The North West Company, 1779–1821
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
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Create AccountThe following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
It is the greatest murder mystery in Canadian political history. Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Father of Confederationand outspoken opponent of the Fenians, was assassinated on an Ottawa street in the early hours of Tuesday, 7 April 1868.The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
Everett George Klippert (1926–1996) was a popular Calgary bus driver who was jailed for homosexuality from 1960 to 1964, and from 1965 to 1971. An unlikely martyr, he shunned the spotlight. Klippert was once described as “Canada’s most famous homosexual” due to his unjust prison sentences, which ultimately led to the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
As we mark Black History Month in Canada in February, it’s worth reflecting on the legacy of Canada’s Black communities and the prejudice Black people have faced.The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
In 1970, Bob Dawson, Darrell Maxwell and Percy Paris made history at Nova Scotia’s Saint Mary’s University by becoming what is believed to be the first and only all-black forward line in the history of Canadian university hockey.Over a century’s worth of shifting environmental policy means that today, maintaining Canada’s forests is as important as cutting them down. Tree planting is an essential part of this maintenance, and each year thousands of young Canadians trek through rough conditions and remote areas to replant thousands of trees.
The Fossmobile was invented by George Foote Foss in 1897. It is the first successful Canadian example of an automobile built with an internal combustion engine. While the Fossmobile was never mass-produced for the Canadian automotive market (see automotive industry), it is an example of ingenuity and innovation. Through Fossmobile Enterprises, the descendants of George Foote Foss have researched and built a tribute/replica of the Fossmobile prototype. The tribute/replica vehicle was donated and inducted into the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario in 2022.
Although the term SOLID WASTE refers to a wide range of discarded materials (from kitchen scraps to mine tailings), the component known as refuse has the greatest potential for environmental contamination.
The Labrador retriever is one of four remaining Canadian dog breeds (see also Dogs in Canada). Its history begins at the turn of the 16th century on the island of Newfoundland. Here, its ancestors were retrievers of fish and game. The breed was further developed in England in the 19th century to assist in hunting. With a friendly temperament, the Labrador retriever is popular not only as a working dog but also as a family dog. In Canada, the Labrador has been the most popular dog for more than 25 years.
Canada has been a part of the story of powered flight since its earliest days. Numerous Canadians have applied their talents and vision to advance aviation and all of its related sciences. The following are just a few examples of Canadian innovation in this field.
Many important medical discoveries and advancements that have improved and saved the lives of people around the world have been made by Canadians and Canadian research teams. Treatments and technologies, some of which are still used today, are the result of their research and experimentation. This list overviews a few of the life-saving medical contributions made in Canada.
Canada is home to some of the richest deposits of dinosaur fossils in the world (see also Dinosaurs and Canada). The vast majority of the dinosaurs discovered in Canada are from Alberta, where the rising Rocky Mountains at the end of the Cretaceous period and a network of ancient rivers provided the sediment necessary for burying and preserving their remains. The names of many of the 88 dinosaurs listed below pay homage to the province, including Albertosaurus sarcophagus, Edmontosaurus regalis and Ornithomimus edmontonicus. Others honour prominent people in Canadian paleontology, for example, Lambeosaurus for Lawrence Lambe, a paleontologist active at the turn of the 20th century, Epichirostenotes curriei for Philip Currie, a paleontologist and the founder of the Royal Tyrrell Museum and Borealopelta markmitchelli for Mark Mitchell, an RTM technician who spent 7,000 hours removing rock from the fossil.
In the mid-1990s, Canada became a global leader in the effort to eradicate land mines, which are explosive and deadly weapons. In December 1997, representatives from 122 countries assembled in Ottawa to sign the Mine Ban Treaty (or Ottawa Treaty), which came into force on 1 March 1999. With over 80 per cent of the countries in the world having signed the treaty, it is one of the most widely accepted. The Canadian government continues to support demining efforts globally by assisting in related United Nations operations, supporting organizations like the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and providing training, education and funding for mine clearing.
Frogs are amphibians belonging to the order Anura. Worldwide, frogs are the most numerous group of amphibians, with more than 5,000 living species. They are found on all continents except Antarctica. There are 24 species of frog currently found in Canada. In addition, one species, the Blanchard’s cricket frog, is extirpated. This means that, while it continues to live in other parts of its range, it is no longer found in Canada. Five of Canada’s frog species are toads, which are frogs belonging to the family Bufonidae.
While most frog species in Canada are found in the southern reaches of the country, a few, for example the boreal chorus frog, have ranges extending into Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and in the case of the wood frog, Nunavut.
Privy Council is a common name for the King’s Privy Council for Canada. It is also known as His Majesty’s Privy Council for Canada. It was established (as the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada) under the Constitution Act, 1867. Its purpose is to advise the Crown (the reigning monarch).
The Nature of Things is television’s longest-running science series. It debuted on CBC on 6 November 1960. Originally a half-hour program that demonstrated scientific concepts, it evolved into an hour-long documentary during renowned scientist David Suzuki’s tenure as host (1979–2023). The groundbreaking program was among the first to present scientific findings on subjects such as HIV/AIDS and climate change. Over the course of more than 60 seasons and over 900 episodes, The Nature of Things has been seen in more than 80 countries. It has received 17 Gemini Awards and seven Canadian Screen Awards.
The following is an abridged excerpt from Unheard Of: Memoirs of a Canadian Composer by John Beckwith. (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario. February 2012)
When Helmut Kallmann's A History of Music in Canada 1534-1914 appeared in 1960, nothing half as thorough or as finely documented had ever been produced, either in English or in French, on this topic. When I asked what he planned to do for an encore, he thought his findings suggested two directions: an alphabetically organized dictionary about music and musical life in Canada; or a scholarly edition, probably in several volumes, preserving the most significant published music of the country’s past. This prediction amounted to an outline of his work on the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.