Every key date from the lessons, in order. Dates are a favourite on the test, and they're easier to remember when you can see what came before and after. Tap any entry to read the lesson.
1215
Magna Carta, the Great Charter of Freedoms, is signed in England, the start of an 800-year tradition of ordered liberty Canada inherits.
Rights & Responsibilities · Rights of Canadian Citizens
1497
John Cabot maps Canada's Atlantic shore and claims Newfoundland for England.
Canada's History · The First Europeans and New France
1534–1542
Jacques Cartier's three voyages; he claims the land for France.
Canada's History · The First Europeans and New France
1604
First European settlement north of Florida, founded by de Monts and Champlain.
Canada's History · The First Europeans and New France
1604
French colonists begin settling in Acadia, in what are now the Maritime provinces.
Who We Are · English and French: Canada's Official Languages
1608
Champlain builds a fortress at Québec City.
Canada's History · The First Europeans and New France
1670
The Hudson's Bay Company receives its trading charter.
Canada's History · The First Europeans and New France
1700s
French Canadians adopt the maple leaf as a symbol.
Canadian Symbols · The Flag and the Maple Leaf
1701
The French and the Iroquois make peace after a century of fighting.
Canada's History · The First Europeans and New France
1755 to 1763
More than two-thirds of Acadians are deported, an event known as the Great Upheaval.
Who We Are · English and French: Canada's Official Languages
1758
First representative assembly elected, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Canada's History · British North America
1759
Battle of the Plains of Abraham; Britain defeats France at Québec City.
Canada's History · The First Europeans and New France
1763
King George III's Royal Proclamation first guarantees Aboriginal territorial rights and sets the basis for treaties.
Canada's History · Aboriginal Peoples
1774
The Quebec Act.
Canada's History · British North America
1776–83
American Revolution; more than 40,000 Loyalists move north.
Canada's History · British North America
1791
Constitutional Act creates Upper and Lower Canada; the name Canada becomes official.
Canada's History · British North America
1793
Upper Canada moves toward abolishing slavery, the first province in the Empire to do so.
Canada's History · British North America
1812–14
War of 1812; the American invasion fails.
Canada's History · British North America
1833
Britain abolishes slavery throughout the Empire.
Canada's History · British North America
1837–38
Armed rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada are defeated.
Canada's History · British North America
1840
Upper and Lower Canada are united as the Province of Canada.
Canada's History · British North America
1847–48
Nova Scotia becomes the first colony with full responsible government.
Canada's History · British North America
1857
Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as the capital of Canada.
Canada's Regions · Canada's Five Regions
July 1, 1867
Confederation: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick form the Dominion of Canada.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1869–70
Red River uprising led by Louis Riel; Manitoba becomes a province in 1870.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1871
British Columbia joins Canada.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1873
North West Mounted Police founded. Prince Edward Island joins.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1880
"O Canada" is first performed in Quebec City.
Canadian Symbols · "O Canada": The National Anthem
1885
Second Métis uprising in present-day Saskatchewan; Riel executed. Last spike of the CPR (November 7).
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1885
Banff, Canada's first national park, is established in Alberta.
Canada's Regions · The West and the North
1891
Canadian James Naismith invents basketball.
Modern Canada · Arts, Culture, and Sport in Modern Canada
1892
Governor General Lord Stanley donates the Stanley Cup.
Canadian Symbols · The Crown, Parliament, Sports and Honours
1898
Yukon Territory created.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1905
Alberta and Saskatchewan become provinces.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1914
Britain declares war; Canada forms the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
1916
Manitoba becomes the first province to give women the vote.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
1916
Fire destroys the Centre Block of Parliament (rebuilt 1922).
Canadian Symbols · The Crown, Parliament, Sports and Honours
April 9, 1917
Canadians capture Vimy Ridge.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
November 11, 1918
Armistice ends the First World War.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
1918
Most women aged 21 and over can vote in federal elections.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
1920
The Group of Seven painters are founded, developing a style capturing Canada's wilderness landscapes.
Modern Canada · Arts, Culture, and Sport in Modern Canada
1921
Red and white become Canada's national colours.
Canadian Symbols · The Flag and the Maple Leaf
1927
The Peace Tower is completed.
Canadian Symbols · The Crown, Parliament, Sports and Honours
1929
Stock market crash begins the Great Depression.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
1939
The Second World War begins when Germany invades Poland.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
1940
The federal government introduces unemployment insurance, now called employment insurance.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
June 6, 1944
D-Day: Canadians capture Juno Beach.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
May 8, 1945
Germany surrenders; war in Europe ends.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
August 14, 1945
Japan surrenders; war in the Pacific ends.
Canada's History · Canada and the World Wars
1947
Oil is discovered in Alberta, beginning Canada's modern energy industry.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1949
Newfoundland and Labrador joins Canada.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
1951
For the first time, a majority of Canadians can afford adequate food, shelter, and clothing.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1956
Canada welcomes about 37,000 refugees who escaped Soviet tyranny in Hungary.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1960s
Quebec undergoes the Quiet Revolution, a rapid flourishing of French-Canadian culture that fed a Quebec separation movement.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1963
Parliament sets up the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1965
The maple leaf flag is raised for the first time.
Canadian Symbols · The Flag and the Maple Leaf
1965
The Canada and Quebec Pension Plans are established.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1967
The Order of Canada is created for the centennial of Confederation.
Canadian Symbols · The Crown, Parliament, Sports and Honours
1969
Parliament passes the Official Languages Act.
Canadian Symbols · The Crown, Parliament, Sports and Honours
1970
Canada helps found La Francophonie.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1972
Paul Henderson scores the winning goal for Canada in the Canada-Soviet Summit Series.
Modern Canada · Arts, Culture, and Sport in Modern Canada
1975
Canada welcomes over 50,000 Vietnamese refugees after the Communist victory in Vietnam.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
July 1, 1980
"O Canada" is officially proclaimed Canada's national anthem.
Canadian Symbols · "O Canada": The National Anthem
1980
Quebec loses a referendum on sovereignty.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1980
Terry Fox begins the Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research.
Modern Canada · Arts, Culture, and Sport in Modern Canada
1982
The Constitution is amended without Quebec's agreement.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1982
The Constitution of Canada is amended to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Rights & Responsibilities · Rights of Canadian Citizens
1985
Rick Hansen circles the globe in a wheelchair to raise funds for spinal cord research.
Modern Canada · Arts, Culture, and Sport in Modern Canada
1988
Canada enters free trade with the United States.
Canada's Economy · A Trading Nation
1994
Mexico joins Canada and the United States in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Canada's Economy · A Trading Nation
1995
Quebec loses a second referendum on sovereignty.
Modern Canada · Postwar Growth and Social Change
1999
Nunavut created.
Canada's History · Confederation and Building a Country
2006
The House of Commons recognizes that the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada.
Who We Are · English and French: Canada's Official Languages
2008
Ottawa formally apologizes to former students of residential schools.
Who We Are · Canada's Three Founding Peoples
2020
The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) replaces NAFTA on July 1.
Canada's Economy · A Trading Nation
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