1881 in Canada
Years in Canada: | 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 |
Centuries: | 18th century · 19th century · 20th century |
Decades: | 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s |
Years: | 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 |
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Events from the year 1881 in Canada.
Incumbents
Federal government
Lieutenant governors
- Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Albert Norton Richards (until June 21) then Clement Francis Cornwall
- Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – Joseph Édouard Cauchon
- Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Robert Duncan Wilmot
- Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Adams George Archibald
- Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – John Beverley Robinson
- Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Thomas Heath Haviland
- Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Théodore Robitaille
Premiers
- Premier of British Columbia – George Anthony Walkem
- Premier of Manitoba – John Norquay
- Premier of New Brunswick – John James Fraser
- Premier of Nova Scotia – Simon Hugh Holmes
- Premier of Ontario – Oliver Mowat
- Premier of Prince Edward Island – William Wilfred Sullivan
- Premier of Quebec – Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau
Lieutenant governors
- Lieutenant Governor of Keewatin – Joseph Édouard Cauchon
- Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories – David Laird (until December 3) then Edgar Dewdney
Events
- January 17 – The Interprovincial Bridge connecting Ottawa to Hull, Quebec, opens
- February 16 – The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated
- April 4 – The 1881 census finds Canada's population to be 4,324,810
- May 24 – The overloaded steamer Victoria' capsizes on the Thames River near London, Ontario, killing 182 people.
- December 2 – Quebec election: Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau's Conservatives win a majority
Births
- January 2 – Frederick Varley, artist and member of the Group of Seven (d.1969)
- January 20 – Fred Dixon, politician (d.1931)
- June 17 – Tommy Burns, only Canadian born world heavyweight champion boxer (d.1955)
- September 27 – James Ralston, lawyer, soldier, politician and Minister (d.1948)
- October 23 – Al Christie, film director, producer and screenwriter (d.1951)
- November 4 – Hector Authier, politician, lawyer and news reporter/announcer (d.1971)
- November 19 – Robert James Manion, politician (d.1943)
- December 20 – Télesphore-Damien Bouchard, politician (d.1962)
- December 29 – George Washington Kendall (d.1921)
- December 31 – Albert Sévigny, politician (d.1961)
- December 31 – Elizabeth Arden (birth name, Florence Nightingale Graham), founder, Elizabeth Arden cosmetics (d.1966)
Deaths
- January 28 – Luc Letellier de St-Just, politician and 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1820)
Historical Documents
John A. Macdonald expounds on CPR's troubled past and secure future in House of Commons speech [1]
British editorial labels CPR and Canada bad investments [2]
Wilfrid Laurier accuses Conservatives of "having sacrificed the public cause to personal cupidity" [3]
Governor General speaks on prospects of Northwest Territories [4]
Importance of steamboats to colonization along Saskatchewan River [5]
Ojibwa entertain Governor General at Rat Portage (Kenora), Ont. (Note: racial stereotypes) [6]
Chief Poundmaker tells Cree and Blackfoot legends to Governor General on tour [7]
Colourful Blackfoot riders meet Governor General (Note: "savage" and other stereotypes) [8]
Journalist describes beautiful Qu'Appelle Valley in gorgeous sunset [9]
Nova Scotia woman tries to find maid for $4/month, and describes some of the work [10]
References
- Canada; Parliament; House of Commons, Debates of the House of Commons of the Dominion of Canada; 4th Parliament, 3rd Session (1881), pgs. 485-98. Accessed 4 October 2019 http://www.collectionscanada.ca/2/4/h4-4013-e.html
- A Wrong Forecast of a False Prophet; Editorial from London "Truth," September 1st, 1881 ("From Press Clippings of A.B. Chaffee, Manager, International Railway Guide, Montreal, Que."). Accessed 5 October 2019 http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/1014/1.html
- Ulric Barthe, Wilfrid Laurier on the Platform; Collection of the Principal Speeches[...] (1890), pgs. 143-6. Accessed 5 October 2019 http://www.archive.org/stream/wilfridlaurieron00lauruoft#page/142/mode/2up/
- Canada; Department of Agriculture, The Canadian North-West: Speech Delivered at Winnipeg [by] Governor General[...] (1881). Accessed 5 October 2019 http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/959.html
- "Wreck of the Saskatchewan Steamer," from Edmonton Bulletin (November 5, 1881). Accessed 4 October 2019 http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/documents/thewest/sasksteamerwreak.htm
- William H. Williams, Manitoba and the North-West; Journal of a Trip from Toronto to the Rocky Mountains[...] (1882), pgs. 32-3. Accessed 4 October 2019 http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/1020/39.html
- William H. Williams, Manitoba and the North-West; Journal of a Trip from Toronto to the Rocky Mountains[...] (1882), pg. 105 and after. Accessed 4 October 2019 http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/1020/112.html
- William H. Williams, Manitoba and the North-West; Journal of a Trip from Toronto to the Rocky Mountains[...] (1882), pgs. 118-19. Accessed 4 October 2019 http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/1020/125.html
- William H. Williams, Manitoba and the North-West; Journal of a Trip from Toronto to the Rocky Mountains[...] (1882), pg. 66. Accessed 5 October 2019 http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/1020/73.html
- Letter of Eliza Cunningham to her mother, Catherine McQueen, April 19, 1881, Dartmouth, The McQueen Family Papers, Atlantic Canada Virtual Archives. Accessed 5 October 2019 http://atlanticportal.hil.unb.ca/acva/en/mcqueen/letters/search/text.php?pt=1&d=575