Timeline of Canadian history

This is a brief timeline of the history of Canada, comprising important social, economic, political, military, legal, and territorial changes and events in Canada and its predecessor states.

Prehistory

YearDateEventRef.
to 14,000 BCE At some unknown time prior to this date, Paleo-Indians moved across the Beringia land bridge from eastern Siberia into northwest North America, settling in some areas of Alaska and the Yukon,[1] but are blocked from further travel south into the continent by extensive glaciation.[2][3]
14,000 BCEGlaciers that covered Canada began melting, allowing Paleo-Indians to move south and east into Canada and beyond.[4]
3,000–2,000 BCEThe Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands begin to cultivate different types of squash.[5]
3,000 BCEPaleo-Eskimos begin to settle the Arctic regions of North America from Siberia.[6]

8th century

YearDateEventRef.
796 CECouncil of Three Fires (also known as the Three Fires Confederacy) is formed.[7]

10th century

YearDateEventRef.
1000A short-lived Norse settlement is founded at L'Anse aux Meadows. It is possibly connected with the attempted colony of Vinland, established by Leif Erikson around the same period or, more broadly, with Norse exploration of the Americas.[8][9]

12th century

YearDateEventRef.
114231 AugustThe Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the League of Peace and Power) is formed.[10]

15th century

YearDateEventRef.
149724 JuneNavigator John Cabot claims Newfoundland for England.[11]

16th century

YearDateEventRef.
153424 JulyExplorer Jacques Cartier claims the Gaspé Peninsula for France.[12]

17th century

YearDateEventRef.
16083 JulyQuebec City founded, becoming the capital of New France.[13]
16344 JulyTrois-Rivières founded, becoming the second permanent settlement in New France.[14]
164217 MayFort Ville-Marie -(Old Montreal) founded with the majority of immigrants coming directly from France led by Paul de Chomedey and Jeanne Mance, a lay woman.[15]
1666First census of North America released.[16]
16702 MayHudson's Bay Company formed creating a monopoly over the region (Rupert's Land).[17]

18th century

YearDateEventRef.
17014 AugustThe Great Peace of Montreal, between New France and 39 First Nations, is finalized.[18]
171311 AprilThe War of the Spanish Succession is ended by the Treaty of Utrecht. France cedes Acadia to Great Britain and renounces claims to some British territories in Canada, as well as its claim to a monopoly of trade with the indigenous population.[19]
176310 FebruaryThe Seven Years' War is ended by the Treaty of Paris. France cedes New France to Great Britain.[20]
1791The Constitutional Act of 1791 divides the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada (modern-day Ontario and Quebec).[21]


19th century

YearDateEventRef.
181321–22 JuneDuring the War of 1812, Laura Secord learns of an American plan to launch a surprise attack on British forces and walks 20 miles to warn the defenders. The British defeat the American invaders at the Battle of Beaver Dams on 24 June.[22]
18671 JulyThe British North America Act, 1867, divides the Province of Canada into Ontario and Quebec and joins them with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form a confederated state called the Dominion of Canada.[23][24]
1869–187011 October–12 MayA group of Métis led by Louis Riel mount the Red River Rebellion against Canadian intrusion and form the Red River Colony. The Canadian government regains control after acceding to many of Riel's demands, but he flees into exile in the United States after the government refused to grant him amnesty.[25]
187012 MayIn the aftermath of the Red River Rebellion, Manitoba is formed from portions of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory, becoming Canada's fifth province. Land rights are granted to the Métis.[26]
187120 JulyBritish Columbia enters Confederation as the sixth province.[27]
18731 JulyPrince Edward Island enters Confederation as the seventh province.[28]
188526 March–3 JuneSeveral hundred Catholic Francophone Métis led by Louis Riel and supported by Cree fighters mount the North-West Rebellion and establish the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan. Riel is captured at the Battle of Batoche (9–12 May), tried for treason, and hanged on 16 November 1885. Francophones bitterly denounce the sentence and Canada becomes deeply polarized along ethno-religious lines.[29][30]
7 NovemberThe transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway, then the longest in the world, is completed.[31]

20th century

YearDateEventRef.
19051 SeptemberAlberta and Saskatchewan are partitioned out of the Northwest Territories to become the eighth and ninth provinces of Canada.[32]
19104 MayRoyal Canadian Navy is established.[33]
19144 AugustGreat Britain declares war on Germany, bringing Canada into the First World War.[34]
19179–12 AprilThe four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fight together for the first time in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which becomes celebrated as a national symbol of achievement and sacrifice and a formative milestone in the development of Canada's national identity.[35]
6 DecemberAn explosion caused by an accidental collision between two merchant ships, one filled with explosives for the war, occurs in Halifax Harbour, resulting in 2000 people dead and 9000 injured.[36]
191824 MayWomen gain the right to vote in federal elections.[37][38]
19 SeptemberCanadian Air Force (after 1920, Royal Canadian Air Force) is established.[39]
1919Canada sends a delegation to the Paris Peace Talks, the conference resolving war issues. Canada signs the Versailles treaty as part of the British Empire, with parliament's approval.[40]
1920Canada is admitted as a full member of the League of Nations, independently of Britain. It joins the League Council (governing board) in 1927. Canada plays a minor role and opposes sanctions or military action by the League. The League is virtually defunct by 1939.[41]
192625 June–14 SeptemberA constitutional crisis, known as the King-Byng Affair, is precipitated when Governor General Byng refused Prime Minister King's request to dissolve parliament and call an election, instead asking opposition leader Meighen to form a government, which in turn was quickly defeated. King framed the dispute as one of Britain, represented by the Governor General, interfering with Canadian affairs. Consequently, the affair played a role in the Balfour Declaration of 1926, in which each Dominion of the British Empire was declared to be of equal status with Britain.[42]
192725 NovemberCanada appoints Vincent Massey as its first fully accredited envoy to a foreign capital.[43]
19291929 - 1939Great Depression in Canada begins, resulting in widespread poverty and unemployment for the next decade.[44]
193111 DecemberThe Statute of Westminster 1931 is enacted in Britain, officially ending the power of the British parliament to pass and nullify laws in a Dominion without the Dominion's request and consent. The statute formally recognized the de facto independence attained by Canada following the First World War.[45]
193910 SeptemberCanada, with its parliament's support, enters the Second World War by declaring war on Germany, one week after Britain and France.[46]
19391939 - 1945During the war, the government mobilizes Canadian money, supplies, and volunteers to support Britain while boosting the economy and maintaining home front morale. Canada plays a military role protecting convoys against German submarines and fighting the German Army in Western Europe, while helping to liberate the Netherlands.[47]
[48]
[49]
1939-45During the war Canada expands its small navy into the third largest in the world, after the U.S. and U.K. It had 363 ships and 100,000 sailors (of whom 6700 were women.)[50]
194524 OctoberCanada joins United Nations, seeking to play a world role as a "middle power", with interest in the UN Charter and in relief agencies.[51]
194931 MarchNewfoundland enters Confederation as the tenth province following a pair of contentious referenda on whether the island should remain a British Crown Colony, become fully independent, or join Canada.[52]
195927 JuneThe Saint Lawrence Seaway, a joint project between Canada and the United States, is officially opened.[53]
1960 1 July First Nations people are granted the right to vote in federal elections without having to give up their treaty rights and Indian Status [54]
1967Canada celebrates its centennial.[55]
27 AprilExpo 67 opens in Montreal and goes on to be considered most successful World's Fair of the 20th century and a landmark moment in Canadian history.[56][57]
19705 OctoberThe government invokes the War Measures Act to apprehend the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), a separatist paramilitary group in Quebec that was responsible for over 160 violent incidents that killed eight people and in October 1970 had kidnapped a British official (later released) and Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte, who they killed. The FLQ collapses.[58]
198020 MayA referendum on Quebec independence is held, resulting in a majority (59.56%) of the province voting to remain in Canada.[59]
198217 AprilCanada achieves total independence from Great Britain with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982 (which includes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms), by royal proclamation.[60]
199530 OctoberAnother referendum on Quebec independence is held. A majority (50.58%) of the province votes to remain in Canada.[61]

21st century

YearDateEventRef.
200520 JulyThe Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage throughout Canada.[62]

See also

References

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  3. Jacques Cinq-Mars (2001). "The Significance of the Bluefish Caves in Beringian Prehistory". Hull: Canadian Museum of Civilization. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
    Laurel Sefton MacDowell (2012). An Environmental History of Canada. UBC Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7748-2104-9.
    Guy Gugliotta (February 2013). "When Did Humans Come to the Americas?". Smithsonian Magazine. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
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  9. Axel Kristinsson (2010). Expansions: Competition and Conquest in Europe Since the Bronze Age. ReykjavíkurAkademían. p. 216. ISBN 978-9979-9922-1-9.
  10. Jordan E. Kerber (2007). Archaeology of the Iroquois: Selected Readings and Research Sources. Syracuse University Press. p. 388. ISBN 978-0-8156-3139-2.
  11. Roger E. Riendeau (2007). A Brief History of Canada. Infobase Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4381-0822-3.
  12. Alan Gordon (2010). The Hero and the Historians: Historiography and the Uses of Jacques Cartier. UBC Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7748-5920-2.
  13. Rene Chartrand (2013). French Fortresses in North America 1535-1763: Quebec, Montreal, Louisbourg and New Orleans. Osprey Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-4728-0317-7.
  14. David B. Knight (1991). Choosing Canada's Capital: Conflict Resolution In a Parliamentary System. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-88629-148-8.
  15. Terence J. Fay (2002). History of Canadian Catholics. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7735-2313-5.
  16. "Censuses of Canada 1665 to 1871: Jean Talon". Statistics Canada. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  17. Elle Andra-Warner (2011). Hudson's Bay Company Adventures: Tales of Canada's Fur Traders. Heritage House. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-926613-14-7.
  18. Colin G. Calloway (2013). Treaties and Treaty Making in American Indian History. Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-19-998686-6.
  19. Saliha Belmessous (2011). Native Claims: Indigenous Law Against Empire, 1500-1920. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-19-979485-0.
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  47. Tim Cook, Warlords: Borden Mackenzie King And Canada's World Wars (2012)
  48. Jeffrey A. Keshen, Saints, Sinners, and Soldiers: Canada's Second World War (2004)
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  52. Gillmor 2001, pp. 222–223
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  54. Rita J. Simon; Vassia Gueorguieva (2008). Voting and Elections the World Over. Lexington Books. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7391-3092-6.
  55. Peter H Aykroyd (1992). The Anniversary Compulsion: Canada's Centennial Celebrations, A Model Mega-Anniversary. Dundurn. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-55488-307-3.
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  58. H. D. Munroe, "The October Crisis revisited: Counterterrorism as strategic choice, political result, and organizational practice." Terrorism and Political Violence 21.2 (2009): 288-305.
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Further reading

  • Francis, RD; Jones, Richard; Smith, Donald B (2009). Journeys: A History of Canada. Nelson Education. ISBN 978-0-17-644244-6.
  • Crowley, Terence Allan; Terry Crowley; Rae Murphy (1993). The Essentials of Canadian History: Pre-colonization to 1867—the Beginning of a Nation. Research & Education Assoc. ISBN 978-0-7386-7205-2.
  • Felske, Lorry William; Beverly Jean Rasporich (2004). Challenging Frontiers: the Canadian West. University of Calgary Press. ISBN 978-1-55238-140-3.
  • Hill, Brian H. W. Canada, 875-1973: A Chronology and Fact Book (1973)
  • Lower, Arthur R. M. (1958). Canadians in the Making: A Social History of Canada. Longmans, Green.
  • Morton, Desmond (2001). A short history of Canada. McClelland & Stewart Limited. ISBN 978-0-7710-6509-5.
  • Morton, Desmond (1999). A Military History of Canada : from Champlain to Kosovo. McClelland & Stewart Limited. ISBN 978-0-7710-6514-9.
  • Norrie, Kenneth, Douglas Owram and J.C. Herbert Emery. (2002) A History of the Canadian Economy (4th ed. 2007)
  • Riendeau, Roger E. (2007). A Brief History of Canada. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0822-3.
  • Taylor, Martin Brook; Owram, Doug (1994). Canadian History. 1 & 2. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-5016-8, ISBN 978-0-8020-2801-3
  • Taylor, Martin Brook; Douglas Owram (1994). Canadian History: A Reader's Guide: Beginnings to Confederation. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-6826-2.
    • Martin Brook Taylor; Douglas Owram (1994). Canadian history. 2. Confederation to the present. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-7676-2.
Primary sources

  • Reid, J.H.Stewart ed.; et al. (1959). A Source-book of Canadian History: Selected Documents and Personal Papers. Longmans Canada.
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