 |
 Important Dates in
Canadian History ca. 1000, Vikings
settled on Newfoundland. 1497, John Cabot landed
on the east coast. 1608, Champlain founded
Quebec. 1867, the Dominion of Canada established.
1931, Canada became independent of Great Britain. |
 Samuel de Champlain
first sailed to Canada in 1603, and that year
became one of the first Europeans to see Niagara
Falls. In 1605, he helped found a settlement at
Port Royal. In 1608, he founded Quebec, the first
permanent settlement in Canada. |
 Louis
Joliet, with Father Jacques
Marquette, followed the Mississippi River to its
junction with the Arkansas River, in 1673. |
 René-Robert
Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle led an
expedition that, in 1682, succeeded in following
the Mississippi River all the way to its mouth at
the Gulf of Mexico. He then claimed the entire
region drained by the Mississippi River and its
tributaries for France. |
 Pierre
Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville spent
ten years trying to win Canada for France before
founding the first permanent settlement in
Mississippi and what is now Mobile, Alabama. |
 Father Jacques
Marquette was a Jesuit priest who,
while exploring the Canadian wilderness, went to
great lengths to learn the language and customs
of the Indians he was charged with converting. In
1673, he and Louis Joliet followed the
Mississippi River to its junction with the
Arkansas River. |
 The Fathers of
Confederation met in
London's Westminster Hotel in 1866 to frame the
constitution of Canada, The British North
America Act. The British Parliament passed
the Act early in 1867, and Queen Victoria gave
her assent in March. The Act was formally
proclaimed on July 1, 1867. |
 Sir John
Alexander Macdonald was the first
Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada. During
his long public career, Canada grew from a group
of colonies into a self-governing, united
dominion extending across North America. |
 Martin Brian Mulroney
served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1993.
During his tenure, the U.S. and Canada signed a
free trade agreement, and the Canadian government
reached an agreement with the Inuit that
ultimately resulted in formation of the Territory
of Nunavut. |
 Lester Bowles Pearson
had a diplomatic career that included helping to
establish NATO, helping to end the Korean War,
and being the only Canadian ever to receive the
Nobel Peace Prize. As Prime Minister, he did much
to try and solve the crisis caused by Quebec's
desire for separate recognition from the national
government. He was also responsible for Canada's
now famous Maple Leaf Flag. |
