TODAY IN HISTORY: MuchMusic begins broadcasts
In 1673, all beggars in Quebec were ordered to leave.
In 1873, the first detachment of the North West Mounted Police, forerunner of the RCMP, was formed.
In 1946, the Atomic Energy Commission of Canada was established.
In 1952, French-Canadian nationalist Henri Bourassa died at age 84.
In 1954, hurricane Carol ripped through the northeastern United States, killing 68 people and causing millions of dollars in damage.
In 1954, the Canadian government eased restrictions on trade with Soviet bloc countries.
In 1955, the Church of England in Canada changed its name to the Anglican Church of Canada.
In 1976, Carallyn Bowes became the first woman to run across Canada. It took her 133 days
In 1981, Clifford Olson was charged in Vancouver with first-degree murder in the deaths of nine children. Controversy erupted when the attorney general of British Columbia agreed to pay $100,000 to Olson's family in return for information leading to the recovery of the bodies. In 1982, Olson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder of children aged nine to 18, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years. In 2006, he was denied parole. He died in prison of cancer on Sept. 30, 2011.
In 1984, Canada's music video television service, MuchMusic, went on the air.
In 1987, Quatre Saisons launched Canada's first daily TV soap opera. The 30-minute drama was called “La Maison Deschenes.” It ran until Dec. 13, 1990.
In 1988, the Conservative majority in the House of Commons gave final approval to the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, with a vote of 177 to 64.
In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a horrific car crash in a tunnel near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Also killed were her Egyptian-born companion, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, the only one wearing a seatbelt, survived. Their Mercedes was being chased by paparazzi and tests later showed Paul's blood-alcohol level was triple the legal limit for driving.
In 1999, a decrepit, unmarked boat loaded with some 190 illegal Chinese migrants was seized off the British Columbia coast. It was the third ship to attempt to smuggle human cargo into Canada by sea in just five weeks. The migrants were all from China's Fujian province.
In 2004, a report by a special committee looking into allegations of breaches in fiduciary duty by Hollinger International's board accused Conrad Black and other controlling shareholders of “self-righteous, and aggressive looting” of more than US$400 million from the company over a seven-year period from 1997-2003.
In 2007, the federal government officially launched the new Canadian Mental Health Commission of Canada headed by former Liberal senator Michael Kirby.
In 2013, the Canadian Auto Workers union and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada formally merged into Unifor, Canada's largest private sector union with more than 300,000 members. (Jerry Dias was elected its first president.)
In 2018, A deal was reached for a consortium to buy the Hudson Bay Railway and repair the only land link to the northern Manitoba community of Churchill.