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Formed during the Great Depression, the Chatham Colored All-Stars (1932–39) was the first all-Black organized baseball team in Ontario. Comprised primarily of men from the town of Chatham in Southwestern Ontario, the All-Stars became the first all-Black team to win a Provincial Ontario Baseball Amateur Association (OBAA) championship in 1934. 

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, known simply as the Montreal Protocol, is an international environmental agreement. It regulates the consumption and production of approximately 100 man-made, ozone-depleting chemicals. The Montreal Protocol is so named because it was initially signed in Montreal on 16 September 1987. To date, the Montreal Protocol is the only United Nations treaty that every country in the world has ratified.

Sweat lodges are heated, dome-shaped structures used by Indigenous peoples during certain purification rites and as a way to promote healthy living.

The prime minister (PM) is the head of the federal government. It is the most powerful position in Canadian politics. Prime ministers are not specifically elected to the position; instead, the PM is typically the leader of the party that has the most seats in the House of Commons. The prime minister controls the governing party and speaks for it; names senators and senior judges for appointment; and appoints and dismisses all members of Cabinet. As chair of Cabinet, the PM controls its agenda and greatly influences the activities and priorities of Parliament. In recent years, a debate has emerged about the growing power of prime ministers, and whether this threatens other democratic institutions.

Crime in modern societies can be defined officially as acts or omissions prohibited by law and punishable by sanctions. Although crime is sometimes viewed broadly as the equivalent of antisocial, immoral and sinful behaviour or as a violation of any important group standard, no act is legally a crime unless prohibited by law. Conceptions of crime vary widely from culture to culture; only treason (disloyalty to the group) and incest are condemned virtually universally, but they were not always treated as crimes.

The Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes (CHL) was an all-Black men’s hockey league. It was organized by Black Baptists and Black intellectuals and was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1895. It was defunct during and after the First World War, reformed in 1921 and then fell apart during the Depression in the 1930s. Play was known to be fast, physical and innovative. The league was designed to attract young Black men to Sunday worship with the promise of a hockey game between rival churches after the services. Later, with the influence of the Black Nationalism Movement — and with rising interest in the sport of hockey — the league came to be seen as a potential driving force for the equality of Black Canadians. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in honour of the league in January 2020.

The Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817, making it Canada’s oldest incorporated bank. From its founding to the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1935, the Bank of Montreal served as Canada’s central bank. Today, the various components of the Bank of Montreal are collectively known as BMO Financial Group. BMO is Canada’s fourth largest bank by assets, and the eighth largest in North America. It offers services in three distinct areas — personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking. BMO is a public company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BMO. In 2021, BMO registered $27.19 billion in revenue and $7.75 billion in profit and held $988.18 billion in assets. BMO employs more than 43,863 people who serve more than 8 million customers across Canada.

The common gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis) is a relatively small, striped, non-venomous snake. It is one of the most widespread snake species in North America and its range extends farther north than any other North American snake. In Canada, it is found in every province except Newfoundland and Labrador, and as far north as James Bay and into the southernmost Northwest Territories. The common gartersnake is broken into five subspecies across Canada: the Maritime gartersnake (Thamnophis s. pallidulus; PEI, NS, NB, QC), the Eastern gartersnake (Thamnophis s. sirtalis; QC, ON), the red-sided gartersnake (Thamnophis s. parietalis; ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, NWT), the valley gartersnake (Thamnophis s. fitchi; BC), and the Puget Sound gartersnake (Thamnophis s. pickeringii; BC).

Bannock is a form of bread that served as a staple in the diets of early settlers and fur traders. Most Indigenous nations in North America have some version of bannock. Inuit call it palauga, Mi’kmaq luskinikn, and Ojibwe ba‘wezhiganag. The word derives from the Gaelicbannach, meaning morsel, which in turn likely came from the Latin panis, which means bread. Bannock is usually unleavened, oval-shaped and flat. The version that we know today came from Scotland. In its most rudimentary form, it is made of flour, water, and fat or lard. Milk, salt, and sugar are often added, depending on the recipe. It is traditionally cooked by mixing the ingredients into a large, round biscuit and baked in a frying pan. Today, most often, bannock is baked in the oven, making it heavy and dense; or it is pan-fried, light and fluffy; or it is deep-fried.

The Quebec Biker War was an almost decade-long territorial conflict between two outlaw motorcycle gangs in Quebec: the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine. The war centred on control over the narcotics trade in Quebec. It was also driven by intense rivalries and deep-seated animosities between major figures in Quebec’s criminal underworld. (See Organized Crime.) The conflict involved over 80 bombings, some 130 cases of arson and 20 disappearances. More than 160 people were killed and over 200 were injured, including many innocent bystanders.

The American Civil War (1861–65) was fought between the northern (Union) states and the southern (Confederate) states, which withdrew from the United States in 1860–61. The war left cities in ruins, shattered families and took the lives of an estimated 750,000 Americans. The war also involved those living in what is now Canada, including roughly 40,000 who joined the fight. The war played a significant role in how and when Canada became an independent country.

The Government of Saskatchewan is led by Premier Scott Moe, leader of the Saskatchewan Party. The Saskatchewan Party, most recently elected on 26 October 2020, holds a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Lieutenant-governor Russell Mirasty, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and appointed in 2019, is Saskatchewan’s first lieutenant-governor of Indigenous ancestry. The province’s first premier, Walter Scott, began his term in 1905, after Saskatchewan joined Confederation. Key events in Saskatchewan’s political history include the election of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CFF) in 1944, Canada’s first socialist government and forerunner to the New Democratic Party. The CFF implemented a system of Medicare that was later adopted nationally. More recently, Saskatchewan has seen the rise of the centre-right Saskatchewan Party, which has become the dominant political force in the province.

Passed in 1988, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was the first act of its kind in the world. It enshrined into law the federal government’s commitment to promoting and maintaining a diverse, multicultural society (see Multiculturalism).

The Fifth Estate is Canada’s leading investigative journalism program. Modelled after CBS’s 60 Minutes, it debuted on the CBC in September 1975. It continues to be a flagship series for the public broadcaster. Hosts have included Adrienne Clarkson, Linden MacIntyre, Anna Maria Tremonti, Hana Gartner, Gillian Findlay and Bob McKeown. The show has won 52 Gemini Awards, more than 15 Canadian Screen Awards, two Michener Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary.

The Indian Act was first created in 1876. A new version was created in 1951. Since then, the Act has been revised several times. The main goal of the Act was to force First Nations peoples to lose their culture and become like Euro-Canadians. The Indian Act does not affect either the Métis or Inuit.

(This article is a plain-language summary of the Indian Act. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Indian Act.)

The Heritage Minutes collection is a bilingual series of history-focused public service announcements. Each 60-second short film depicts a significant person, event or story in Canadian history. They are produced by Historica Canada, the not-for-profit organization that also publishes this encyclopedia. First released in 1991, the Heritage Minutes have been shown on television, in cinemas and online. They have become a recognizable part of Canadian culture. The collection currently includes 99 episodes.

Howard Sinclair Anderson was under age when he enlisted in the army after the chief of George Gordon Reserve, a veteran of the First World War, went around looking for volunteers. Anderson became a Lance Corporal in the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps during the Second World War. Discover his story of serving in France after D-Day and the discrimination he faced after returning.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Its Canadian Alpine Journal has been published annually since 1907; The Gazette, begun in 1921 as a less formal publication, was replaced in 1986 with a quarterly newsletter. A reference library is maintained in Banff's Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

Canadian Tire Corporation, Ltd., is one of Canada’s most recognized retail chains. Founded in Toronto by brothers J.W. and A.J. Billes, the company got its start when the brothers bought the Hamilton Tire and Garage in 1922. In 1927, they incorporated the business as the Canadian Tire Corporation. Still headquartered in Toronto, the company operates a network of 1,711 stores and gas bars that extends to every province and territory except Nunavut. Canadian Tire owns Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Helly Hansen and FGL Sports, including the retail companies Sport Chek, Atmosphere and Sports Experts. It is a public company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CTC. In 2021, Canadian Tire registered $16.3 billion in revenue and $1.26 billion in net income and held $21.8 billion in assets.