Canadian History - 20th Century

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1901
Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio message at St. John's, Newfoundland

1903
Canada loses Alaska Boundary dispute when British representative sides with U.S.

1903
A prospector in northern Ontario stumbles across the world's richest silver vein

1905
Provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta are formed

1907
Industrial Disputes Investigation Act (IDIA) requires compulsory conciliation of labour disputes

1910
Federal government decides to establish the Royal Canadian Navy

1911
Liberal government of Wilfred Laurier loses Reciprocity election; Robert Borden becomes Prime Minister

1912
S.S. Titanic sinks off Newfoundland; recovered bodies are buried in Halifax cemetery

1913
Canadian economy goes into a slump

1914
Canada automatically enters First World War when Britain declares war on Germany (August 4)

1917
French munitions ship Mont Blanc catches fire & explodes in Halifax harbor on December 6th; 2,000 killed

1917
Canadians capture Vimy Ridge after British and French attempts fail

1917
Income tax is introduced by the federal government as a "temporary wartime measure"

1918
Under the War Measures Act, manufacture & sale of intoxicating beverages is prohibited in Canada

1920
With passage of the Volstead Act in the United States, the rum-running era begins

1922
Foster Hewitt makes the world's first radio broadcast of a hockey game

1923
Canada deals directly with U.S. without British participation in signing Halibut Treaty

1925
Delegation of Maritime businessmen and politicians travels to Ottawa to lobby for Maritime Rights

1926
Old age pension instituted by federal government

1926
Royal Commission (Duncan) report recommends restoration of preferential Maritime railway freight rates

1928
Supreme Court of Canada rules that women are not "persons" who can be elected to public office

1929
British Privy Council overrules Supreme Court "non-person" decision

1929
New York Stock Market crash

1931
Female worker at Ganong's candy factory in St. Stephen, N.B., makes $14/wk; her male foreman makes $32/wk

1931
Statute of Westminster grants Canada full autonomy from Britain

1933
Newfoundland Assembly votes to suspend self-government; British appoint "Commission of Government"

1934
The Dionne quintuplets are born in Callander, Ontario

1935
R.B. Bennett's "New Deal" for Canada announced; Supreme Court later declares it ultra vires

1939
Canada enters World War II after remaining neutral for 1 week; pro-war party in Québec wins provincial election

1940
Ogdensburg Agreement co-ordinates industrial output of Canada and U.S.

1942
Construction boom due to American and Canadian military bases eliminates unemployment in Newfoundland

1942
Canadian raid on French port of Dieppe is a disaster; British later claim it was useful rehearsal for D-Day

1944
Canadian troops advance further inland than any other Allied unit on D-Day (June 6)

1944
Saskatchewan voters elect the first socialist government in North America, led by Tommy Douglas

1949
Newfoundland becomes Canada's tenth province on March 31st

1951
Mid-century census records Canada's population as 14 million

1951
Royal Commission (Massey) reports that Canadian culture is dominated by American influences

1952
First television stations in Canada begin broadcasting in Montreal (Sept. 6) and Toronto (Sept. 8)

1955
Montreal Canadiens hockey star Maurice "Rocket" Richard is suspended for fighting; riots break out in Montreal

1959
Canadian government cancels the Avro Arrow; many engineers on the project end up working for NASA

1959
St. Lawrence Seaway opens

1960
"Quiet Revolution" begins in Québec

1962
Trans-Canada Highway officially opens

1965
Groundfish landings in Northwest Atlantic peak at 2.8 million tons

1965
The Auto Pact, forerunner of NAFTA, is signed between United States and Canada

1969
The federal government becomes officially bilingual

1970
The FLQ, a militant separatist group in Québec, kidnaps British diplomat & murders Québec cabinet minister

1976
Canada announces 200-nautical-mile coastal fishing zone

1976
Parti Quebécois under Rene Levesque wins Québec provincial election on separatist platform

1980
The majority of Québecers reject separation from Canada in a referendum vote

1981
Québec bans public signs in English

1982
The Canadian Consitution, up until now British legislation, is ratified by the Canadian legislature and every provincial legislature, except Québec.

1983
Jeanne Sauve is named the Governor General of Canada, the first woman appointed to this role.

1984
Brian Mulroney of the Progressive Conservative party is first elected Prime Minister.

1988
Brian Mulroney runs for re-election and wins, the major issue being free trade with the United States.

1989
Canada and the United States sign a free trade agreement.

1990
The proposed Meech Lake Accord, a Constitutional proposal, fails.

1991
On January 1st, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the most unpopular tax in Canadian history is introduced.

1992
The proposed Charlottetown Accord, a proposal for a new Canadian Constitution, is rejected in a referendum by just over half of Canadians.

1993
Kim Campbell replaces the unpopular politician Brian Mulroney to become Canada's first female Prime Minister. In an election later that year her party loses all but 2 seats in a Jean Chretién election victory.

1994
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, creating a free trade zone between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

1997
Confederation Bridge links Prince Edward Island to the rest of Canada.

1999
The Territory of Nunavut is carved from the Northwest Territories on April 1st.

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