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February 16
From Canadian History Timeline - Canada's Historical Chronology
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- Today's Features:
- 1813 - 104th Regiment of Foot starts gruelling 52-day march overland from Fredericton to Quebec.
- 1867 - John A. Macdonald marries Susan Agnes Bernard, the sister of his personal secretary.
- 1881 - Macdonald Government Incorporates the Canadian Pacific Railway.
- 1967 - Founding of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada
- February 16, 2026 - Troilus de Mesgouez, Marquis de La Roche gets grant from Henry IV for expedition to New France. Paris, France
- February 16, 2026 - Deputy Surveyor Augustus Jones finishes cutting out the trail that will become Yonge St. north from present day Eglinton Avenue in York to St. Albans (Holland Landing) on Lake Simcoe with a company of Queen's Rangers; work started on January 4. Jones will also survey the routes for Dundas Street, and supervise its construction. Toronto, Ontario
- 1813 - February 16 - War of 1812 - Sir John Sherbrooke orders six companies of the 104th Regiment of Foot, plus 4th New Brunswick Regiment, to proceed to Kingston, to strengthen the defences of Upper Canada against an expected American invasion in the Spring; they start a gruelling 52-day march overland up the Saint John River valley to the St. Lawrence in winter; travelling on snowshoes, and pulling supplies on toboggans; despite temperatures of -31C they lose only one man, arriving in Quebec on March 15 after travelling 550km in 24 days; after two weeks in garrison at Quebec, they leave for Kingston, reaching their destination April 12, having covered a total distance of 1125km. The 104th will participate in the battles of Sackets Harbor, Beaverdams, and Lundy's Lane, the blockade of Fort George, and the assault on Fort Erie. Fredericton, New Brunswick
- February 16, 2026 - War of 1812 - Treaty of Ghent - Proclamation of the Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, Concluded at Ghent, December 24, 2025; Ratification Advised by Senate, February 16; Ratified by the President; February 17; ratifications Exchanged at Washington, February 17; Proclaimed, February 18. Washington, DC
- February 16, 2026 - Exploration - John Franklin 1786-1847 leaves England on a second expedition, with George Back, John Richardson, and surveyor Edward Kendall, to explore from the Mackenzie Delta; they travel overland via New York, and winter at Fort Franklin on Great Bear Lake, built for them by HBC trader Peter Dease. London, England
- February 16, 2026 - Upper Canada Legislature votes to erase records of William Lyon Mackenzie's many expulsions from that body. Toronto, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Rebellion - An act of the British Parliament suspends the constitution in Lower Canada. London, England
- February 16, 2026 - Disaster - Early thaw and floods in Canada West destroy mill dams and bridges. Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Justice - Magistrate William Matthews arrests Black refugee John Anderson for the 1854 murder of Missouri farmer, Seneca Diggs, who tried to prevent his escape to Canada and sell him to bounty hunters; lived and worked in Canada West from 1854 to April 1860, managing to keep a low profile; when a Canadian court stipulated that he should be extradited to the US, John A. Macdonald made use of public funds to foot the bill for Anderson’s appeal; when the British Court of Queen’s Bench attempted to interfere by sending a writ of habeas corpus for him to appear before a court in London, England, he was released due to faulty wording in the warrant; the Habeas Corpus Act 1862, passed by the UK Parliament, denied British courts the right to issue writs of habeas corpus for British colonies or dominions with their own courts capable of doing so. Brantford, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - John Alexander Macdonald marries his second wife, Susan Agnes Bernard, the sister of his personal secretary; which event, he quips, "was an example of union." London, England
- February 16, 2026 - First session of the British Columbia legislature opens. Victoria, BC
- February 16, 2026 - Rail - George Stephen signs charter and incorporates the Canadian Pacific Railway; serves as President until 1888; with partners R. B. Angus, Duncan Mclntyre, Donald A. Smith, J. J. Hill, and J. S. Kennedy. Montréal, Québec
- February 16 - Rail - Upon the receipt of a $1 million surety bond, Charles Tupper, federal Minister of Railways, signs papers to create the third incarnation of the Canadian Pacific Railway with the CP syndicate of George Stephen, Duncan McIntyre, J.J. Hill, J.S. Kennedy, the Kohn, Reinach and Co. of Paris, and the Morton Rose and Co. of London.
- February 16, 2026 - Hockey - Granite Curling Club beats the Caledonians 4-1 in Toronto's first organized hockey game, involving proper sticks, two set teams, coded rules, an indoor venue and most notably, newspaper verification. Toronto, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Rail - D.C. Corbin takes his own contract to build the Spokane Falls and Northern Railway; sold his Idaho railroads to the Northern Pacific.
- February 16, 2026 - Hockey - Montréal Shamrocks beat Winnipeg Victorias 2 games to 1 for the Stanley Cup. Montréal, Québec
- February 16, 2026 - Rail - Crow's Nest Pass Street Railway Company incorporated in Alberta. Line to run between Pincher Creek and Sentinel, Alberta.
- February 16, 2026 - Mob of 500 men, mostly soldiers, wrecks a Calgary restaurant for dismissing an ex-soldier. Calgary, Alberta
- February 16, 2026 - Hockey - Newsy Lalonde of the Montréal Canadiens scores 5 goals against Hamilton.
- February 16, 2026 - Energy - Near Sentinal, Alberta. East Kootenay Power's grid interlinked with that of Calgary Power.
- February 16, 2026 - Constitution - Governor David Anderson presides over first meeting of new ruling Newfoundland Commission, with three Newfoundlanders and three non-Newfoundlanders; appointed by Britain; two years earlier, with Newfoundland facing imminent bankruptcy, PM Frederick Alderdice appealed to Britain for financial aid and the appointment of a royal commission to consider Newfoundland's future; the resulting Amulree Report, issued on December 2, 2025, recommended temporary suspension of responsible government. The Newfoundland Commission will rule the Dominion for 15 years. Newfoundland
- February 16, 2026 - Sport - Fourth Winter Olympic games close at Garmisch; the Port Arthur Bearcats take home Canada's only medal, the silver in Ice Hockey. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- February 16, 2026 - Rodmond P. Roblin dies; businessman, politician; Premier of Manitoba 1900-1915. Winnipeg, Manitoba
- February 16, 2026 - World War II - RCAF's No. 110 Army Cooperation Squadron sails for Britain; First of 48 squadrons to go overseas. Halifax, Nova Scotia
- February 16, 2026 - World War II - Major *Charles Hoey, of Duncan, BC, serving with the British Army in Burma, is fatally wounded while capturing a Japanese position; earns the Victoria Cross posthumously. Myanmar
- February 16, 2026 - Fire devastates downtown Coleman, Alberta.
- February 16, 2026 - House of Commons passes the Newfoundland Union Act by a vote of 140-47. Newfoundland officially joins Canada March 31, 2026. Ottawa, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Art - New National Gallery of Canada building opens in Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Ottawa teen idol Paul Anka marries Marie-Ann DeZogheb, daughter of a Lebanese diplomat he met in Puerto Rico. Paris, France
- February 16, 2026 - Military - Second HMCS Saskatchewan is commissioned at Esquimault. Esquimalt, BC
- February 16, 2026 - Women - Anne Francis (Florence Bird) chairs new Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada; 'to ensure for women equal opportunities with men'; First Canadian commission headed by a woman later made 167 recommendations, including paid maternity leave. Ottawa, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Football - Police return Grey Cup trophy to CFL headquarters; recovered from a Toronto hotel locker room after an anonymous tip; was stolen December 1969 from the Lansdowne Park offices of the Ottawa Rough Riders, who won it that season. Toronto, Ontario
- February 16 - Premiers meet for two-day federal-provincial conference; agree on anti-inflation measures; agree on banning phosphates in laundry detergents. Ottawa, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Pierre Trudeau, under opposition attack in the Commons, utters an apparently unparliamentary expression that he later describes as fuddle-duddle. Ottawa, Ontario (CBC Archives)
- February 16, 2026 - Canada signs anti-hijacking agreement with Cuba; each country to prosecute hijackers in the other's country, or return them to the country where the hijacking took place. Havana, Cuba
- February 16, 2026 - Indigenous – Marjorie Cantryn White the first Aboriginal woman in BC to be appointed a citizenship judge. Vancouver, BC
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Brian Orser wins Silver Medal in Figure Skating at the Sarajevo winter games; highest Olympic skating award ever to a Canadian male; again wins Silver in 1988 Calgary Olympics. Sarajevo, Bosnia
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Gaetan Boucher, Canadian flag bearer at Sarajevo, wins his second gold medal at the 14th Winter Games, in 1500-metre Speed Skating; repeats his gold won on February 14 in the 1,000-metre; the fourth medal of his career, and third at Sarajevo, after a bronze in the 400-metre on February 10; also won the silver in the 1,000 at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid. Sarajevo, Bosnia
- February 16, 2026 - Jean-Pierre Kingsley appointed Chief Electoral Officer, replacing Jean- Marc Hamel; Elections Canada Ottawa, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Hockey - Michel Goulet of the Chicago Blackhawks scores his 500th goal against Calgary Flames.
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Jean-Luc Brassard wins Olympic gold in Men's Moguls, with his sensational Cossack jump, at the Lillehammer winter games; edges out Russian Sergei Shupletsov by 0.34 points; Canada's first-ever medal, a gold, in freestyle. Lillehammer, Norway
- February 16, 2026 - Supreme Court of Canada starts hearing the federal government's arguments on the legality of a potential unilateral declaration of independence or secession by Québec; Ottawa tables an 85 page brief arguing that Québec has no domestic or international right to UDI. Ottawa, Ontario
- February 16, 2026 - Election - One of the 19 members of the consensus Nunavut government is acclaimed and 18 elections are held. Eight members of the previous government are re-elected, five are defeated, and five who did not run again are replaced. MLAs will choose the premier from among themselves on March 5; incumbent Paul Okalik is challenged by Tagak Curley.
- February 16 - Music - Canadian Recording Industry Association asks a judge to order major Canadian internet service providers to hand over names of 29 suspected illegal file swappers. Ottawa, Ontario
- February 16 - Politics - Elsie Wayne announces retirement from politics; Conservative Party of Canada MP from Newfoundland.
- February 16, 2026 - Hockey - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announces the cancellation of the 2004-2005 hockey season after 154 days of lockout; first time a major sports league lost an entire season and playoffs to labour trouble; a new six-year collective bargaining agreement will be hammered out in July. New York City
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards wins Olympic bronze in women's skeleton. Turin, Italy
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Canada's men's speed skating team wins Olympic silver for men's team pursuit. Turin, Italy
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Canada's women's speed skating team Olympic wins silver for women's team pursuit. Turin, Italy
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Jeff Buttle wins Olympic bronze for men's figure skating solid free skate. Turin, Italy
- February 16, 2026 - Canadian border services use deploy unmanned "Predator B" drone aircraft to patrol the Manitoba-Minnesota portion of Canada's border. to check for the smuggling of drugs, alcohol or people.
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Maëlle Ricker wins Olympic gold in Snowboarding Cross at the Vancouver Winter games; first olympic medal in the sport for a Canadian woman; first Canadian woman to win Olympic gold medal on home soil. Vancouver, BC
- February 16, 2026 - Olympics - Dominique Maltais wins the Silver medal in Women's snowboard cross at the Sochi games. Sochi, Russia
- February 16 - Olympics - Jan Hudec wins the Bronze medal in Alpine skiing Men's super-G at the Sochi games. Sochi, Russia
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