Highlights of the day

  • 1900 Reginald Fessenden First Transmits Voice by Radio Waves
  • 1911 Hockey - Frank Patrick opens The Arena, Canada’s first artificial ice rink, in Vancouver, BC
  • 1983 Jeanne Sauvé appointed Canada’s first female Governor General; sworn in on May 14.

List of Facts for December 23

  • 1615 Samuel de Champlain leads defeated Huron war party back to Cahiagué after campaign against Iroquois across Lake Ontario. Oro, Ontario
  • 1771 Religion - Saint Marie Marguerite d’Youville dies; born Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais at Varennes, Québec, October 15, 1701; performed charity work in the hospitals, orphanages and schools of New France; founder of the Order of Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal, commonly called the Grey Nuns of Montreal, in 1738], she was declared venerable in 1890 and became the First Canadian to beatified, by Pope John XXIII in 1959. Her feast day is April 11. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1855 Rail - Opening of Grand Trunk Railway from Lévis, Québec to St. Thomas. St-Thomas, Québec
  • 1869 Red River Rebellion - Louis Riel replaces John Bruce as President of the National Committee of the Métis. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1872 Amor de Cosmos (alias W. A. Smith) sworn in as second Conservative Premier of British Columbia, replacing John McCreight, who had served since November 13, 1871. Victoria, BC
  • 1881 Farming - Government defines Dominion Lands Regulations in Saskatchewan, cattle leases run for 21 years, cost a maximum $10.00 per 1000 acres per year to 100,000 acres; minimum 10 acres per head. Saskatchewan
  • 1897 Fire destroys the CPR’s British Columbia Lake and River Service steamer Naksup at Arrowhead on Upper Arrow Lake. Arrowhead, BC
  • 1899 Rail - Nelson Electric Tramway begins operations. Nelson, BC
  • 1900 Broadcasting - Canadian physicist and inventor Reginald Fessenden, a wireless expert working for the US Weather Service, broadcasts the world’s first voice communications by AM (amplitude modulation) radio wave for a distance of 1.6 km between two 13 metre towers; asks his assistant, ‘Is it snowing where you are, Mr. Thiessen?’ Washington, DC
  • 1900 Military - William Otter’s First Canadian Contingent arrives back in Halifax from South Africa, having completed their Boer War service. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1909 Rail - First Vancouver, Victoria & Eastern Railway passenger train into Hedley, BC and Princeton, BC.
  • 1910 Labour - Members of the Miners’ Union urge that a commission rather than a coroner’s jury investigate the Bellevue mine disaster. Bellevue, Alberta
  • 1911 Hockey - Frank Patrick opens The Arena, later the Denman Arena. Canada’s First artificial ice rink was a 10,000-seat venue that cost $350,000 to build and was at the time the largest building in Canada. Vancouver, BC
  • 1912 Cinema - Québec born director Mack Sennett premieres his First Keystone Kops film, titled, Hoffmeyer’s Legacy. New York, New York
  • 1920 Fire burns the Princeton Coal and Land Company’s tipple at Princeton, BC.
  • 1926 Disaster - Fire destroys the Winnipeg Theatre, killing four firemen who are fighting the blaze. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1933 Hockey - Howie Morenz takes over NHL career goal lead at 251. Montréal, Québec
  • 1939 Second World War - First Canadian troops arrived in Britain. Britain
  • 1944 Second World War - At around 14 h 37, German submarine U-806 torpedoes Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot by the Halifax lightship during the escort of the convoy XB-139; four officers and four sailors are killed. At 14 h 46, a second Gnat torpedo detonates against the hull of the HMCS Transcona (J271). Clayoquot sinks the following day, on December 24, 1944. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1945 Religion - Toronto Roman Catholic Archbishop James McGuigan nominated Canada’s First non-French cardinal by Pope Pius XII. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1963 Theatre - Plans approved for the building of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (later the National Arts Centre or NAC) in Ottawa; annual National Festival of the Arts starts in 1967. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Religion - The Anglican, Baptist, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches agree to share a pavilion at Expo ‘67. Montréal, Québec
  • 1966 Coinage - Royal Canadian Mint announces that dimes, quarters and 50-cent pieces will be struck from nickel instead of the more costly silver. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1966 Museum - Saskatchewan Premier Ross Thatcher announces that farm house where John Diefenbaker spent his childhood will be moved to Saskatoon; near Borden, Saskatchewan. Borden, Saskatchewan
  • 1968 Mining - Newmont Mining Company buys the Ingerbelle group of claims near Princeton for $1.5 million. Princeton, BC
  • 1969 Gambling - Québec government creates la Société d’exploitation des Loteries - Loto-Québec - to manage lotteries and off-track betting in the province. Québec, Québec
  • 1970 Music - Canadian folksinger Joni Mitchell awarded her First gold record for her third album, Ladies of the Canyon; contained hit single, Big Yellow Taxi. New York, New York
  • 1971 Taxation - Parliament passes Capital Gains Tax, effective January 1, 1972, Valuation Day. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1977 Coinage - Royal Canadian Mint postpones bringing in new, smaller pennies, after protests from owners of coin-operated vending machines. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1977 Quebec National Assembly adopts new Automobile Insurance Act put forward by Lise Payette, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Cooperatives and Financial Institutions of Quebec. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1978 Hockey - New York Islander Bryan Trottier, from Val Marie, Saskatchewan, scores 8 points, including 5 goals, against the New York Rangers; NHL record 6 points in 1 period. New York, New York
  • 1983 Women - Jeanne Sauvé appointed Canada’s First female Governor General of Canada. Sauve was born at Prud’homme, Saskatchewan, brought up in Ottawa, was First elected to the Commons in 1972, was the First female French Canadian cabinet minister, and the First female Speaker of the House of Commons. After treatment for cancer, she will be sworn in on May 14, 1984; she will leave Rideau Hall early in 1990 and dies in Montreal January 26, 1993. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1991 Survey - Gallup Poll says support for sovereignty-association in Québec has dropped to 47% from 61% in May 1990. Québec
  • 1991 Retail - Grafton-Fraser to close 221 Jack Fraser, George Richards, Grafton & Co, Madison, Bimini stores; 1700 full and part time jobs. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1992 Media - CRTC approves $40.5 m sale of Maclean Hunter Hamilton TV station CHCH to Shaw Cablesystems and WIC Western International Communications; also $308 m sale of Cablecasting Ltd. to Shaw Cablesystems of Edmonton; from controlling shareholder David Graham. Gatineau, Québec
  • 1992 Judge orders real estate empire of Raymond Malenfant into bankruptcy; consisted of 15 hotels including the Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, plus six office buildings and two ski resorts. Quebec, Quebec
  • 2003 Justice - Supreme Court of Canada rules that marijuana possession will remain a criminal offense. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2003 Farming - Canadian-born Holstein cow, slaughtered in Washington state on December 9, 2003 is reported to have tested positive for mad cow disease; beef export industry hit hard as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia suspend imports of U.S. beef; the animal was imported from Canada in about 2001. USA
  • 2004 Premier Danny Williams pulls down Canadian flags to protest Ottawa’s withdrawal of economic developent support. St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
  • 2007 Oscar Peterson dies; born in 1925; jazz pianist and composer. Montreal, Quebec
  • 2009Research in Motion’s BlackBerry service hit by outages during installation of new software. Waterloo, Ontario