Amazing people, events and places which infuse the country with life
Built by Cawthra Mulock, the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto was saved from demolition in 1962 by Ed Mirvish. His vision returned golden grandeur to the historic venue A sophisticated young man, Cawthra Mulock wanted to put Toronto, Ontario on the world’s cultural map. The son of an MP, Mulock was a stockbroker, a foundry-owner […]
Canadian Aladdin and T. Eaton’s offered complete house kits, from plans to lumber, cupboards to knobs, all precut and ready to construct on your own piece of land. “Manufactured in our mills in Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia, according to the most approved methods of modern construction, shipped complete, knocked-down flat, ready for construction…anyone […]
Not yet 20 years old, Harry Brown was a Canadian Private in the First World War. His determination to deliver an important message gave new meaning to the word bravery. At the young and fearless age of 18, Harry W. Brown (also known as John Harry Brown) left his calm life as a single farmer […]
Prohibition in Canada was short, but laws were in effect in the US for many years. The plan was disastrous. Instead, Canadian bootleggers, rumrunners and then mobsters made fortunes Rumblings of Prohibition were heard for decades in Canada and the United States in the 1800s. Early attempts to “dry out” both countries failed, but by […]
Simpson’s store and Parker’s Dye Works boldly used the new horseless vehicles to enhance their delivery services to customers. They were pioneers of the trucking industry There weren’t many roads, just dusty, dirt paths, mostly. There were a few paved city streets, but no such things as paved highways, let alone four-lane freeways. But goods […]
Hiram Walker, an American who crossed the Detroit River into Canada, building his own distillery, his own town of Walkerville, while helping other businesses to flourish While not a Canadian citizen, Hiram Walker was one of the great businessmen of Canada. He built industries and in the process created his own town for his employees. […]
Enlarged in 1850 due to the deaths of arriving immigrants, Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston, Ontario became the resting place of both prestigious and ordinary Canadians. “At last! We’ve made it,” the immigrants must have cried with relief in the late 1840s. The New World and new lives beckoned. Miserably ill from typhoid on their voyages, […]
Canada’s first large-scale automobile production began in 1904. The Model C Ford and later the Model T were produced at Walkerville Wagon Works in southern Ontario. He didn’t make the first automobile in Canada; there were many other cars under development. He wasn’t the only one to design production lines, either. But in 1904, Henry […]
Twenty years ago, the first Canadian dollar coin was introduced. The Loonie was considered a “loonie” proposition by some, small change and heavy in the pockets. Accustomed to paper money and small change, Canadians were not excited about the announcement of a coin to replace the dollar bill in 1987. The change was to save […]
Canada celebrates its 140th birthday on July 1st. But the birth of Confederation in 1867 was not a smooth and painless process. One province fought the BNA Act passage Signed by Queen Victoria in 1867, the colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (Upper and Lower Canada) were united under the […]
Designed by Sandford Fleming, the Three Pence Beaver was considered the first stamp of Canada, years before Confederation. Unique in its design, it set several firsts. Before a Dominion, Canada was a province, combining Upper Canada and Lower Canada into one entity, called the United Province of Canada. Other provinces of the time were Nova […]
Packing up their three children, the Héberts sailed across the ocean to New France. With little to work with, the family made a good life caring for natives and settlers It was an offer too good to pass up. Pack up the Hébert family, a French fur-trading company said, and sail from France to the […]