, which became the Université de Montréal in 1919. Québec, Québec
  • 1863 Postal - Hugh Allan’s Allan Line wins the new transatlantic mail contract from the Canadian government. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1866 Government - Meeting in the Ruperts Land Court House in Fort Garry discusses the establishment of a Crown Colony at Red River. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1869 Red River Rebellion - Louis Riel issues the Declaration of the People of Rupert’s Land and the North West; declares that the sale to Canada of Rupert’s Land (the Hudson’s Bay Company territory) without their consent entitles people to set up their own government; many in Canada privately agree, including Militia Minister George-Êtienne Cartier. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • December 8 - Retail - Timothy Eaton opens his First shop at Yonge and Queen Streets in Toronto, offering a Satisfaction Guaranteed refund policy. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1874 Urban - Westmount, Quebec incorporated as a municipality. Montréal, Québec
  • 1879 Crime - The McLean Gang go on a rampage, killing John Ussher, a Kamloops policeman arresting them for horse theft, and James Kelly, a sheep herder; they are later trapped in a cabin near Douglas Lake; Allan McLean, Charlie McLean, Archie McLean and Alex Hare will be brought to trial and executed in a group hanging on January 31, 1881. Kamloops, BC
  • 1880 Media - First edition of The Edmonton Bullet, Alberta’s First newspaper. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1882 Treaty - Cree/Saulteaux leader Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear) finally signs Treaty 6 at a meeting in the Cypress Hills; he signs six years after the rest of his tribe; ineligible for government rations, and the buffalo gone, his 114 remaining followers were starving and living in cloth and stick tents; later tries to create an Indian territory in the North West by pulling together adjacent reserves. Battleford, Saskatchewan
  • December 8 - Holiday - The First Jewish colony in Saskatchewan, a farming settlement 25 miles south west of Moosomin, celebrates its First Hannukah. Moosomin, Saskatchewan
  • 1890 Rail - The AR&C Railway opens its Lethbridge-Great Falls line for business. Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1891 Tariff - Ottawa imposes duty on fish imported from Newfoundland. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1898 Smelting - First shipment of coke leaves Fernie for Trail, BC. Fernie, BC
  • 1905 Rail - Vancouver, Victoria & Eastern Railway obtains legal title to lot 2703 at Midway; the railway war is over. Midway, BC
  • 1913 Labour - BC government prohibits landing of skilled or unskilled labourers at BC ports; because of unemployment and labour strife in province. Victoria, BC
  • 1915 First World War - Canadian MD John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields is First published in Punch magazine. London, England
  • 1917 Disaster - First relief train reaches Halifax from New England; with doctors, nurses, and supplies to treat survivors of the Halifax Explosion. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1918 Military - Royal Canadian Naval Air Service discontinued; cadets being trained are demobilized.
  • 1941 Second World War - The Royal Rifles of Canada and Winnipeg Grenadiers, under command of Brigadier J. K. Lawson are caught by the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong; had not received training as front-line troops; First Canadian units to fight in Second World War had almost no air or naval defences; at 8 am, Japanese aircraft destroy all 6 RAF planes at Kai Tak airport; two men of the Royal Canadian Signals are wounded, the First Canadian casualties, in the camp at Sham Shui Po, as the Japanese 38th Division moves across the frontier of the New Territories. The Battle of Hong Kong will last until December 25, 1941. Hong Kong, China
  • December 8 - Second World War - Government impounds all fishing boats owned by Japanese-Canadians and shuts down Japanese language schools and newspapers; the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. BC (See the Japanese Canadian Internment)
  • 1948 Military - Royal Canadian Navy establishes the Maritime Museum of Canada at the Halifax Naval Dockyard. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1953 Marriage - John Diefenbaker marries Olive Palmer. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • 1956 Olympics - Closing of the 16th Olympiad in Melbourne. Canadians win two Golds - Gerry Ouellette for Smallbore Rifle-Prone, and the UBC Coxless Fours (Donald Arnold, Ignace d’Hondt, Lorne Loomer, Archie MacKinnon) for Rowing. Melbourne, Australia
  • 1960 Banking - Fidel Castro’s government purchases Cuban assets of the Royal Bank of Canada. Havana, Cuba
  • 1969 Crime - American rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix released on a charge of possession of hashish and heroin after a Toronto jury believes his story that he has outgrown drugs; Hendrix will die of an overdose less than two years later. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1970 Politics - John Robarts announces his resignation as Premier of Ontario after selection of new leader. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1981 Constitution - Senate of Canada signs joint resolution with the House of Commons, approving the patriation package by 59 to 23; now sent to British Parliament for final approval; to end Canada’s last colonial and legal tie with Britain. The Queen will proclaim the Canada Act, 18982 putting this into action on April 17, 1982. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1986 Science - John Polanyi of the University of Toronto shares the Nobel Prize for chemistry with Americans Dudley Herschenbach and Yuan T. Lee for their contribution to the field of chemical-reaction dynamics and the development of the chemical laser. Stockholm, Sweden
  • 1987 Hockey - Flyers’ Ron Hextall becomes First NHL goalie to actually score a goal, into an empty net. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • December 8 - Crime - Mafia mobster Frank Cotroni sentenced to 8 years in prison. Montréal, Quebec
  • 1993 Treaty - US President Bill Clinton signs into law the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a trade pact between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which will eliminate virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions between the three nations. The pact, which takes effect January 1, 1994, creates the world’s largest free trade zone. Washington, DC
  • 1995 Environment - BC government announces new vehicle emissions standards; starting in 1998, all new cars sold in British Columbia will have to meet toughest emission standards in Canada. Victoria, BC
  • December 8 - Constitution - Federal government agrees to BC’s demands, gives British Columbia a constitutional veto, along with each of Québec, Ontario, Atlantic Canada, and the 3 remaining western provinces. Ottawa, Ontario
  • December 8 - Privatization - Federal government announces $1.5-billion deal to privatize the country’s air traffic control network, the First large-scale transfer of government services to the private sector. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1997 Rail - Carlton Trail Railway (Omnitrax) takes over Warman Junction - Prince Albert and Speers Junction - Meadow Lake CN lines. Saskatchewan
  • 1999 Aviation - Air Canada takes over Canadian Airlines. Calgary, Alberta
  • 2003 Politics - The new Conservative Party of Canada is legally constituted under provisional leadership of Québec Senator John Lynch-Staunton.
  • December 8 - Military - The United States awards Bronze Star medals to 26 Canadian soldiers of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group who distinguished themselves serving alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2002. The four Princess Pats who were killed in a friendly fire incident are awarded the medal posthumously. Canadian Chief of Staff Ray Henault gives a Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation to the PPCLI on behalf of Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 2005 Environment - Canadian scientists say that the Great Lakes are losing their ability to cope with environmental stress and ward off a catastrophic breakdown; blame wetlands disappearing and shorelines being degraded. Canada
  • 2006 Politics - Stephen Harper - Commons passes the Conservatives’ centrepiece Federal Accountability Act. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2008 Election - Jean Charest’s Liberal Party victorious in 2008 Quebec general election.
  • 2008 Arts - Marc Mayer appointed director of the National Gallery of Canada.
  • 2009 Police - Report slams RCMP in taser death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver Airport. Vancouver, BC