September

Source

September 2, 1976

The puck drops at the first Canada Cup international hockey tournament. Six countries send national teams. Canada will face off against Czechoslovakia, Finland, the Soviet Union, Sweden and the United States. In the final, Canada will win against Czechoslovakia.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Discover the collection "Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective"

• See the comprehensive teaching strategy on the history of hockey

Radio-Canada Archives

• Watch an interview about the Canada Cup (French only)

Historica Canada

• Learn more about this international tournament

Image of the Czechoslovakian team, Canada’s great rival in the 1976 Canada Cup international hockey tournament.

Source

September 3, 1810

Paul Kane, painter and explorer, is born. He will become famous for his landscapes of the West and his works showing Indigenous peoples and their way of life in the 19th century. Kane will be declared a Person of National Historic Significance in 1937.

Born in Ireland, Kane will grow up in Toronto and return to Europe in 1841. He will start his career there, developing his artistic talent while learning from some of the greatest painters of the period.

He will be inspired by George Cantin, an American author and painter who believed that native North American culture was dying because of European influence. Kane will return to Toronto in 1845 and begin his travels in the Northwest, painting images of Indigenous peoples.

During his expeditions, he will create more than 700 sketches depicting native culture and rituals, and capture the essence of Indigenous peoples in Western Canada. Today, Kane’s work represents for many a faithful reproduction and an accurate historical record of this pivotal period in Canada’s past.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• See Paul Kane’s works of art in our collection

National Gallery of Canada

• Discover Kane and his art

Parks Canada

• Read the biography “Paul Kane, Person of National Historic Significance”

Oil on canvas painting by Paul Kane (1810–1871) entitled Indian Encampment at Georgian Bay, 1895.

Source

September 4, 1984

The leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, Brian Mulroney, wins the general election. He takes 211 seats out of 282, the second-largest majority in Canadian history. John Turner and the Liberals win 40 seats, Ed Broadbent and the New Democrats, 30.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Read about the political career of Brian Mulroney

The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Find out more about the life of Brian Mulroney

Parliament of Canada

• Learn more about the prime ministers of Canada

Photo of Brian Mulroney and his wife Mila chatting with Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau at Jeanne Sauvé’s swearing-in ceremony as Governor General of Canada, Ottawa, 1984.

Source

September 5, 1978

UNESCO designates L’Anse aux Meadows National Historical Site in Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) as a World Heritage Site. Traces of a 11th-century Viking settlement were discovered there.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Discover our collection on the history of Icelandic immigration in Canada

UNESCO

• Read about L’Anse aux Meadows

Parks Canada

• Visit L’Anse aux Meadows National Historical Site

Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism

• Discover the top destinations of Newfoundland and Labrador

Canada Post stamp from 2000 depicting L’Anse aux Meadows UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source

September 6, 1952

The first CBC and Radio-Canada television stations begin operating in Montréal. The English-language CBC station CBFT broadcasts movies, a cartoon, news and a bilingual variety show. The French-language Radio-Canada station also offers a wide range of programming, with something for everyone.

Two days later, the CBC station CBLT will go on the air in Toronto.

Television is a hit in Canada. There will be over 700,000 TV sets in the country by March 1954.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Consult the database for our collection of films, videos and audio recordings

Radio-Canada Archives

• Discover the earliest days of television at Radio-Canada (French only)

• Learn more about the history of Radio-Canada’s French-language services (French only)

CBC Digital Archives

• Learn about the early days of television on the CBC

• Explore the history of Canada’s national public broadcaster

Image of dignitaries at the CBC and Radio-Canada building in Montréal on the day of their first TV broadcasts, September 6, 1952.

Source

September 7, 1959

Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis dies of a brain hemorrhage in Schefferville. The leader of the Union nationale party governed the province over three decades, from 1936 to 1959, except for a five-year period from 1939 to 1944.

To learn more:

Dictionary of Canadian Biography

• Read a biography of Maurice Duplessis

National Assembly of Quebec

• View a biography of Duplessis (French only)

Radio-Canada Archives

• Learn more about this politician who was nicknamed “The Chief” (French only)

Photo of Maurice Duplessis, circa 1930.

Source

September 8, 1914

The military camp at Valcartier, near the city of Québec, begins to train volunteers with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Within a few weeks, more than 30,000 men will assemble there to prepare to cross the ocean and fight in the First World War.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Read the blog “The Battle of Vimy Ridge – the Canadian Corps and its preparations”

Canadian Army

• Discover the base at Valcartier

Canadian War Museum

• Learn about the training at Valcartier

Veterans Affairs Canada

• Learn more about Canada’s entry into the war in 1914

Photo of army officers walking around headquarters at the Valcartier camp, September 1914.

Source

September 9, 1984

Pope John Paul II visits Canada for the first time. From September 9 to 20, he is welcomed like a star by approximately 1.5 million Canadians. On September 11 in Montréal, 65,000 people at the Olympic Stadium will see the pope and hear Céline Dion sing “Une colombe.”

To learn more:

Radio-Canada Archives

• Learn more about the pope’s visit to Canada in 1984 (French only)

Diocese of Montréal

• Learn more about the pope’s visit to Montréal (French only)

Photo of Pope John Paul II blessing a young Justin Trudeau accompanied by his father, 1984.

Source

September 10, 1939

Canada declares war on Germany, joining Britain and France in entering the Second World War.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada (LAC)

• Consult the military heritage preserved at LAC

Veterans Affairs Canada

• Learn more about the start of the Second World War

Canadian War Museum

• Consult: "Democracy at War: Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War"

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

• Watch part of the NFB’s collection on the Second World War

Photo of soldiers of the 1st Field Artillery Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery with a 25-lb. cannon during a firing drill in Barham, England, April 10, 1942.

September 11, 2001

Gander airport in Newfoundland and Labrador receives thousands of passengers after terrorists use airliners to attack the World Trade Center in New York. Hundreds of flights to the United States are diverted to Gander, Halifax and other Canadian airports.

To learn more:

Transport Canada

• Canada remembers

CBC Archives

• See September 11 commemorative events in Gander on the 15th anniversary

Photo of Gander airport in Newfoundland and Labrador, September 11, 2001.

Source

September 12, 1945

Over 11,000 workers at the Ford Motor Company in Windsor, Ontario, go on strike. The strike will end on December 19, when both parties agree to binding arbitration by Justice Ivan C. Rand of the Supreme Court of Canada.

This event will lead to the creation of the Rand Formula, which will play a key role in labour relations in the country.

To learn more:

Supreme Court of Canada

• Read a biography of Justice Rand

Canadian Museum of History

• Find out more about the Rand Formula

The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Discover more about the 1945 strike

Photo of workers at the Ford factory in Windsor, Ontario, during a strike in 1951.

Source

September 13, 1882

Ottawa lumber baron John Rudolphus Booth creates his own railway network. It connects Ottawa to Coteau-Landing, Quebec. Booth will then create the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Company, the largest private railway company in the world.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• See photos of John Rudolphus Booth in our collection

Dictionary of Canadian Biography

• Find out more about the life of J.R. Booth

Canadian Railway Hall of Fame

• Read about J.R. Booth and railways in Canada

Photo of John Rudolphus Booth (centre) inspecting a load of lumber from his land.

Source

September 14, 1907

Jasper Forest Reserve, which covers 13,000 square kilometers in the Alberta Rockies, is established.

In 1930, Jasper will become a national park under the National Parks Act.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• View photos of Jasper

Parks Canada

• Visit Jasper National Park

Travel Alberta

• Discover tourism in Alberta

Photo of cabins at Jasper Park Lodge, along a path made of oil sands, Jasper, 1927.

Source

September 15, 1916

Canadian troops capture the ruined village of Courcelette in France. For the first time, Canadians use tanks in combat. Canada will suffer 24,000 casualties during the four-month Battle of the Somme.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada (LAC)

• View preserved military heritage at LAC

Canadian War Museum

• Learn more about the battle for Courcelette

Veterans Affairs Canada

• Visit the Courcelette Canadian Memorial online

The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Read about this First World War battle

Photo of a horse ambulance picking up wounded at an advanced dressing station near the front lines during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, September 15, 1916.

September 16, 1974

Thirty-two women, the first female cohort, join the ranks of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Today, women make up around one fifth of the police officers in the RCMP.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• View our Flickr gallery “Royal Canadian Mounted Police”

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

• Find out more about women in the RCMP

• Watch a video about this historic event

Photo of RCMP member Cpl. Audrey Soucy, in red serge during the Canadian Sunset Ceremonies in Ottawa, 2010.

Source

September 17, 1878

The secret ballot is used for the first time in a federal general election. Introduced by Alexander Mackenzie’s Liberals four years earlier, the secret ballot was intended to clean up electoral practices and prevent violence on election day. This change does not help Mackenzie’s Liberals, who lose the election to John A. Macdonald’s Conservatives.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Find out about the life of Alexander Mackenzie

Elections Canada

• Discover more about the history of the vote in Canada

Photo of a man putting his ballot into the ballot box, Ontario, June 1962.

Source

September 18, 1949

Montréal jazz pianist Oscar Peterson makes his debut at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, he will be awarded the Order of Canada in 1973.

In 2010, a statue of Peterson seated at a piano will be erected in his honour outside the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Discover the Oscar Peterson fonds

Government of Canada

• Read about the statue of Oscar Peterson

The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Learn more about the life of this great pianist

Photo of Oscar Peterson playing the piano.

Source

September 19, 1985

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, John Fraser, announces the recall of a million cans of tainted StarKist tuna. He does so under public pressure after a CBC report two days earlier revealed that he had authorized the sale of the tainted tuna, despite warnings from inspectors at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Fraser will resign from his position a few days later.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• View our Flickr photo gallery “Fishing”

Radio-Canada Archives

• View the news item "Thon : odeurs nauséabondes au Parlement" (French only)

CBC Digital Archives

• Read about the "tuna scandal"

Photo of a 977 pound tuna being weighed in Nova Scotia, 1956.

Source

September 20, 1917

The Parliament of Canada passes legislation giving some women the right to vote in federal elections.

This right is limited to women who are British subjects; 21 years of age or older; and the wife, widow, mother, sister or daughter of any person, male or female, living or dead, who had served in the military. Another law grants the right to vote to some 2,000 military nurses, known as “Bluebirds,” stationed in Europe.

After the 1917 election, the government will extend this right to all non-Indigenous Canadians who are British subjects and 21 years of age or older.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Read about the history of women’s right to vote in Canada

Status of Women Canada

• Discover more about women’s right to vote in Canada

Photo of Canadian military nurses voting at a Canadian hospital in France, December 1917.

Source

September 21, 1911

Robert Borden’s Conservatives win the general election with 51.2% of the vote. Wilfrid Laurier is out after 15 years in power.

Borden will be prime minister of Canada until 1920. During his first mandate, he will face challenges brought about by the start of the First World War in 1914.

The Centre Block of Parliament will burn down in February 1916. Borden will escape, slightly burned and in just a shirt, leaving his office and all of its contents in flames.

After the end of the First World War in 1918, Borden will insist that Canada send an independent delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, and he will help to establish the League of Nations (now the United Nations).

In 1920, Borden will resign as prime minister for health reasons. Retirement will be rewarding: he will take care of his business interests, give lectures and write until his death in 1937.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Read about Robert Borden

Parliament of Canada

• Find out about the 1911 general election

Bank of Canada

• See Robert Borden’s portrait on the Canadian $100 bill, and learn about this polymer note

Photo of Prime Minister Borden and Sir Winston Churchill leaving the Admiralty, London, 1912.

Source

September 22, 1930

Parliament ratifies the Unemployment Relief Act as a grave economic crisis grips the country.

The legislation provides $20 million in direct assistance to the unemployed and public works to encourage job creation.

These measures are passed under Prime Minister R.B. Bennett, a strong supporter of unemployment insurance, old age pensions and minimum wage.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Discover actions taken by Prime Minister R.B. Bennett during the economic crisis

Senate of Canada

• Learn more about the 1929 Crash and efforts to improve the lives of Canadian families

Statistics Canada

• Read “Telling Canada’s story in numbers”

Photo of members of the Single Men's Unemployed Association during the Great Depression, heading toward Bathurst Street United Church, in Toronto, Ontario.

September 23, 1992

Manon Rhéaume becomes the first woman to play in a game in a major North American sports league, the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadian plays in goal during a pre season Tampa Bay Lightning game.

This talented goaltender was also on the Canadian women’s hockey team for the 1992 world championships. She won gold with the team that year, and will win it again in 1994.

In 1998, she will qualify for the first Canadian women’s hockey team to play in the Winter Olympics; in Nagano, she and her teammates will win the silver medal.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Visit our Canadian Olympians database and see pictures of Manon Rhéaume in action

CBC Digital Archives

• Have a look at this CBC report on female hockey player Manon Rhéaume

• View Manon Rhéaume’s story

The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Read a biography of Manon Rhéaume

Photo of Manon Rhéaume, 1992.

Source

September 24, 1998

The Canadian government designates the last Sunday in September as Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day.

This event gives Canadians an opportunity to express their appreciation for the dedication shown by police and peace officers, especially those who have fallen.

To learn more:

Department of Justice Canada

• Read the official proclamation

Canadian Peace Officers’ Memorial Association

• Find out about the history of these commemorations and this year’s event today on Parliament Hill

Public Services and Procurement Canada

• Explore the statues, monuments and memorials on the grounds of Parliament Hill

Photo of police officer on horseback with tourists at Place d'Armes in Montréal, with the Maisonneuve monument and Notre-Dame Basilica in the background, June 1950.

September 25, 1975

The Franco-Ontarian flag is raised for the first time, at Laurentian University in Sudbury. In 2001, Ontario’s Legislative Assembly will officially recognize the green-and-white flag as representing the Francophone community in the province.

To learn more:

Canadian Heritage

• Discover all the flags of the Canadian Francophonie

ACFO of Greater Sudbury

• Learn more about the Franco-Ontarian flag (French only)

Photo of the Franco-Ontarian flag.

Source

September 26, 1904

Albert Henry George Grey, the 4th Earl Grey, is officially appointed as Governor General of Canada. His term at Rideau Hall will last until 1911. Lord Grey will be remembered, among other things, for the Grey Cup. In 1909, he will present this cup to Canadian football’s championship team, the University of Toronto. Today, the Canadian Football League awards this trophy to the winner of the Grey Cup game.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Read the blog “Unravelling the Mystery of the Lord Grey Banner”

Governor General of Canada

• Find out more about Earl Grey

Dictionary of Canadian Biography

• Learn more about Earl Grey’s life

Photo of Governor General Earl Grey and his wife, Lady Alice Grey, outside Rideau Hall, Ottawa, 1904.

Source

September 27, 1888

The Mayor of Vancouver, David Oppenheimer, officially opens Stanley Park. Thanks to the contributions of several architects and landscapers, the city will be transform the park between 1913 and 1936. In 1988, Stanley Park will be designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• See the photos in our Stanley Park collection

Canada’s Historic Places

• Find out more about Stanley Park

Canadian Army

• Discover a little-known piece of Stanley Park history

Photo of a great cedar tree, Stanley Park, 1897.

Source

September 28, 1972

It’s a historic moment in Canadian sport: Team Canada wins the Summit Series against the U.S.S.R.! Paul Henderson scores with 34 seconds left in the third period of the eighth and deciding game.

Henderson also scored the winning goals in games six and seven.

An estimated 15 million out of 20 million Canadians watched the series.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• See the 1972 Summit Series in pictures

Parks Canada

• Read a summary of the Summit Series

Radio-Canada Archives

• Watch the series “live” (French only)

YouTube

• See Paul Henderson’s winning goal again

Photo of the winning goal scored by Paul Henderson during the eighth and final game in the 1972 Summit Series.

Source

September 29, 1962

The satellite Alouette 1 is launched. This event marks Canada’s entry into the space age. After the Soviet Union and the United States, Canada is the third country to design and build its own satellite.

Over 10 years, Alouette 1 will produce more than 1 million images of the ionosphere.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

• Read “Canada’s UFOs: The Search for the Unknown”

Canadian Space Agency

• Find out more about the Alouette 1 satellite

National Film Board of Canada

• Watch a documentary on Alouette 1 (French only)

Photo of Dr. Leroy Nelms and Dr. John Chapman making a toast beside a model of the Alouette satellite, August 24, 1970.

Source

September 30, 1947

In New York, the United Nations General Assembly elects Canada for its first two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

The Council’s mandate is to maintain peace and international security.

To learn more:

Global Affairs Canada

• Learn more about Canada’s role in the United Nations by reading a speech by Yves Fortier, former ambassador and the Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations

Radio-Canada Archives

• Learn more about Canada’s history at the United Nations (French only)

Photo of Prime Minister Louis Saint-Laurent addressing members of the United Nations.