Canada

CANADIAN HISTORY

England’s King Henry Henry VII paid John Cabot a 10-pound reward for discovering Canada in 1498.

French explorer Jacques Cartier planted a cross on Canada's Gaspé Peninsula on July 24, 1534. The 10-meter cross bearing the words "Long Live the King of France" took possession of the territory in the name of Francis I of France.

Portrait of Jacques Cartier by Théophile Hamel, ca. 1844. No known paintings of Cartier were created during his lifetime.

The name Canada is derived from the Huron-Iroquois word "kanata," which means "village" or "settlement." The word was first used by Jacques Cartier in 1535, when he encountered the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, a group of Indigenous peoples, and asked them the name of their country. They answered "kanata" and Cartier wrote it in his journal. He used the word to refer to the land they lived in, and it eventually became the name of the entire region.

King Francis I of France gave Jean-François Roberval (c. 1500–1560) on January 15, 1541 a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the "Holy Catholic faith".

Portrait of Jean-François de la Roque de Roberval

French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City as a trading post at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers in 1608. From this and subsequent settlements Catholic missionaries, explorers, and fur traders pushed across North America. Having begun with just 32 colonists, the city is now home to about 500,000.  It is considered to be the first European-built city in non-Spanish North America.

The first English child born in Canada came into this world at London and Bristol Company's Cuper's Cove, colony in Newfoundland on March 27, 1613. The father, Nicholas Guy (fl. 1612 – 1631), was a member of the first group of settlers to journey to Newfoundland for colonization. In the winter of 1612 - 1613 there were sixty-two people were living in the colony.

The early Canadians wanted to get the population to increase, so in the late 1660s they imported women from France. A couple years later, they passed an ordinance requiring bachelors to marry them.

When America fought for independence during the American Revolution, 40,000 British citizens fled to Canada to remain faithful to the crown.

When the Articles of Confederation were adopted as the governing instrument of the former British colonies after the Revolutionary War, the British colony of Canada was invited to become a member of the Confederation, the only colony outside the original thirteen that was invited to do so. She decided not to become a part of the new nation.

When Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie reached the Pacific Ocean on July 22, 1793, he became the first recorded human to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada. It was also the first east to west crossing of North America north of Mexico and predated the Lewis and Clark expedition by ten years.

The United States invaded Canada in 1812. Many Americans also believed that the invasion would be a cakewalk, and that ordinary Canadians were keen to shake off their British overlords. The "acquisition of Canada," predicted former President Thomas Jefferson, "will be a mere matter of marching." However, the campaign went terribly, and after a few months the entire Michigan territory had fallen.

The United Kingdom and the United States signed on October 20, 1818 the Convention of 1818. the treaty settled the Canada–United States border on the 49th parallel between the Rocky Mountains and Lake of the Woods.

Lower Canada, now Quebec, gave black men the right to vote on March 24, 1837. In addition, it was decreed they would be referred to as African-Canadians, not African-Americans.

On December 31, 1857, Queen Victoria chose Ottawa, Ontario, then a small logging town, as the capital of Canada. She chose Ottawa  because it was the midpoint between Toronto and Montreal thus a political compromise between English speaking and French speaking Canada.

The British North America Act took effect on July 1, 1867 creating a federal dominion with The Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia all joining into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Although still a British colony, Canada gained an increased level of political control and governance over its own affairs, the British parliament and Cabinet maintaining political control over foreign affairs, national defence, and constitutional changes. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.

Upon Confederation in 1867, the name Canada was officially adopted for the new Dominion. Alternative names proposed were Tuponia, Borealia, Cabotia, Transatlantica, Victorialand and Superior. It was commonly referred to as the Dominion of Canada until after World War II.

Canada became the only nation in the world with the Dominion in its name. The name the Dominion of Canada is based on Psalm 72; "He shall have Dominion... From sea to sea." Canada stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic and so was called the Dominion of Canada by its founding fathers.

By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth". In 1982 the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day

The first census of the Dominion of Canada on April 2, 1871 listed the population as 3,689,257.

The Canadian Parliament established the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - dubbed the Mounties - on May 23, 1873. They were established to bring law to its untamed north-west. Canadian leader John A. Macdonald first announced the force as the North West Mounted Rifles, but changed the name because of U.S. fears of a military build-up.

North-West Mounted Police officers, 1898

The first performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, took place at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français on June 24, 1880.

Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first transcontinental railroad across Canada, concluded with the driving of the "last spike" by CPR railroad financier Donald Smith in Craigellachie, British Columbia on November 7, 1885.

Donald Alexander Smith drives in the Last Spike

Canada's original parliament building in Ottawa burned down in a fire on February 3, 1916. The huge and impressive Gothic stone and wood building had dominated the skyline of Canada's capital for half a century.

Canada declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939, seven days after the United Kingdom did. This was a result of the German invasion of Poland, which was a violation of the Munich Agreement. Because Canada was a member of the British Empire at the time, it was obligated to follow the UK's lead in declaring war.

Canada's declaration of war was a major turning point in the country's history. It marked the end of Canada's long tradition of neutrality and isolationism, and it committed Canada to a major role in the Second World War.

Canada sent over 1 million men and women to fight in the Second World War, and it played a significant role in the Allied victory. Canadian troops fought in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and they made important contributions to the Battle of Britain, the D-Day landings, and the Battle of Normandy.

PM Mackenzie King's request to King George VI for approval of war declaration

The only known armed German military operation on North American soil in World War 2 was the installation of a covert weather station in northern Canada. Wetter-Funkgerät Land-26 was erected by a German U-boat crew in Northern Labrador in October 1943.

The 1946 Canadian Citizenship Act converted British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King became the first Canadian citizen on January 1, 1947.

The current design of the Flag of Canada was chosen by an act of Parliament on January 28, 1965.
The new red-and-white maple leaf design was officially inaugurated as the flag of Canada on February 15, 1965, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner. There are 11 points on the Canadian flag.

The actress Pamela Anderson was born on July 1, 1967, Canada’s 100th birthday. However, she was not the first baby born in Canada that day. That honor belongs to Kara Ffolliott, who was born at 12:18 AM in Regina, Saskatchewan. Anderson was born at 11:21 AM in Ladysmith, British Columbia.

Despite not being the first baby born in Canada on July 1, 1967, Anderson was still referred to in the press as Canada's "Centennial Baby." This is likely because she was a more well-known celebrity than Ffolliott.

Pamela Anderson on Oct. 11, 2009. By Toglenn - Wikipedia Commons

The Official Languages Act is a Canadian law that came into force on September 9, 1969, which gives French and English equal status in the government of Canada. This makes them "official" languages, having preferred status in law over all other languages. 

Although the Official Languages Act is not the only piece of federal language law, it is the legislative keystone of Canada's official bilingualism. It was substantially amended in 1988. Both languages are equal in Canada's government and in all the services it controls, such as the courts.

"O Canada" officially became the national anthem of Canada on July 1, 1980.  The act also specified that the anthem should be sung in both English and French.

The music for "O Canada" was composed by Calixa Lavallée in 1880, and the lyrics were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier in 1889. The anthem was originally sung in French, but an English version was later created by Robert Stanley Weir in 1908.

"O Canada" had been used unofficially as Canada's national anthem for many years before it was officially proclaimed. It was first sung at a public event in 1880, and it quickly became popular among Canadians. In 1939, King George VI stood at attention during the playing of "O Canada" at the dedication of the National War Memorial in Ottawa, which was seen as a gesture of acceptance of the song as Canada's national anthem.

Canada declared national beauty contests cancelled as of 1992, claiming they were degrading to women.

In a 1995 referendum, 50.58 percent of voters supported the province of Quebec remaining a part of Canada, narrowly averting sovereignty.

When Canada’s Northwest Territories was subdivided to create Nunavut to the east on April 1, 1999, the people who remained in the territory voted to keep the old name. The runner-up was ‘Bob’.

The evacuation of nearly 88,000 people began on May 1, 2016 when a wildfire swept through Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and burned for another 14 months. With an estimated damage cost of C$9.9 billion, it was the costliest disaster in Canadian history.

FUN CANADA FACTS

1 in 7 Canadian workers have a career directly linked to agriculture and food.

The reason why the Canadian Arctic is called the "Land of the Midnight Sun" is because during the summer many communities have light 24 hours of the day.

In 1972 Canadian radio station CBC held a poll to find a national simile (an answer to 'As American as apple pie'). The winning response was "As Canadian as possible under the circumstances."

Canada is the second largest country in the world - only Russia is bigger.

The border between Canada and the U.S. is the world's longest frontier. It stretches 3987 miles (6416 km).

The majority of the Canadian population lives south of Seattle.

Two-thirds of Canadians live in Quebec and Ontario.

75% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border.  By contrast, 12% of Americans live within 100 miles of Canada.

Canada still has 91% of the forest cover that existed at the beginning of European settlement.

Canada holds 25% of the world’s freshwater, is surrounded by three oceans, and contains over two million lakes, more than half of all natural lakes in the world. More than 31,000 are between 3 and 100 square kilometres (1.2 and 38.6 sq mi) in area.

Canada has over 230 islands.

Canada has the third largest oil reserves of any country in the world after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

The province of Alberta has been completely free of rats since 1905.

Canadians consume more macaroni and cheese than any other nation on earth.

The only walled city remaining in the United States or Canada is Quebec City. It has signs on it that tell you to keep out in French and English.

Canada's official phone number is 1-800-O-CANADA.

Canada ranks first in the world when it comes to Internet usage.

Canada is the most educated country in the world with 56.71% of adults meeting the OECD criteria (adult residents between ages 25 and 64 that have received a tertiary education: two-year or four-year degree or have received an education through a vocational program).

Source Isaac Asimov’s Book Of Facts