Timeline of Canadian history

This is a brief timeline of the history of Canada, comprising important social, economic, political, military, legal, and territorial changes and events in Canada and its predecessor states.

Pre-colonization

Year	Date	Event	Ref.
to 14,000 BCE		At some unknown time prior to this date, Paleo-Indians moved across the Beringia land bridge from eastern Siberia into northwest North America, settling in some areas of Alaska and the Yukon, but are blocked from further travel south into the continent by extensive glaciation.
14,000 BCE		Glaciers that covered Canada began melting, allowing Paleo-Indians to move south and east into Canada and beyond.
3,000–2,000 BCE		The Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands begin to cultivate different types of squash.
3,000 BCE		Paleo-Eskimos begin to settle the Arctic regions of North America from Siberia.
796 CE		Council of Three Fires (also known as the Three Fires Confederacy) is formed.
1000		A short-lived Norse settlement is founded at L'Anse aux Meadows. It is possibly connected with the attempted colony of Vinland, established by Leif Erikson around the same period or, more broadly, with Norse exploration of the Americas.
1142	31 August	The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the League of Peace and Power) is formed.

Pre-confederation

Year	Date	Event	Ref.
1497	24 June	Navigator John Cabot claims Newfoundland for England.
1534	24 July	Explorer Jacques Cartier claims the Gaspé Peninsula for France.
1608	3 July	Quebec City founded, becoming the capital of New France.
1634	4 July	Trois-Rivières founded, becoming the second permanent settlement in New France.
1666		First census of North America released.
1670	2 May	Hudson's Bay Company formed creating a monopoly over the region (Rupert's Land).
1701	4 August	The Great Peace of Montreal, between New France and 40 First Nations, is finalized.
1713	11 April	The War of the Spanish Succession is ended by the Treaty of Utrecht. France cedes Acadia to Great Britain and renounces claims to some British territories in Canada, as well as its claim to a monopoly of trade with the indigenous population.
1763	10 February	The Seven Years' War is ended by the Treaty of Paris. France cedes New France to Great Britain.
1791		The Constitutional Act of 1791 divides the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada (modern-day Ontario and Quebec).

19th century

Year	Date	Event	Ref.
1813	21–22 June	During the War of 1812, Laura Secord learns of an American plan to launch a surprise attack on British forces and walks 20 miles to warn the defenders. The British defeat the American invaders at the Battle of Beaver Dams on 24 June.
1867	1 July	The British North America Act, 1867, divides the Province of Canada into Ontario and Quebec and joins them with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form a confederated state called the Dominion of Canada.
1869–1870	11 October–12 May	A group of Métis led by Louis Riel mount the Red River Rebellion against Canadian intrusion and form the Red River Colony. The Canadian government regains control after acceding to many of Riel's demands, but he flees into exile in the United States after the government refused to grant him amnesty.
1870	12 May	In the aftermath of the Red River Rebellion, Manitoba is formed from portions of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory, becoming Canada's fifth province. Land rights are granted to the Métis.
1871	20 July	British Columbia enters Confederation as the sixth province.
1873	1 July	Prince Edward Island enters Confederation as the seventh province.
1885	26 March–3 June	Several hundred Catholic Francophone Métis led by Louis Riel and supported by Cree fighters mount the North-West Rebellion and establish the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan. Riel is captured at the Battle of Batoche (9–12 May), tried for treason, and hung on 16 November 1885. Francophones bitterly denounce the sentence and Canada becomes deeply polarized along ethno-religious lines.
	7 November	The transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railroad, then the longest in the world, is completed.

20th century

Year	Date	Event	Ref.
1905	1 September	Alberta and Saskatchewan are partitioned out of the Northwest Territories to become the eighth and ninth provinces of Canada.
1910	4 May	Royal Canadian Navy is established.
1914	4 August	Great Britain declares war on Germany, bringing Canada into the First World War.
1917	9–12 April	The four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fight together for the first time in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which becomes celebrated as a national symbol of achievement and sacrifice and a formative milestone in the development of Canada's national identity.
	6 December	An explosion caused by an accidental collision between two merchant ships, one filled with explosives for the war, occurs in Halifax Harbour, resulting in 2000 people dead and 9000 injured.
1918	24 May	Women gain the right to vote in federal elections.
	19 September	Canadian Air Force (after 1920, Royal Canadian Air Force) is established.
1919		Canada sends a delegation to the Paris Peace Talks, the conference resolving war issues. Canada signs the Versailles treaty as part of the British Empire, with parliament's approval.
1920		Canada is admitted as a full member of the League of Nations, independently of Britain. It joins the League Council (governing board) in 1927. Canada plays a minor role and opposes sanctions or military action by the League. The League is virtually defunct by 1939.
1926	25 June–14 September	A constitutional crisis, known as the King-Byng Affair, is precipitated when Governor General Byng refused Prime Minister King's request to dissolve parliament and call an election, instead asking opposition leader Meighen to form a government, which in turn was quickly defeated. King framed the dispute as one of Britain, represented by the Governor General, interfering with Canadian affairs. Consequently, the affair played a role in the Balfour Declaration of 1926, in which each Dominion of the British Empire was declared to be of equal status with Britain.
1927	25 November	Canada appoints Vincent Massey as its first fully accredited envoy to a foreign capital.
1929	1929 - 1939	Great Depression in Canada begins, resulting in widespread poverty and unemployment for the next decade.
1931	11 December	The Statute of Westminster 1931 is enacted in Britain, officially ending the power of the British parliament to pass and nullify laws in a Dominion without the Dominion's request and consent. The statute formally recognized the de facto independence attained by Canada following the First World War.
1939	10 September	Canada, with its parliament's support, enters the Second World War by declaring war on Germany, one week after Britain and France.
1939	1939 - 1945	During the war, the government mobilizes Canadian money, supplies, and volunteers to support Britain while boosting the economy and maintaining home front morale. Canada plays a military role protecting convoys against German submarines and fighting the German Army in Western Europe, while helping to liberate the Netherlands.
1939-45		During the war Canada expands its small navy into the third largest in the world, after the U.S. and U.K. It had 363 ships and 100,000 sailors (of whom 6700 were women.)
1945	24 October	Canada joins United Nations, seeking to play a world role as a "middle power", with interest in the UN Charter and in relief agencies.
1949	31 March	Newfoundland enters Confederation as the tenth province following a pair of contentious referenda on whether the island should remain a British Crown Colony, become fully independent, or join Canada.
1959	27 June	The Saint Lawrence Seaway, a joint project between Canada and the United States, is officially opened.
1967		Canada celebrates its centennial.
	27 April	Expo 67 opens in Montreal and goes on to be considered most successful World's Fair of the 20th century and a landmark moment in Canadian history.
1970	5 October	The government invokes the War Measures Act to apprehend the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), a separatist paramilitary group in Quebec that was responsible for over 160 violent incidents that killed eight people and in October 1970 had kidnapped a British official (later released) and Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte, who they killed. The FLQ collapses.
1980	20 May	A referendum on Quebec independence is held, resulting in a majority (59.56%) of the province voting to remain in Canada.
1982	17 April	Canada achieves total independence from Great Britain with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982 (which includes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms), by royal proclamation.
1995	30 October	Another referendum on Quebec independence is held. A majority (50.58%) of the province votes to remain in Canada.

21st century

Year	Date	Event	Ref.
2005	20 July	The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage throughout Canada.

See also

• History of Canada
• Historiography of Canada
• Events of National Historic Significance (Canada)
• List of years in Canada
• Heritage Minutes
• National Historic Sites of Canada
• Persons of National Historic Significance
• Timeline of Ontario history
• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Canadian monarchs
• List of Governors General of Canada
• List of Prime Ministers of Canada
• List of years by country

Further reading

Main article: Bibliography of Canadian history

• Hill, Brian H. W. Canada, 875-1973: A Chronology and Fact Book (1973)
• Norrie, Kenneth, Douglas Owram and J.C. Herbert Emery. (2002) A History of the Canadian Economy (4th ed. 2007)
• ISBN 978-0-8020-5016-8, ISBN 978-0-8020-2801-3

Primary sources

External links

• Canada Year Book (CYB) annual 1867–1967
• Events of National Historic Significance
• National Historic Sites of Canada
• Persons of National Historic Significance in Canada
• The Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• Canada`` – UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Canadian Studies – Guide to the Sources
• The Historica-Dominion Institute