Highlights of the day

  • 1775 Guy Carleton Defeats American Army at the Battle of Quebec
  • 1922 Armand Bombardier Builds His First Snowmobile

List of Facts for December 31

  • 1638 Aboriginal - Lunar eclipse in Huron country panics natives, who place blame on Jesuits. Huronia, Ontario
  • 1646 Theatre - Martial Piraubé, Governor Montmagny’s secretary, plays the lead in ‘Le Cid,’ by Corneille; First play performed at Quebec. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - American Patriot General Richard Montgomery, a former half-pay British officer, orders an attack on the Lower Town of Quebec at 5 am during a bitterly cold blizzard; the British defenders, who had been given the Americans’ plans by deserters, are waiting, and ambush Montgomery at a fortified gate; he is killed during the fire fight; his fellow general Benedict Arnold, mounting an attack on the northern wall of Quebec is wounded in the leg, and has to retreat. Led by Guy Carleton and his aide Col. Allan Maclean, the British repel the Americans after three weeks of bombardment; of the 900 Americans who participated in the attack, 60 are killed and wounded and over 400 captured; the remaining Patriot forces retreat across the St. Lawrence River; Benedict Arnold waits until the last of his soldiers have crossed, then, with the pursuing British forces almost in firing range, shoots his horse, and flees across the St. Lawrence in a canoe. The British recognize Montgomery’s body and provide him with an honourable burial. In 1818, his body is moved to New York City and interred at St. Paul’s Chapel. Québec, Québec
  • 1791 Justice - William Osgoode appointed First Chief Justice of Upper Canada; gave his name to Osgoode Hall, headquarters of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Ontario
  • 1799 Road - Asa Danforth completes Danforth Road from York 96 km east to Hope Township. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1853 Rail - Great Western Railway reaches London from Hamilton, Ontario. London, Ontario
  • 1857 Queen Victoria chooses the town of Ottawa as the new capital of the united province of Canada; asked to settle rival claims of Québec, Montréal, Toronto and Kingston, each of which had been temporary capital, she followed the advice of George-Étienne Cartier, who wanted a capital where French Canadians could feel at home, and which was farther removed from the potential threat of US invasion; official announcement will be made January 27, 1858. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1857 Currency - The Province of Canada officially goes on system of decimal currency at midnight. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1860 Rail - Canada’s First railway tunnel opens in Brockville; engineered by Samuel Keefer, it connects the harbour with the Grand Trunk Railway station. Brockville, Ontario
  • 1883 Rail - CPR officials announce they have spent $59 million on building the railway, which will not be completed for another two years””” Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1883 Military - First mustering of ‘A’ Company of the Infantry School Corps; First unit of the Canadian Permanent Force; later becomes the Royal Canadian Regiment. Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1889 Rail - Alberta Railway & Coal Company leases the North Western Railway & Coal Company’s Turkey Trail line. Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1891 Rail - Alberta Railway & Coal Company partly acquires the North Western Railway & Coal Company’s Turkey Track line. Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1892 Fort Macleod incorporates itself as Macleod, Alberta.
  • 1896 Farming - Federal government declares all range leases in the NWT open and subject to forfeit. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1896 Rail - CPR agrees to buy the Turkey Track rail line running from Medicine Hat, District of Assiniboia, to Lethbridge, District of Alberta, from the Alberta Railway and Coal Company for $976,590. Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1899 Time - Bells of the clock at Toronto City Hall ring out at midnight to usher in the 20th century. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1899 Mining - British Columbia Smelting and Refining Company removed from the British Columbia Register of Companies. Victoria, BC
  • 1901 Rail - Kootenay Railway & Navigation Company now operating the Kaslo and Slocan Railway, the Kootenay Valley Railway, the Bedlington and Nelson Railways and the International Navigation and Trading Company. BC
  • 1908 Urban - Municipality of Penticton incorporated; Alfred Wade the first mayor. Penticton, BC
  • 1908 Disaster - Fire destroys the convent of the Sisters of Charity, Rimouski, Quebec.
  • 1910 Hockey - Montreal Canadiens play their first game against Ottawa in the Jubilee Arena at the corner of Moreau and Catherine, in the east end of Montreal. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1911 Population - Canada’s population reaches 7,200,000 people.
  • 1912 Police - Lethbridge’s notorious red light district is raided by police for the First time on New Year’s Eve. Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1916 Prohibition - All liquor stores in Saskatchewan are closed after a provincial referendum earlier in the month. Saskatchewan
  • 1918 Epidemic - Total of 3,259 Albertans have died in the influenza pandemic of 1918. Alberta
  • 1922 Manufacturing - Joseph-Armand Bombardier, age 15, builds a motorized sleigh with his brother Leopold; powered by a propeller and a four-cylinder Ford Model T engine, it has four sleigh runners; the brothers drive their experimental machine for a mile, but their father says it is too dangerous, and insists that they dismantle it. Valcourt, Quebec (CBC Archives - Bombardier: The Snowmobile Legacy)
  • 1922 Quebec registers 60,940 automobiles, up from 10,112 in 1915; will rise to 170,644 in 1935.
  • 1929 Music - Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians play Auld Lang Syne to usher in the New Year for the very first time, in their first annual New Year’s Eve Party at the Hotel Roosevelt Grill. The show is broadcast over the CBS radio network. New York, New York
  • 1931 Finance - Canadian stock index plunges 37.2%; GNP declines 12.7%; worst business year on record in the country; depth of the Great Depression. Canada
  • 1931 Weather - Henderson Lake ends the year with a Record total of 319.78 inches of rain; wettest place on record in Canadian history. Henderson Lake, BC
  • 1938 The Federal government announces that in 1938, it has supported 5,000 female heads of households under its Act for assistance to needy mothers; has distributed $2 million, or $400 per family on average. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1941 Second World War - RCAF has 14 squadrons operating overseas, 7 more authorized; plus 16 at home, including 8 on west coast. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1943 Second World War - RCAF at peak, with 215,000 men and women, 78 squadrons, including 35 overseas and 6 heading there; Canada has produced 11,000 planes so far. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1945 Urban - Oliver incorporated as a Village. Oliver, BC
  • 1946 Government - Francis Auld retires; served as deputy under every minister of agriculture since the inauguration of the province. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1946 Rail - CPR class M4g 3512 (2-8-0 Consolidation) and several cars fall off a barge into Slocan Lake, BC.
  • 1946 Government - Francis Auld retires; served as deputy under every minister of agriculture since the inauguration of the province. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1946 Rail - CPR class M4g 3512 (2-8-0 Consolidation) and several cars fall off a barge into Slocan Lake, BC.
  • 1963 Military - Nuclear warheads for Bomarc missiles arrive at RCAF base near North Bay. North Bay, Ontario
  • 1964 Currency - U.S. deregulates the price of gold, letting its currency float against other currencies, including the Canadian dollar. Washington, DC.
  • 1966 Centennial - Lester Pearson lights the Centennial Flame at the entrance to Parliament Hill to begin a year of celebrations. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1966 Education - Crowsnest Pass School Division #63 created from the amalgamation of five local districts. Alberta
  • 1966 Centennial - Lester Pearson lights the Centennial Flame at the entrance to Parliament Hill to begin a year of celebrations. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1966 Education - Crowsnest Pass School Division #63 created from the amalgamation of five local districts. Alberta
  • 1967 Harry Strom sworn in as Social Credit Premier of Alberta, replacing Ernest Manning. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1968 The Legislative Assembly of Québec is renamed the Québec National Assembly. Québec, Québec
  • 1968 Terrorism - Bombs explode near the Montreal City Hall and a federal building; no injuries reported. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1968 Broadcasting - Radio-Canada broadcasts its first “Bye bye” year end review, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight; attracts millions of viewers and becomes an annual tradition. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1975 Hockey - Montreal Canadiens fight the visiting Red Army team to a 3-3 draw; first of a series of eight meetings between Soviet and NHL teams. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1979 Disaster - Fire breaks out at a New Year’s Eve party in Le Club Opemiska in Chaplais; 44 killed. Chaplais, Québec
  • 1979 Parti Quebecois government creates the Ministry of Energy and Resources, by consolidating the Department of Lands and Forestry, and the Directorate General of Mines and Energy. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1980 Education - Marshall McLuhan dies at age 69; University of Toronto professor, writer, communications guru; born July 21, 1911 in Edmonton, Alberta; author of “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man”; famous for his statement that The Medium Is The Message. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1980 Hockey - Montreal Canadiens beat a visiting Red Army team 4-2 at the Montreal Forum. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1982 Labour - Statistics Canada reports 12.8% unemployment, the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1986 Health - Federal government announces that the law banning all tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines will come into force starting tomorrow. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1988 Hockey - Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores 5 goals against New Jersey Devils.
  • 1991 External Affairs - Seventeen Haitian activists surrender to police after occupying the Canadian Embassy for six weeks. Port-au-Prince, Haiti