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![]() November 8 - November 14 |
November 8 1873 |
By November 8, 1873, the small community of Winnipeg (originally known as Fort Garry) had grown to the point that it was incorporated as western Canada's first city. The decision to incorporate came as a result of the frustration residents felt with the provincial government which was not interested in issues such as fire protection and sidewalk construction - things that confronted a municipal district within the vast territory. |
November 13 1899 | The Sons of England Benefit Society in Calgary held a patriotic meeting and smoking concert for the widows and orphans of soldiers killed in the South African war. The evening included patriotic speeches and rousing songs such as Rule Brittania and Auld Lang Syne. The local Presbyterian minister was castigated for his unpatriotic sermon on the previous Sunday when he indicated his dislike of the war by saying, "The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." |
November 9 1905 |
The newly created Province of Alberta held its first election on November 9, 1905. The size of some of the election districts presented difficulties. The Peace River district in largely unsettled northern Alberta, was 400 miles long and over 350 miles wide with no communication system and few trails. Many people in the riding were unaware of the election and couldn't have reached polling stations if they had known. The campaign was bitterly fought on issues such as separate religious schools and control over the province's natural resources. The Liberal Party almost swept the province, winning 22 of 25 seats, and Alexander Cameron Rutherford became Alberta's first Premier. |
November 13 1913 | Local newspaper editorials bemoaned the loss of life's little courtesies, apparently due to Calgary's growth. Few people apologised as they jostled each other on congested sidewalks. On streetcars, men forgot to stand for ladies, and when they did the ladies forgot to thank them properly for their courtesy. Young people didn't demonstrate appropriate respect to their elders. In a busy city, one writer commented, manners and consideration were even more necessary for everyone to get along, and a "society for the propagation of courtesy" would be welcomed. |
November 13 1913 | Health officials in Calgary expressed cautious interest in the theories of a German bacteriologist who claimed it was dangerous to exterminate all bacteria. The professor conducted his experiments on chickens, and discovered that birds placed in a completely sterile environment and eating sterilised food survived for no more than a month. He suggested that some intestinal bacteria was required for proper digestion and were beneficial to humans. Despite his findings, cleaners in local hospitals continued cleaning to their regular high standards. |
November 11 1918 |
Before dawn on the morning of November 11, 1918, in a railway coach on a siding near Compiegne, France, French Field Marshal Foch and the members of the German Armistice Commission signed the formal surrender that brought the First World War to an end.
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November 13 1919 | A group of 27 Hungarians and Austrians from Saskatchewan was prevented from leaving their boat in Kelowna, British Columbia, by members of the Great War Veterans Association. The European families had hoped to purchase farms in the Okanagan region of southern British Columbia, but when they tried to land they were told that returned veterans wouldn't allow an alien colony to be established in the region. After three days, the group agreed to return to Saskatchewan. Germans, Hungarians and Austrians already living in Kelowna were advised to leave the community. |
November 14 1922 |
"How many men do you know who let their religion interfere with their business?"
"Most of any government's troubles come from trying to uphold the blunders it makes."
"Probably the saddest thing about Ottawa is the number of fourth-rate intellects applied to first-rate problems." |
November 14 1933 | The President of the Manitoba Historical Society cast doubt that the markings found on a boulder were in fact a Norse inscription. A Winnipeg farmer discovered the rock on his land and claimed that it was a rune stone, proving that the Norse had journeyed as far as the Canadian West at some point in the distant past. Dr. Bell suggested that the boulder was no more than a weathered piece of limestone, and that people who were so inclined could see "anything from the Royal Coat of Arms to a record of the Lost Tribes of Israel." |
November 12 1947 |
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