Events from the year 1891 in Canada.

Incumbents

Crown

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

–

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Federal government

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

– Frederick Stanley *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

–

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

(until June 6) then

John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abbo ...

(from June 16) * Chief Justice –

William Johnstone Ritchie Sir William Johnstone Ritchie (October 28, 1813 – September 25, 1892) was one of the first judges appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. He became the second Chief Justice of the court, and the second-longest serving Chief Justice to da ...

(

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

) *

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

– 6th (until 3 February) then

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

(from 29 April)

Provincial governments

Lieutenant governors

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

– Hugh Nelson * Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba –

John Christian Schultz Sir John Christian Schultz (January 1, 1840 – April 13, 1896) was a Manitoba politician and businessman.Richard Gwyn, Nation Maker, Vol. II: pg. 100. Vintage Canada, 2012. Print. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1871 t ...

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...

–

Samuel Leonard Tilley Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (May 8, 1818June 25, 1896) was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family. As a pharmacist, he went into business as a ...

* Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia –

Malachy Bowes Daly Sir Malachy Bowes Daly (February 6, 1836 – April 26, 1920) was a Canadian politician and the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Early life Born in Quebec City, the son of Sir Dominick Daly, he was called to the bar in Halifax, ...

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

– Alexander Campbell * Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island –

Jedediah Slason Carvell Jedediah Slason Carvell (16 March 1832 – 14 February 1894) was a Canadian businessman, politician, and office holder. Accomplishments From 1877 to 1878, he was the sixth Mayor of Charlottetown. He was also Spain's vice-consul in Prince ...

* Lieutenant Governor of Quebec –

Auguste-Réal Angers Sir Auguste-Réal Angers (4 October 1837 – 14 April 1919) was a Canadian judge and parliamentarian, holding seats both as a member of the House of Commons of Canada, and as a Senator. He was born in 1837 probably in Quebec City and died in ...

Premiers

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

– John Robson *

Premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba (french: premier ministre du Manitoba) is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council ...

–

Thomas Greenway Thomas Greenway (March 25, 1838 – October 30, 1908) was a Canadian politician, merchant and farmer. He served as the seventh premier of Manitoba from 1888 to 1900. A Liberal, his ministry formally ended Manitoba's non-partisan government, al ...

Premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. T ...

–

Andrew George Blair Andrew George Blair (March 7, 1844 – January 25, 1907) was a Canadian politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He served as the seventh premier of New Brunswick for 13 years and 136 days, the second-longest tenure in the province's history, behin ...

* Premier of Nova Scotia –

William Stevens Fielding William Stevens Fielding, (November 24, 1848 – June 23, 1929) was a Canadian Liberal politician, the seventh premier of Nova Scotia (1884–96), and the federal Minister of Finance from 1896 to 1911 and again from 1921 to 1925. Early life ...

* Premier of Ontario –

Oliver Mowat Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario and one of ...

Premier of Prince Edward Island The premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The current premier of Prince Edward Island is Dennis King, from the Progressive Conservative Party. See also ...

– Neil McLeod (until April 27) then

Frederick Peters Frederick Peters (April 8, 1851 – July 29, 1919) was a lawyer and Prince Edward Island politician, who served as the sixth premier of Prince Edward Island. Early life and career Peters was born in Charlottetown and educated at King's Colle ...

Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of th ...

–

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Liberal ...

(until December 21) then

Charles Boucher de Boucherville Sir Charles-Eugène-Napoléon Boucher de Boucherville (May 4, 1822 – September 10, 1915) was a Canadian politician and doctor. He twice served as the premier of Quebec. Personal life Boucher was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Descended ...

Territorial governments

Lieutenant governors

* Lieutenant Governor of Keewatin –

Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories This is a list of historical lieutenant-governors of North-West Territories, Canada. The position of Lieutenant-Governor lasted from the acquisition of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory in 1869 to the creation of Alberta and Saskatc ...

–

Joseph Royal Joseph Royal (7 May 1837 – 23 August 1902) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician, businessman, and Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories. Early life and career Royal studied at St. Mary's Jesuit college in Montreal. Hi ...

Premiers

* Chairman of the Lieutenant-Governor's Advisory Council of the North-West Territories then Chairman of the Executive Committee of the North-West Territories –

Robert Brett Robert George Brett (November 16, 1851 – September 16, 1929) was a politician and physician in the North-West Territories and Alberta, Canada and served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Early life Robert George Brett was born on ...

(until November 7) then

Frederick Haultain Sir Frederick William Alpin Gordon Haultain (November 25, 1857 – January 30, 1942) was a lawyer and a long-serving Canadian politician and judge. His career in provincial and territorial legislatures stretched into four decades. He served ...

Events

* February 21 – The first

Springhill Mining Disaster Springhill mining disaster may refer to any of three deadly Canadian mining disasters that occurred in 1891, 1956, and 1958 in different mines within the Springhill coalfield, near the town of Springhill in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. In t ...

occurs killing 125. * March 5 – Federal election: Sir

's Conservatives win a fourth consecutive majority * April 27 –

becomes premier of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, replacing Neil McLeod * June 6 –

Sir John A. Macdonald dies in office * June 8 – Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald lies in state in the Senate Chamber * June 16 – Sir

becomes prime minister following the death of Sir

* September 29 – Thomas McGreevy is expelled from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

due to corruption. * November 7 – The election of the

2nd North-West Legislative Assembly The 2nd North-West Legislative Assembly was constituted after the 1891 North-West Territories general election which took place on 7 November 1891. The Legislative Assembly lasted from 1891 to 1894. List of Members of the Legislative Assembly ...

* December 10 – The

Calgary and Edmonton Railway The Calgary and Edmonton Railway (C&E) was an early pioneer railway in what was then the Northwest Territories, now Alberta, Canada. It connected the towns of Calgary and Strathcona (also called South Edmonton). Construction started in April 1 ...

opens, connecting Edmonton to the national railway network for the first time. * December 21 – Sir Charles-Eugène de Boucherville becomes premier of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

for the second time, replacing

* The

Legislative Council of New Brunswick The Legislative Council of New Brunswick was the upper house of the government of the British colony and later Canadian province of New Brunswick between 1785 and 1891. Members were appointed by the New Brunswick governor. Council chambers Th ...

is abolished

Sport

* The Canadian Rugby Football Union is renamed the Canadian Rugby Union

Births

January to June

* January 6 –

Tim Buck Timothy Buck (January 6, 1891 – March 11, 1973) was the general secretary of the Communist Party of Canada (known as the Labor-Progressive Party from 1943 to 1959) from 1929 until 1962. Together with Ernst Thälmann of Germany, Maurice T ...

, politician and long-time leader of the Communist Party of Canada (d.

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

) * January 26 –

Wilder Penfield Wilder Graves Penfield (January 26, 1891April 5, 1976) was an American-Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of the brain such as the cortical homunculus. ...

, neurosurgeon (d.

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

) * April 1 –

Harry Nixon Harry Corwin Nixon (April 1, 1891 – October 22, 1961) was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th premier of Ontario in 1943. He is both the longest-serving member in the history of the Ontario legislature and the shortest-serving premier of ...

, politician and 13th Premier of Ontario (d.

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

) * May 3 – Thomas John Bentley, politician (d.

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

) * June 13 – Hervé-Edgar Brunelle, politician and lawyer (d.

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

)

July to December

* July 12 –

Adhémar Raynault Adhémar Raynault (12 July 1891 – 11 April 1984) was a Canadian politician and a Mayor of Montreal. Early life Adhémar Raynault was born on July 12, 1891 in Saint-Gérard-de-Magella. Raynault moved to Montreal in 1911. He started as a cle ...

, politician and

Mayor of Montreal The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all ci ...

(d.

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

) * August 30 – Elmer Jamieson, educator * September 16 –

Julie Winnefred Bertrand This article lists Canadian supercentenarians (people from Canada who have attained the age of at least 110 years). The oldest verified Canadian person ever was Marie-Louise Meilleur, who died in 1998 aged 117 years, 230 days. As of , the oldest l ...

, supercentenarian, oldest living Canadian and oldest verified living recognized woman at the time of her death (d. 2007) * October 30 – Ada Mackenzie, golfer * November 14 –

Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential. In 1923, Banting and Joh ...

, medical scientist, doctor and Nobel laureate (d. 1941) * December 10 –

Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...

, military commander and

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

(d.

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

) * December 25 –

William Ross Macdonald William Ross Macdonald (December 25, 1891 – May 28, 1976), served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1968 to 1974, and as 22nd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 1953. Early life Macdonald was born in ...

, politician, Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada and 21st Lieutenant Governor of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

(d.

)

Deaths

* January 4 –

Antoine Labelle François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle (November 24, 1833 – January 4, 1891) was a Roman Catholic priest and the person principally responsible for the settlement (or "colonization") of the Laurentians. He is also referred to as "Curé Labelle" an ...

, priest and settler (b. 1833) * January 21 –

Calixa Lavallée Calixa Lavallée (December 28, 1842 – January 21, 1891) was a French-Canadian-American musician and Union Army band musician during the American Civil War. He is best known for composing the music for "O Canada," which officially became the na ...

, musician and composer (b.

1842 Events January–March * January ** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem. ** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...

) * May 31 – Antoine-Aimé Dorion, politician and jurist (b.

1818 Events January–March * January 1 ** Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Empire. ** Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' is published anonymously in London. * January 2 – ...

) * June 6 –

, politician and 1st

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

(b. 1815)

Historical documents

Residential school principal says teaching

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and how to live better compensates for robbing and half-starving Indigenous people Poster:

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

campaign against reciprocity with United States as destructive of industry nurtured by Canada's

National Policy The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. Th ...

Prime Minister

dies Death of Prime Minister Macdonald, Conservative Party's "tyrannical master," leaves power vacuum Imprisonment of ejected MP Thomas McGreevy strikes at pernicious level of corruption in public contracts Heroism of rescuers at Springhill, Nova Scotia mining disaster Bilingual English and Chinook

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

is published to improve Indigenous people's literacy Federal bill aligns Canada with international time system based on global time zones and Greenwich, England time Calm messenger pigeons by replacing trap-door entrance (which scares birds) and long roosting rail (on which they fight) in their loft"Report of Major General D.R. Cameron on Messenger Pigeons of the Department, at Halifax"
(September 2, 1891), Appendix No. 36, Sessional Papers; Volume 8; Second Session of the Seventh Parliament of the Dominion of Canada; Session 1892, pg. 246. Accessed 22 August 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1891 In Canada Years of the 19th century in Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

1891 in North America