Important Dates
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1215
Signing of Magna Carta in England
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1497
European exploration begins with the expedition of John Cabot, who was the first to draw a map of Canada’s East Coast
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1534 to 1542
Jacques Cartier makes three voyages across the Atlantic, claiming the land for King Francis I of France
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1550s
The name of Canada begins appearing on maps
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1604
The first European settlement north of Florida is established by French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain
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1608
Samuel de Champlain builds a fortress at what is now Quebec City
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1610
English settlement begins
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1670
King Charles II of England grants the Hudson’s Bay Company exclusive trading rights over the watershed draining into Hudson Bay
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1700s
The maple leaf is adopted as a symbol in Canada
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1701
The French and the Iroquois make peace
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1755 to 1763
“Great Upheaval” during the war between Britain and France, more than two-thirds of the Acadians are deported from their homeland.
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1758
The first representative assembly is elected in Halifax, Nova Scotia
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1759
The British defeat the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City marking the end of France’s empire in America
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1763
The Aboriginal territorial rights are first guaranteed
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1774
The British Parliament passes the Quebec Act
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1776
-The thirteen British colonies to the south of Quebec declare independence and form the United States.
– Joseph Brant leads thousands of loyalist Mohawk Indians into Canada -
1791
-The Constitutional Act is passed and divides the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada (later Ontario)
– The name ‘Canada’ becomes official -
1793
Upper Canada becomes the first province in the Empire to move toward abolition
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1800s
Ice hockey is developed in Canada
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1805
The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte’s fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar
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1812
The United States launch an invasion in June to conquer Canada
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1814
The American attempt to conquer Canada fails
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1815
The Duke of Wellington defeats Napoleon
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1832
The Montreal Stock Exchange is open
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1833
British Parliament abolishes slavery throughout the Empire
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1840
Upper and Lower Canada are united as the Province of Canada
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1847-48
Nova Scotia becomes the first British North American colony to attain full responsible government
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1849
Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine, a champion of French language rights, becomes the first head of a responsible government
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1854
The Victoria Cross, the highest honour available to Canadians, started to be awarded that year
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1857
Ottawa, located on the Ottawa River, was chosen as the capital by Queen Victoria
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1860s
The Parliament buildings were completed
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1864
Sir Leonard Tilley suggested the term “Dominion of Canada”
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1867
- On July 1st, the Fathers of Confederation established the Dominion of Canada, the birth of the country that we know today
– The British Parliament passed the British North America Act, now known as the Constitution Act
– Sir John Alexander Macdonald, a Father of Confederation, became Canada’s first Prime Minister
– Canada became a constitutional monarchy
– The responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments were defined -
1869
Canada took over the vast Northwest region from the Hudson’s Bay Company
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1873
The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) was created
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1890s
Yukon Gold Rush
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1891
Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith
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1916
Manitoba becomes the first province to grant voting rights to women
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1917
The Canadian Corps capture Vimy Ridge, securing the Canadians’ reputation for valour as the ‘shock troops of the British Empire’
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1918
Most Canadian female citizens aged 21 and over are granted the right to vote in federal elections
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1920
Foundation of the Group of Seven who developed a style of painting to capture the rugged wilderness landscapes
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1921
King George V assigns Canada’s national colours (white and red)
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1927
- The Peace Tower is completed, in memory of the First World War
– Old Age Security is devised -
1929
Stock market crashes which leads to the Great Depression or the ‘Dirty Thirties’
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1934
The Bank of Canada is created
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1940
Unemployment insurance (now called "employment insurance") is introduced by the federal government
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1944
In the Second World War, the Canadians capture Juno Beach on June 6, as part of the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day
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1947
The discovery of oil in Alberta begins Canada’s modern energy industry
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1948
Japanese-Canadians gain the right to vote
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1951
For the first time, a majority of Canadians are able to afford adequate food, shelter and clothing
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1952
Queen Elizabeth II becomes Queen of Canada
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1960s
Quebec experiences an era of rapid change known as the Quiet Revolution
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1965
- The new Canadian flag, as we know it today, is raised for the first time
– The Canada and Quebec Pension Plans are devised -
1967
Canada starts its own honours system with the Order of Canada
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1969
Parliament passes the Official Languages Act which guarantees French and English services in the federal government across Canada
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1970s
The term First Nations is used
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1980
-Terry Fox begins a cross-country run, the "Marathon of Hope" to raise money for cancer research. He becomes a hero to Canadians.
-O Canada is proclaimed as the National Anthem -
1982
- The Constitution of Canada is amended to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
– Queen Elizabeth II proclaims the amended Constitution in Ottawa. -
1988
Canada enacts free trade with the United States
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2006
The House of Commons recognizes that the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada
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2008
Ottawa formally apologized to former Aboriginal students for forcing them to assimilate into the mainstream Canadian culture by placing them in residential school from the 1800s until the 1980s.