1859 - George-Etienne Cartier names Ottawa the capital of the Canadas 1916 - Manitoba becomes the first province to grant women the vote 1967 - Canada signs the UN Outer Space Treaty, a commitment to peaceful exploration and use

1603 – Samuel de Champlain lands in Quebec

1774 – The British Parliament passes the Quebec Act, granting Catholics in Quebec religious freedom

1864 – George Brown forms the Great Coalition Ministry with Cartier and Macdonald

1869 – The Canadian government purchases Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company to create the Northwest Territories

1873 – The Assembly of Prince Edward Island agrees to petition the British government to join Canada

1960 – Quebec Liberals under Jean Lesage defeat the Union Nationale under Maurice Duplessis beginning the Quiet Revolution

1976 – Parliament votes to abolish the death penalty in Canada

1524 – Jacques Cartier spots Prince Edward Island

1812 – United States Congress votes for war against Britain sparking the War of 1812 that will officially begin when President James Madison later declares his country to be at war with Britain

1868 – British government states it will not allow the secession of Nova Scotia from Confederation

1979 – Joe Clark becomes Canada’s 16th and youngest Prime Minister, taking office only one day before his 40th birthday

1990 – Brian Mulroney calls First Minister’s conference in an attempt to get unanimous support for the Meech Lake Accord

1992 – Joe Clark’s Referendum Bill passes

1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie is born; Leader of unsuccessful 1837 rebellions and grandfather to future Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King.

1821 – John Abbott, Canada’s 3rd Prime Minister, is born

1903 – Parliament raises head tax on Chinese immigrants to $500

1834 – Morin and Papineau draft 92 resolutions for the adoption of responsible government

1919 – Sir Wilfrid Laurier dies at age 77 of a stroke. Canada’s 7th Prime Minister, he served in the House of Commons for 45 years and had the longest unbroken term of any Prime Minister.

1965 – Prime Minister Pearson lowers pension payment age from 70 to 65

1981 – Final round of Constitutional debates begin in the House of Commons

1982 – British Parliament approves Canadian Constitution

1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, Canada’s second Prime Minister, is born

1914 – Nellie McClung’s Political Equality League hosts a mock Parliament where debate centres around whether to give the vote to men

1965 – Parliament passes an Act designating the Maple Leaf as the new flag of Canada

1983 – Joe Clark calls for a leadership convention after he receives less than 70% support in a leadership review

1848 – Reformers led by Baldwin and LaFontaine sweep elections in East and West Canada, leading to Responsible Government

1952 – Charles Vincent Massey is appointed Governor General, the first Canadian-born person to hold the position

1815 – Sir John Alexander Macdonald, Canada’s 1st Prime Minister, is born

1934 – Jean Chretien, Canada’s 20th Prime Minister, is born

1896 – Mackenzie Bowell, Canada’s 5th Prime Minister, sees half his cabinet resign in opposition to his leadership 1955 – The Speech from the Throne and the opening of Parliament are broadcast live on television for the first time

1951 – C.D. Howe announces the construction of an atomic reactor at Chalk River, Ontario

1983 – Joe Clark resigns as leader of the opposition after receiving what he considers too low a level of party support at the PC convention

1988 – Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan sign the free trade agreement