On Jan. 6, Hazen Argue was born in Kayville, Saskatchewan. He was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1945 and served in Parliament until 1963. From 1960 to 1961, he was the third and last leader of the CCF before it changed its name to the NDP and Tommy Douglas took over as leader.
In 1962, he crossed the floor and joined the Liberal Party. In 1966, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate, serving until 1991. He is best remembered for proposing that Canada should annex the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In 1989, he was charged with fraud, the first Senator to ever be charged. The allegations were that he used public funds to help his wife’s bid to be the Liberal Party nominee in their riding in the 1988 federal election. The charges were dropped as Argue was near death and bedridden. He died shortly after in 1991.
On Jan. 21, Arthur Sifton died. A long-time politician, he served in the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories from 1899 to 1903 at which point he became the Chief Justice of the Northwest Territories. He then became the Chief Justice of Alberta, serving from 1907 to 1910. After Alexander Rutherford resigned as premier, Sifton was chosen as Alberta’s second premier. Serving as premier he was unsuccessful in Alberta obtaining the transfer of rights from the federal government for its resources. With the rise of the United Farmers of Alberta, Sifton attempted to meet their demands including building agricultural colleges, a grain elevator cooperative and a system for hail insurance. In 1917, he resigned as premier to begin serving in Parliament. Over the next three and a half years, he served in four different ministries and was a delegate at the Paris Peace Conference.
On Feb. 14, Hazel McCallion was born in in Port Daniel, Quebec. As an adult, she became a star hockey player for the local team and eventually went became a professional player making five dollars a game for a Montreal team part of a three-team women’s league.
She had desires to study in university, but her family couldn’t afford it, so instead she went to work for Kellogg for almost two decades until she was ready for a new challenge in politics.
McCallion became a new member of the Streetsville Planning Board in 1964 and served as Chair of the Board in 1966 and again in 1968.
Later that year, she became Deputy Reeve of Streetsville and then elected as Mayor of Streetsville in 1970, serving until December 1973. when Streetsville amalgamated with the Town of Mississauga and the Town of Port Credit in 1974. In this new municipality, McCallion was elected to city council, and kept her seat, winning by acclamation in 1976.
From 1974 to 1978, she sat on nearly every committee in the city, along with various federal and provincial committees. McCallion became known for a forceful personality and boundless energy to get things done.
It earned her the nickname of Hurricane Hazel, after the deadly hurricane that struck Toronto in the 1950s. On Dec. 1, 1978, she was elected mayor of Mississauga, defeating incumbent Ron Searle by 3,000 votes and became first woman to hold that post.
She was praised for how she handled the Mississauga Train Derailment in November 1979.
McCallion served as the mayor of Mississauga until 2014, winning election after election. From 2016 until her death in 2023, she was the Chancellor of Sheridan College.
On Feb. 17, Muriel Coben was born in Gelert, Ontario. A gifted pitcher, she played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was one of 68 pitchers from Canada to play in the league during its 12 year history. She is considered the best softball pitcher of her era, and in her 18 year softball career she led teams to regional, provincial and national championships. She died on June 8, 1979 in Saskatoon.
On Feb. 21, George Manuel was born in British Columbia. From a young age he was politically active. He served as the chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band and in 1959 was elected head of the North American Indian Brotherhood. He then worked as a Community Development Officer and worked closely with Harold Cardinal. From 1970 to 1976, he was the national chief of the National Indian Brotherhood.
In 1975, he founded and served as president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. He was the president of the organization until 1981. He was also the president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.
In the mid-1970s, he wrote The Fourth World: An Indian Reality, which explored the impact of European immigration on the First Nations.
During his life he was awarded the Order of Canada, earned an honorary degree from the University of British Columbia. He died in 1989. In 2023, Canada Post honoured him with a stamp.
On Feb. 25, Pierre Laporte was born in Montreal. The grandson of Liberal politician Alfred Leduc, he was elected to the Quebec National Assembly in 1961, and served for the next nine years in several cabinet posts including Minister of Municipal Affairs and Deputy Premier of Quebec. In October 1970, he was kidnapped by the FLQ and murdered on Oct. 17, 1970.
On March 26, The Bluenose launched. Built of Nova Scotian pine, spruce, birch and oak, her masts were made from Douglas fir. During the keel-laying ceremony, the Governor General, the Duke of Devonshire, drove a golden spike into the timber. The ship was christened by Audrey Smith, daughter of shipbuilder Richard Smith. On April 15, she departed to fish for the first time under the command of Angus Walters.
After the fishing season ended, it was time for Bluenose to race. Her first race was the International Fisherman’s Cup. She easily defeated the United States challenger Elsie to capture the trophy. Unhappy to have lost, the United States constructed the Henry S. Ford in 1921, based on a design meant to defeat Bluenose. Bluenose defeated the Henry S. Ford, then defeated the Columbia in 1923. That ship was also designed to defeat her.
In 1925, a group of Halifax businessmen constructed the Haligonian. The ship was also designed to defeat Bluenose. They raced in 1926 and Bluenose easily won the race. n 1929, the Gertrude L. Thebaud was built. She raced Bluenose in the Sir Thomas Lipton International Fishing Challenge Cup. She defeated Bluenose but the second race was controversial after it was called due to weather issues while Bluenose was in the lead.
When the two ships raced for the International Fisherman’s Trophy, Bluenose won. As the 1930s went on, the schooner races began to come to an end. In 1933, Bluenose was invited to the World’s Fair in Chicago. In 1935, she attended the Silver Jubilee of King George V.
In 1937, the Gertrude L. Thebaud challenged Bluenose to a final best-of-five race series for the International Fisherman’s Trophy. The first race took place on Oct. 9, 1938 off Boston. The Thebaud won the first race, Bluenose won the second and third races.
The Thebaud won the fourth race after Bluenose’s topmast snapped. In the fifth and deciding race, Bluenose won. This was the last race of the fishing schooners of the North Atlantic. During the Second World War, Bluenose was sold to the West Indies Trading Company. She was stripped of her masts and converted into a freighter to work in the Caribbean Sea. On Jan. 28, 1946, while loaded with bananas, she was wrecked on a reef off Haiti.
On May 12, Farley Mowat was born in Belleville, Ontario. The great-great-nephew of Ontario premier Sir Oliver Mowat, and the son of Angus Mowat, a decorated First World War soldier, he became one of Canada’s most celebrated authors. During the Second World War, he joined the Canadian Army and took part in Operation Husky, which he documented in his brilliant book “And No Birds Sang”. He fought in the Battle of Ortona and suffered battle stress. He eventually reached the rank of captain.
In 1952, he released his first book, People of the Deer. Over the rest of his career he wrote dozens of books, often with an environmental focus. His books have been translated into 52 languages, and sold more than 17 million copies. His most famous books are People of the Deer, the Boat that Wouldn’t Float and Never Cry Wolf.
Over the course of his life, he earned nine honorary degrees, a Gemini, the Order of Canada and has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.
On June 9, Saskatchewan went through a provincial election. In the election, William Martin won another majority government for the Liberals with 45 seats. This was a drop of six seats for the party. The Progressives, a new party, emerged as the Official Opposition with six seats while the Conservatives fell to two seats. To date, no other party but the Liberals had won an election in the province.
On June 25, Celia Franca was born in London, England. A gifted ballet dancer, she made her professional debut at the age of 14. In 1950, she came to Canada where she co-founded the National Ballet School of Canada with Betty Oliphant in 1959. She was also the co-artistic director of The School of Dance. She earned the Order of Canada and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. She died in 2007.
On July 18, Alberta went through an election that saw a new party, the United Farmers, elected as the ruling party for the province. This was the first time the Liberals lost an election in Alberta’s history. The party has, to date, never won another election. The Liberals fell by 17 seats to 15, while the United Farmers won 38 seats. The United Farmers would continue to govern Alberta until 1935 when they were wiped from existence by the Social Credit Party.
On July 27, Dr. Frederick Banting and his assistant Charles Best successfully isolated the hormone insulin for the first time. This breakthrough happened at the University of Toronto where Banting and Best successfully isolated insulin from dogs. They then gave insulin injections that produced normal blood glucose levels. On Jan. 11, 1922, 14-year-old Leonard Thompson became the first person to receive an insulin injection treatment for diabetes.
On Aug. 4, Maurice “The Rocket” Richard was born in Montreal to a working class family. His father, Onesime, was a carpenter and employed with the Canadian Pacific Railway. His mother Alice raised eight children in their tiny home.
Maurice started skating when he was four and began playing hockey on the rivers in the area. His father eventually built a backyard ice surface for Maurice to practice on.
Organized hockey did not come into the life of Maurice until he was 14. He loved the game so much he played for several different teams, under various assumed names to get around the rules.
It did not take long for hockey fans to notice the young man who tore up the ice in Montreal, especially in 1938-39 when he scored 133 of his team’s 144 goals that season.
The Montreal Canadiens saw this phenom in their own backyard, and after putting him through their minor league system, called him up in 1942-43. From that point on, Maurice never played another game in the minors.
In his first season in 1942-43, Maurice had 11 points in 16 games. The next season, he burst onto the scene with 54 points in 46 games.
In 1943-44, he accomplished the impossible. He scored 50 goals in 50 games. Before Maurice, no player had ever scored 50 goals in a season, let alone in only 50 games. No player would equal that feat until Mike Bossy in 1981. On Dec. 28, 1944, Maurice recorded eight points in a single game, setting a record.
That season, he led his team to their first Stanley Cup since 1931.
His speed, strength and determination on the ice earned him the nickname of The Rocket, coined by Baz O’Meara of the Montreal Star.
The nickname matched Maurice’s explosive hockey personality.
He was so good that another team, believed to be the Maple Leafs, offered $135,000 to the Canadiens for Maurice. General Manager Frank Selke stated he would sooner sell the Montreal Forum than lose Maurice Richard.
Off the ice, Maurice was a quiet man who liked to spend time with his family. On the ice he was a player who saw the game as war, and there were no prisoners.
That attitude led to several on-ice altercations and league fines during his career. One suspension in 1955 resulted in the Richard Riot, which today is seen as a landmark moment in the movement to towards The Quiet Revolution in Quebec.
Over the course of his career from 1942 to 1960, he was a three-time Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year, a Lou Marsh Trophy winner, a Hart Trophy winner and the winner of eight Stanley Cups. At the time of his retirement, he held the record for points and goals, both of which were later broken by Gordie Howe.
Richard died on May 27, 2000.
On Aug. 13, Herbert Greenfield was sworn in as the premier of Alberta. He was the first non-Liberal premier of Alberta. Greenfield served until 1925.
On Aug. 25, Monty Hall was born in Winnipeg. He started his career on Canadian radio before he moved to the United States in 1955 to pursue a career in television and radio. He worked as a radio newsreader and sportscaster. In 1963, he began hosting Let’s Make a Deal. This formed the basis of the Monty Hall Problem, which is a conundrum with game theory and psychology. He earned a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba. He died in 2017.
On Nov. 10, Zoe Laurier died at the age of 80. The wife of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, she only outlived him by two years. In her life, she helped form both the National Council of Women of Canada and Victorian Order of Nurses. She first met Wilfrid Laurier in 1861, and the two married in 1868. They remained married until 1919 when Laurier died. She gave her home in her will to William Lyon Mackenzie King.
Also on Nov. 10, Jennie Trout died. Born in Scotland in 1841, she was the first female physician to be licenced to practice medicine in Canada. She received her licence in 1875 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Trout opened the Therapeutic and Electric Institute in Toronto. For six years she ran a free dispensary for the poor. She retired in 1882 and helped establish a medical school for women at Queen’s University.
On Dec. 6, the Liberals returned to power for the first time in a decade when the party under William Lyon Mackenzie King won the federal election. The Liberals won 118 seats, while the Conservatives under Arthur Meighen lost 104 seats to finish with 49. A new party, the Progressive Party, became the Official Opposition when they won 58 seats. This was the first election victory for William Lyon Mackenzie King as he began 21 years as prime minister of Canada.
That same day as the election, George Beurling was born in Verdun, Quebec. During the Second World War, he became one of the most successful Canadian fighter pilots of the war. Called the Knight of Malta, he is credit with shooting down 27 aircraft in 14 days over the island. He died in a plane crash in 1948 in Israel.
