The Americas

Modern Canada (Dominion of Canada)
AD 1867 - Present Day

All Modern States Early Cultures Africa Americas British Isles Europe Far East Near East Ancient Mesopotamia Native Americans Special Indices

Canada covers a vast amount of territory - the world's second largest - although great areas of that are wilderness which is largely uninhabited by humans. The bulk of settlement is in the south and south-east which is also where the oldest settlements occur. The earliest of those was the Norse settlement of Vinland, in today's Newfoundland.

The country follows the British pattern of parliamentary democracy with a Prime Minister governing its affairs, and the UK monarch remains Canada's head of state. The country is neighboured to the north by the Arctic, to the north-east by Greenland (an autonomous part of the kingdom of Denmark), and to the south and west by the USA.

Between 1534 and 1542, Jacques Cartier made three voyages across the Atlantic, claiming the land for King Francis I of France. Cartier heard two captured guides speak the Iroquoian word 'kanata', meaning 'village'. By the 1550s, the name 'Canada' began appearing on maps. Patchy initial attempts to create a colony were centred on Quebec, in what would become New France. Two attempts were undertaken in 1541 and 1598, and the second succeeded. By 1627 a permanent governorship was established.

At its height, New France included Acadia (areas of eastern Quebec, the coastal territories, and claims to the New England of the British Colonies as far as Philadelphia, although these became increasingly impractical in the face of English expansion there), plus Canada (modern eastern and central Canada), and Louisiana (a vast territory stretching across much of the east half of modern mid-western USA, most of which was still almost exclusively the domain of Native North American tribes).

Increasingly widespread wars between the French colonies and the British colonies saw the French being conquered in 1759, thanks in large part to the efforts of Britain's General James Wolfe. France officially ceded the territory to Britain in 1763 when it became the province of Quebec.

In 1791, following the British loss of its own colonies to the south, Quebec was retained and became part of a reorganised colony known as the province of Canada. It became the main focus of British interests in North America, and the governor-general of Canada became the official representative of the British monarch in North America, charged with maintaining the territory's borders.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Mick Baker, from Everyday Life of the North American Indian, Jon Manchip White (1979), from The Encyclopaedia of North American Indian Tribes, Bill Yenne (1986), from The Native Tribes of North America - A Concise Encyclopaedia, Michael Johnson (1993), from the Atlas of Indians of North America, Gilbert Legay (1995), and from External Links: The Governor General of Canada, and First Nations: Issues of Consequence, Lee Sultzman, and Legends of America, and Discover Canada - Canada's History (Government of Canada), and BBC Country Profiles, and Office of the Governor General of Canada, and The Canada Encyclopaedia, and Canada's governor general resigns (The Guardian).)

1867 - 1868

First gov-general of Canada. Former Province gov-general.

1868 - 1872

Anglo-Irish.

1869

Canada takes over the vast north-west region from the Hudson's Bay Company (incorporated in 1670). The 12,000 Métis of the Red River have not been consulted so, in response, Louis Riel leads an armed uprising and seizes Fort Garry, the territorial capital.

By the mid-1800s, the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the north-west region and its fur trade, with this photo showing the post at Sturgeon River House in late 1870

Canada's future is in jeopardy, but Ottawa sends troops to retake Fort Garry in 1870. Riel flees to the USA and Canada establishes a new province named Manitoba. Riel is elected to its parliament but never takes his seat.

1871 - 1873

British Columbia is joined to the dominion of Canada in 1871, while Prince Edward Island is added in 1873. In the same year, 1871, the final Irish Fenian Brotherhood raid into Canada is farcical because of the fact that it actually attacks a Hudson's Bay post within the United States, never actually making it across the border which is about three kilometres (two miles) further north. Despite being arrested (twice) the culprits are never charged for their 'invasion'.

1872 - 1878

Anglo-Irish. Later viceroy of India (1884-1888).

1878 - 1883

English. m Princess Louise, fourth dau of Queen Victoria.

1883 - 1888

Anglo-Irish. Grandson of PM. Later viceroy of India (1888-94).

1885

Métis and Native Indian rights have again been threatened by westward settlement. A second rebellion in what is now Saskatchewan - the North-West Rebellion - leads to Riel's trial and execution for high treason, a decision which is strongly opposed in Quebec. Riel is seen by many as a hero, a defender of Métis rights and the father of Manitoba.

The remnants of a great many tribes of the eastern seaboard congregated as the Stockbridge, Brotherton, and Housatonic, seeking protection amongst numbers - this oil painting is entitled 'Delaware Indians sign the Treaty of Penn', by Benjamin West

1888 - 1893

English.

1893 - 1898

Lord lieutenant of Ireland (1886 & 1905).

1898 - 1904

Later viceroy of India (1905-1910).

1904 - 1905

Following a series of confrontations between British general officers commanding the Canadian militia and the minister of militia and defence, a 'Militia Act' now sets up the militia council of civilians and military officials, including a chief of the general staff. The bill doubles the Canadian 'Permanent Force' to four thousand men to provide a garrison to replace the British at Halifax.

When Earl Grey is appointed governor-general of Canada later in the same year, he is also appointed 'Commander-in-Chief of the Dominion of Canada'. Shortly after he takes office, Alberta and Saskatchewan join the Canadian Confederation.

An advertisement from the Canadian Grocer July-December 1895 shows a noticeably similar style of marketing to that being used in the UK at the same time

1904 - 1911

Minto's brother-in-law.

1911 - 1916

Son of Queen Victoria.

1914 - 1918

Having jointly guaranteed in 1839 to support the neutrality of Belgium, when the country is invaded by Germany, Britain, France and Russia are forced to declare war at midnight on 4 August. The First World War (variously called World War I, or the Great War), has begun.

As a dominion, Canada is directly involved, along with its newly-formed Royal Canadian Navy (from 1910), most notably in battles such as the Somme in 1916 in which the Newfoundland Regiment effectively ceases to exist on the battle's opening day.

1916 - 1921

m Lady Evelyn FitzMaurice, dau of Lord Lansdowne of India.

1921 - 1926

Former commander of the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge.

1922

The 1922 National Defence Act which is introduced by Prime Minister William Mackenzie King's Liberal government brings the militia, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Canadian Air Force together under the administration of the Department of National Defence.

Scalping Knife Mountain in Canada's British Colombia is typical of the rugged and beautiful scenery in western Canada, overlooking the Arrow Lakes in the foreground

1926

Canada is plunged into constitutional crisis by the 'King-Byng Affair'. Lord Byng refuses a request by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, to dissolve parliament and announce a general election.

Byng is seen has having overstepped the unwritten but traditional rule of non-interference in Canadian domestic affairs. The ensuing fall-out leads directly to the Statute of Westminster in 1931, not just for Canada but for all of British dominions.

1926 - 1931

Last 'old form' gov-general of Canada. Later in India (1931).

1931

Canada becomes a separate kingdom from Britain under the terms of the Statute of Westminster. The two countries share the same monarch as head of state, with the younger constitutional monarchy's administration being known as 'Her Majesty in Right of Canada'.

The position of governor-general becomes the equivalent of that of viceroy - the direct representative of the queen of Canada while she resides in Britain - although the actual title does not change and the role is largely removed of its imperial duties because the post now represents the monarch alone, and not the British government.

George V steered Britain through the First World War and also ensured that the House of Windsor would survive at a time at which most of Europe's great monarchies were falling

1931 - 1935

First post-'Statute of Westminster' governor-general.

1934

Following the stock market crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression, there is growing demand for the government to create a social safety net with minimum wages, a standard working week, and programmes such as unemployment insurance. The Bank of Canada, a central bank which will manage the money supply and bring stability to the financial system, is created in 1934.

However, across the remainder of the decade, immigration drops and many refugees are turned away, including members of the Jewish Diaspora who are attempting to flee Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.

1935 - 1940

John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps. Died in office.

1939

The Nazi German invasion of Poland on 1 September is the trigger for the Second World War. With both France and Britain, under Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, pledged to support Poland, both countries have no option but to declare war on 3 September. Again, Canada supports Britain's efforts in war, under Prime Minister William Mackenzie King's Liberal government.

Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie was born in Berlin, Ontario (now Kitchener, Ontario) in 1874, the son of John King and Isabel Grace King (née McKenzie), and was named after his grandfather, William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of Toronto

1940 - 1946

Uncle of King George VI. m Alice, gd-dau of Queen Victoria.

1943 - 1944

The earl of Athlone and his wife, Princess Alice, host Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and United States President Franklin D Roosevelt at La Citadelle in Québec on two separate occasions in 1943 and 1944. These meetings, known as the Quebec Conferences, help to decide the strategies of the Western Allies, which eventually lead to victory over Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945.

1946 - 1952

Returned to England immediately after the king's death.

1947 - 1949

In 1947, King George VI formally delegates to the governor-general all of the British sovereign's authority in Canada. In 1949, the sole remaining British North American colony, Newfoundland, joins Canada during the term of office of Prime Minister Louis Stephen St-Laurent.

1952 - 1959

First Canadian appointee since 1760. Was USA ambassador.

1959

From this point forwards it becomes traditional to rotate the office of governor-general between Anglophone incumbents and those from French-speaking Quebec. The holder of the post remains the British monarch's direct representative in Canada, and fulfils just about all of the monarch's functions there. The post itself also remains one of Canada's oldest, and also one of the oldest continuous posts in any form in any of Britain's overseas territories.

The centre block of the Canadian Parliament building in Ottawa was rebuilt in 1922 following a fire which destroyed the old block in 1916

1959 - 1967

Former aide-de-camp of Lord Byng of Vimy. Died in office.

1967 - 1974

Previously served diplomatically in India and Nepal.

1974 - 1979

Retired 1979. Died 1980.

1979 - 1984

Former premier of Manitoba.

1982

Canada's last constitutional ties with the United Kingdom, apart from sharing the same monarch as its head of state, are severed under the British Parliament's Constitution Act. The post of governor-general remains in place and the date of 1 July, previously celebrated as 'Dominion Day', is subsequently celebrated as 'Canada Day'.

1984 - 1990

First female governor-general. Retired 1990. Died 1993.

1990 - 1995

Involved in law before and after office.

1995 - 1999

Previously an MP. Died 2009.

1999

The territory of Nunavut (meaning 'our land' in the Inuit language) is created in northern Canada. This vast self-governing region in the Arctic Circle is the first Canadian territory to have a majority indigenous population.

1999 - 2005

Born in Hong Kong. First non-military/political gov-general.

2005

In August, Canada sends naval vessels to the Arctic port of Churchill for the first time in thirty years. The move is seen as a challenge to rival territorial claims and follows a spat with Denmark over an uninhabited island.

Despite seemingly being an important strategic location for Canada's security in the Arctic region, the Port of Churchill has been allowed to be run-down even into the 2020s

2005 - 2010

Former refugee from Haiti.

2010 - 2017

Previously involved in academia.

2017 - 2021

Canada engineer, scientist & former astronaut. Resigned.

2021

Payette resigns her position when an external report finds that she has overseen a toxic work environment in which staff have been bullied to tears. She had been defended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just the previous September (2020) as controversy had grown around the governor-general's office.

Now he is urged to take his time in selecting a candidate who is more suitable and qualified for the role, with an administrator handling official functions for the time being.

2021

Chief justice. Interim administrator.

2021

Even though he is in the role of interim administrator of Canada for only six months, this is still a Canadian record. On 23 July 2021 Richard Wagner gives way to the new governor-general, Mary Simon. An Inuk, she becomes the country's first representative of the First Nations (Native Americans) to take up such an office.

By the early twenty-first century the age of the old wooden-framed grain elevator was over and many were being lost to decay and demolition, but Spruce Grove's elevator has been fully refurbished as a museum exhibit (tap or click on image to read more on a separate page)

2021 - On

Indigenous Inuk & fmr broadcaster. 30th governor-general.