May

#OnThisDay ... in Canada's history! On this page, you'll discover significant events that shaped our society. Subscribe to Library and Archives Canada's Facebook and Twitter pages or use the #Canada150 and #OnThisDay hashtags for today-in-history vignettes. Above all, join the conversation as we share 150 years of history, one day at a time!

From left to right: Julie Payette, Sitting Bull, Chris Hadfield and Sir Ernest MacMillan
Photo of another of Manitoba’s regular major floods: Wildwood Park District, one of Greater Winnipeg's most hard-hit suburbs in 1950. Many houses were submerged up to their roofs.

Source

May 1, 1997

The Red River of the North bursts its banks, leading to the “Flood of the Century” across southern Manitoba, Minnesota and North Dakota. Melt water from an April blizzard is responsible for the flooding, and the flood waters unexpectedly rise higher than on previous occasions. The flood is considered to be the worst since 1826 and 1852.

Despite the floodway, constructed in 1968 to divert water around Winnipeg, over a thousand homes are destroyed, and there are billions of dollars of damage throughout the Red River Valley.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Province of Manitoba

Photo of another of Manitoba’s regular major floods: Wildwood Park District, one of Greater Winnipeg's most hard-hit suburbs in 1950. Many houses were submerged up to their roofs.

 
Northern Dancer and his jockey.

Source

May 2, 1964

Northern Dancer wins the Kentucky Derby, the first Canadian horse to do so. He will get a hero’s welcome when he returns home to Toronto – the mayor will even give him the key to the city!

The racehorse will be named 1964’s Athlete of the Year by Canadian sportswriters. Over the course of his two-year career, Northern Dancer will win 14 of the 18 races he competes in. Considered a Canadian icon, he will be the first horse inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, in 1965.

To learn more:

Canadian Museum of History

The Canadian Encyclopedia

YouTube

Northern Dancer and his jockey.

 
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae and his dog Bonneau, 1914.

Source

May 3, 1915

Lt.-Col. John McCrae composes “In Flanders Fields” in a field ambulance near the Franco-Belgium front. The day before, McCrae attended the funeral of his good friend Lt. Alexis Helmer, who was killed in the Second Battle of Ypres. Helmer’s death is believed to be the inspiration for McCrae’s poem.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Canadian War Museum

National Film Board of Canada

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae and his dog Bonneau, 1914.

 
Some 40 homes, like this one, were swept into an enormous 600-metre-wide crater.

May 4, 1971

A massive overnight landslide devastates the town of St.-Jean-Vianney, in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. In a matter of moments, 31 people lose their lives and some 40 homes are swept away. The landslide leaves behind a massive crater 600 metres wide and 30 metres deep, larger than any previously recorded.

The village is declared unsafe for habitation because of the Leda clay, and the residents are relocated. The site is still abandoned today, and the 324,000-square-metre crater can be seen on Google Earth.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Get Prepared

Radio-Canada Archives

Flickr

Some 40 homes, like this one, were swept into an enormous 600-metre-wide crater.

 
Sioux Chief Sitting Bull in Winnipeg, Manitoba, ca. 1885.

Source

May 5, 1877

Sitting Bull and 5,000 Sioux warriors lay down their weapons and cross into Canada. They are seeking refuge from the pursuing U.S. Army, in the Cypress Hills near Wood Mountain in what is now Saskatchewan. They hope for protection under British law after fighting the Battle of Little Big Horn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Historica Canada

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Sioux Chief Sitting Bull in Winnipeg, Manitoba, ca. 1885.

 
Photo of Sir Ernest MacMillan, March 21, 1946.

Source

May 6, 1973

Sir Ernest MacMillan, Canada’s “musical knight,” passes away in Toronto, Ontario. Born in 1893 in Mimico, Ontario, MacMillan studied music in Toronto before heading to Paris in 1914 to study piano.

MacMillan was in Germany for the Bayreuth Music Festival when the First World War started. As a result, he spent the war in a German prison camp as a civilian prisoner.

In 1935, King George V knighted MacMillan on the recommendationof Prime Minister R.B. Bennett.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Canadian Music Centre

The accomplished conductor, composer and educator gave hundreds of recitals and concerts in his lifetime and made major contributions to the advancement of the Canadian music industry.

Photo of Sir Ernest MacMillan, March 21, 1946.

 
Lawren S. Harris, member of the Group of Seven, sitting at a table.

Source

May 7, 1920

The Group of Seven’s first exhibition opens at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. The show includes works by Franklin Carmichael, Lawren S. Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and F.H. Varley.

The exhibition will not be a great success, with only three canvases sold. The painters’ landscape art, although not a hit in 1920, will soon be coveted by collectors, galleries and museums around the world. In 2016, “Mountain Forms” by Lawren Harris will sell for a record-setting $11.4 million at auction.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Canadian War Museum

National Gallery of Canada

Lawren S. Harris, member of the Group of Seven, sitting at a table.

 
Stamps commemorating Gilles Villeneuve, 1950-1982.

Source

May 8, 1982

Gilles Villeneuve, Formula One race car driver for Ferrari, crashes and dies in a qualifying round for the Belgian Grand Prix. Team Ferrari loses its best driver, and Canadian fans lose their hero.

Villeneuve, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, made his mark in 1976 when he beat Team McLaren’s James Hunt on the track at the Formula Atlantic race in Trois-Rivières. He won six Grand Prix races in his short career. One was a famous win in Montréal in 1978, the only time a Canadian has won at home.

His son, Jacques Villeneuve will follow his father’s footsteps and become Canada’s first and only Formula One World Champion in 1997.

To learn more:

Radio-Canada Archives

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

Stamps commemorating Gilles Villeneuve, 1950-1982.

Image of Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk woman who lived in the 17th century.

Source

May 9, 1939

Kateri Tekakwitha, known as the "Lily of the Mohawks," is recommended for beatification (sainthood) by Pope Pius XII. At age 18, Kateri Tekakwitha devoted herself to the Catholic Church in Kahnawake and took a vow of chastity. Upon her death at the age of 24, her childhood smallpox scars were said to have disappeared miraculously. People soon began to pray to her.

In 2012, she will be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming the first First Nations person to become a saint. Kateri Tekakwitha is the patron saint of ecology, and her feast day is celebrated in Canada on April 17.

To learn more:

Canada.ca Newsroom

Dictionary of Canadian Biography

Image of Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk woman who lived in the 17th century.

Photo of astronaut Chris Hadfield in space.

Source

May 10, 1990

The Canadian Space Agency is created by an Act of Parliament. Although active in the aerospace field for many decades, Canada did not have an official space agency until 1990. Since then, Canada has recruited six astronauts, three of whom have flown in space: Chris Hadfield, Dave Williams and Julie Payette.

Before the Canadian Space Agency was created, Canadian astronauts such as Marc Garneau and Roberta Bondar were invited by NASA to participate in space missions.

To learn more:

Canadian Space Agency

Justice Laws Website

Photo of astronaut Chris Hadfield in space.

Fishing camp -- traditional canoes with salmon drying in the sun .

Source

May 11, 2000

The Nisga’a Final Agreement comes into effect. The agreement was signed in April 1999 by the governments of Canada, British Columbia and the Nisga’a Nation. The agreement enshrines land and water rights, as well as self-governance and control over forestry and fishing resources within their territory, for the Nisga’a Nation.

The treaty, or comprehensive agreement, is the first modern treaty to be settled in British Columbia. Previous treaties were the 1854 Douglas Treaties for Vancouver and the 1899 Treaty 8 for Northern B.C.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada

Fishing camp -- traditional canoes with salmon drying in the sun.

NORAD Blue room, December 8, 1972.

Source

May 12, 1958

Canada and the United States establish the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) to ensure defence and security during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. NORAD is in charge of the surveillance and defence of North American airspace. To accomplish this, radar and satellites are deployed, and the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line established across the Arctic from the Aleutians to the East Coast. NORAD will later be renamed the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

To learn more:

National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces

  • Read a backgrounder about NORAD

Canada Aviation and Space Museum

The Canadian Encyclopedia

NORAD

NORAD Blue room, December 8, 1972.

A group of Canadian artists called "Northern Lights" in the studio to record "Tears Are Not Enough".

Source

May 13, 1987

David Foster is named Songwriter of the Year by Broadcast Music Incorporated for the second year in a row. The Victoria, British Columbia, native is a legend in the music industry. He has collaborated with some of the biggest recording stars, including Alice Cooper and Barbra Streisand. He will go on to work with Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Kenny Rogers, Madonna and Michael Bublé, among others.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Canadian Music Hall of Fame

A group of Canadian artists called "Northern Lights" in the studio to record "Tears Are Not Enough".

Caricature published by the Vancouver Sun, January 9, 1976.

Source

May 14, 1969

Homosexuality is decriminalized in Canada, with the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act (1968-1969). This omnibus bill was first introduced in December 1967 by Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Minister of Justice. The bill went through two revisions, C-195 and C-150, before finally passing third reading with a vote of 149 to 55.

This massive amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada included amendments to the law on abortion, lotteries and gun possession, and added new offences like impaired driving and cruelty to animals.

To learn more:

Justice Laws Website

Montréal Pride

"...because I'm pretty sure Trudeau specifically named bedrooms as the only place the government has no place being."

Caricature published by the Vancouver Sun, January 9, 1976.

Crowd gathered outside the Union Bank of Canada building on Main Street during the Winnipeg General Strike.

Source

May 15, 1919

The Winnipeg General Strike starts. At 11 a.m., 30,000 workers walk off the job and take to the streets after negotiations over wages and working conditions break down.

The same day, police officers, public servants and municipal employees join the private-sector workers in solidarity. The strike will last for six weeks and paralyze the city.

Six weeks later, on “Bloody Saturday,” June 21, the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) will charge and attack the striking workers. One person will die, and 30 people will be injured in the confrontation. The strike will finally end on June 26, as labour leaders call it off for fear of more violence.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Justice Laws Website

Canadian Museum of History

Read the blog "A Witness of the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919"

Crowd gathered outside the Union Bank of Canada building on Main Street during the Winnipeg General Strike.

Alfred Pellan in his studio, 1976.

Source

May 16, 1906

Alfred Pellan, renowned painter and artist, is born in the city of Québec. In 1955, he will become the first Canadian to have a solo show at the Musée national d’art moderne in Paris.

Known for his abstract art, Pellan will train in Paris in the late 1920s after winning the first-ever Quebec government award for the fine arts. He will return to Canada at the outbreak of the Second World War. Unappreciated by the Montréal art scene, he will spend the 1940s illustrating poetry books and designing for the theatre.

At his death in 1988, he will hold numerous awards and honours, including the Ordre national du Québec.

To learn more:

National Gallery of Canada

  • Discover the artwork of Alfred Pellan online (or visit in person)

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

Alfred Pellan in his studio, 1976.

Avro Lancaster Mk III’s are used to drop special bombs that skip across the water and explode upon contact with a target. Two of the three target dams are breached, and many other German industrial complexes are destroyed. The Germans do not return to full operating capacity in the affected areas until September.

Source

May 17, 1943

Early morning: Canadian airmen fly in the Dambusters raids on Germany’s Ruhr Valley during the Second World War. This attack, officially known as Operation Chastise, is a near-complete victory. The raids are conducted by the newly formed Royal Air Force (RAF) Squadron 617, made up of 21 bomber crews from the RAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force.

To learn more:

Royal Canadian Air Force

CBC Calgary

Canada Aviation and Space Museum

Avro Lancaster Mk III’s are used to drop special bombs that skip across the water and explode upon contact with a target.

Two of the three target dams are breached, and many other German industrial complexes are destroyed. The Germans do not return to full operating capacity in the affected areas until September.

Advertising poster promoting moderate sugar intake, ca. 1914–1918.

Source

May 18, 1970

The Guess Who’s hit song “No Sugar Tonight” reaches number one on the U.S. Billboard charts. The rock band from Winnipeg had numerous #1 hits, including “These Eyes” and “American Woman,” throughout the 1970s. In 1987, the Guess Who will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame alongside Joni Mitchell, Glenn Gould, Paul Anka, Hank Snow and others. In 2002, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson will present the five band members, Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Donnie McDougall and Bill Wallace, with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

The Canadian Encyclopedia

CBC Radio

Advertising poster promoting moderate sugar intake, ca. 1914–1918.

Poster for the film Le Déclin de l'empire américain, by Denys Arcand.

May 19, 1986

Denys Arcand takes home the international critics’ FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Le Déclin de l’empire américain (The Decline of the American Empire). The film will win several Genie awards and be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a first for a Canadian film. It will become the biggest-grossing movie in Quebec, bringing in $30 million. The Toronto International Film Festival will include the film twice in its list of the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time.

Arcand will make two sequels to the film, The Barbarian Invasions (2003) and Days of Darkness (2007).

To learn more:

The Canadian Encyclopedia

National Film Board of Canada

Poster for the film Le Déclin de l'empire américain, by Denys Arcand.

Portraits of Lévesque and Ryan, May 17, 1980.

Source

May 20, 1980

A referendum is held in Quebec on a proposal for sovereignty-association. Residents vote 59% against the proposal, 41% in favour.

A second referendum will be held in 1995.

To learn more:

The Canadian Encyclopedia

  • Discover the history of the Quebec referendums

CBC Digital Archives

Original syndicated caricature portraits of René Lévesque and Claude Ryan, fighting with poles in canoes labelled "oui" and "non" to indicate their referendum vote, as a bewildered beaver looks on.

Portraits of Lévesque and Ryan, May 17, 1980.

Impressive view of the National Gallery of Canada on Sussex Drive in Ottawa.

Source

May 21, 1988

The new National Gallery of Canada has its grand opening in Ottawa, Ontario. The glass and granite structure was designed by architect Moshe Safdie. It holds the most important and extensive collection of Canadian artwork and sculpture in the world.

To learn more:

National Gallery of Canada

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Impressive view of the National Gallery of Canada on Sussex Drive in Ottawa.

Certificate authenticating a copy of the Civil Service Act, 1882. Public Service Commission fonds.

Source

May 22, 1882

The Civil Service Act of 1882 is enacted. It creates selection and examination criteria for people entering the civil service. The intent is to limit the appointment of employees through party patronage.

Today, the Public Service Commission of Canada is responsible for safeguarding a merit-based, representative and non-partisan public service.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Canada.ca

Certificate authenticating a copy of the Civil Service Act, 1882. Public Service Commission fonds.

Photo of a constable of the North-West Mounted Police, ca. 1890–1905.

Source

May 23, 1873

The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) is formed. The first 150 recruits will be sent to Manitoba. In July 1874, an expanded force of 275 members will begin the March West to establish themselves in Alberta.

In 1920, the NWMP will merge with the Dominion Police and become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

  • Browse the personnel records of the NWMP

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Canadian Encyclopedia

  • Read about the history of the NWMP

Photo of a constable of the North-West Mounted Police, ca. 1890–1905.

Photo of a water tank, on the cover of the Report of the Walkerton Inquiry.

Source

May 24, 2000

The Walkerton tragedy claims its first four victims: three adults and a baby. Contaminated well water will lead to the deaths of seven residents of Walkerton, Ontario, and sicken 2,500 others in the small town of approximately 5,000 people.

Residents had reported symptoms of E. coli infections since May 13. A boil-water advisory was issued on May 21. The individuals responsible, the Koebel brothers, will eventually enter into a plea bargain and will be found guilty of “common nuisance.”

To learn more:

CBC

Health Canada

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Photo of a water tank, on the cover of the Report of the Walkerton Inquiry.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the National War Memorial in Ottawa, representing the approximately 116,000 Canadians who gave their lives for their country, including about 28,000 soldiers whose resting place is unknown.

Source

May 25, 2000

The casket of an “unknown soldier of Vimy” is brought to the Hall of Honour in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. His remains were unearthed on May 16, 2000, from a cemetery in France near the site of the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge. A full honour guard of 45 people accompanied the unknown soldier on his flight home. For three days, he will lie in state in the Hall of Honour before being interred in the Tomb of the Unknown soldier during a sombre ceremony at the National War Memorial.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Veterans Affairs Canada

Canadian War Museum

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the National War Memorial in Ottawa, representing the approximately 116,000 Canadians who gave their lives for their country, including about 28,000 soldiers whose resting place is unknown.

Singer John Lennon and Yoko Ono with Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Ottawa, December 22, 1969.

Source

May 26, 1969

John Lennon and Yoko Ono stage their famous “bed-in” at Montréal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel. They invite guests, reporters, photographers and a documentary film crew, and record “Give Peace a Chance” in their hotel suite. This event happens two months after their week-long first bed-in protest during their honeymoon at the Amsterdam Hilton.

To learn more:

Radio-Canada Archives

CBC News

YouTube

Singer John Lennon and Yoko Ono with Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Ottawa, December 22, 1969.

Portrait of Julie Payette, astronaut.

Source

May 27, 1999

Canadian astronaut Julie Payette takes off aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery for the International Space Station (ISS). She is the second Canadian woman to fly in orbit – the first was Roberta Bondar.

Payette is the first Canadian woman to work in the space laboratory, and she helps with its construction. In 2009, her second ISS mission will involve operating three specialized robotic arms: the Canadarm, the Canadarm2 and Japan’s Kibo arm.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

Canadian Space Agency

  • Meet Julie Payette and read about her incredible accomplishments

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Portrait of Julie Payette, astronaut.

The Dionne Quintuplets, Yvonne, Émilie, Cécile, Annette and Marie, with Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, who delivered them.

Source

May 28, 1934

The Dionne Quintuplets are born near the small northern Ontario town of Corbeil. Their mother, Elzire, and their father, Oliva-Édouard, already had five children when the girls arrived two months prematurely. The family will have three more children after the quints. At four months old, Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Émilie and Marie will be declared Wards of the King, and they will spend the next nine years in the care of the state.

To learn more:

Canadian Museum of History

Heroines.ca – Women in Canadian History

The Canadian Encyclopedia

YouTube

  • Watch a fascinating documentary about the Dionne sisters (French only)

The Dionne Quintuplets, Yvonne, Émilie, Cécile, Annette and Marie, with Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, who delivered them.

The S.S. Empress of Ireland ca. 1906–1914.

Source

May 29, 1914

The passenger ship S.S. Empress of Ireland sinks beneath the waters of the St. Lawrence River, near Rimouski, Quebec, 14 minutes after colliding with the collier S.S. Storstad.

Dense fog and confusion about the location and direction of the ships leads to the collision. Only 465 of the 1,477 people aboard the Empress of Ireland survive.

To learn more:

Library and Archives Canada

National Film Board of Canada

Canadian Museum of History

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Transport Canada

The S.S. Empress of Ireland ca. 1906–1914.

Photo of a laboratory technician manipulating blood sample tubes.

Source

May 30, 2005

The Canadian Red Cross is fined $30,000 after pleading guilty to distribution of contaminated blood. Between 1980 and 1990, an estimated 2,000 people were infected with HIV/AIDS, and another 30,000 people contracted Hepatitis C.

The Canadian Red Cross will no longer be involved in blood banks. It will be replaced by Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec. A class-action lawsuit will result in a $1-billion trust fund for victim compensation.

To learn more:

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Health Canada - Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate

Library of Parliament

Radio-Canada Archives

Photo of a laboratory technician manipulating blood sample tubes.

Commemorative stamp issued on the day the Confederation Bridge was inaugurated.

Source

May 31, 1997

The Confederation Bridge opens for interprovincial traffic between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The 12.9-kilometre-long bridge spans the Northumberland Strait, linking the island, at Borden-Carleton, to the mainland, at Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area.

A remarkable feat of engineering, the bridge is the world’s longest across “ice-covered waters.” Approximately 4,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

To learn more:

The Confederation Bridge

Intergovernmental Affairs (Privy Council Office)

Commemorative stamp issued on the day the Confederation Bridge was inaugurated.

Explore by date

Date modified: