1878 in Canada

Decades:	1850s; 1860s; 1870s; 1880s; 1890s;
See also:	History of Canada; Timeline of Canadian history; List of years in Canada;

Events from the year 1878 in Canada.

Incumbents[edit]

Crown[edit]

Monarch – Victoria^[1]

Federal government[edit]

Governor General – Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (until November 25) then John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne
Prime Minister – Alexander Mackenzie (until October 8) then John A. Macdonald (from October 17)
Chief Justice – William Buell Richards (Ontario)
Parliament – 3rd (until 17 August)

Provincial governments[edit]

Lieutenant governors[edit]

Premiers[edit]

Premier of British Columbia – Andrew Charles Elliott (until June 25) then George Anthony Walkem
Premier of Manitoba – Robert Atkinson Davis (until October 16) then John Norquay
Premier of New Brunswick – George Edwin King (until May 3) then John James Fraser
Premier of Nova Scotia – Philip Carteret Hill (until October 15) then Simon Hugh Holmes (from October 22)
Premier of Ontario – Oliver Mowat
Premier of Prince Edward Island – Louis Henry Davies
Premier of Quebec – Charles Boucher de Boucherville (until March 8) then Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière

Territorial governments[edit]

Lieutenant governors[edit]

Events[edit]

March 7 – Both the Université de Montréal and the University of Western Ontario are incorporated.
March 8 – Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière becomes premier of Quebec, replacing Sir Charles-Eugène de Boucherville.
May 1 – In the Quebec election, Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau's Conservatives win a minority.
June – The New Brunswick election.
June 25 – George Walkem becomes premier of British Columbia for the second time, replacing Andrew Elliott.
July 20 – The British Columbia election.
September 17
- In the federal election, Sir John A. Macdonald's Conservatives win a majority, defeating Alexander Mackenzie's Liberals.
- In the Nova Scotia election, Simon Hugh Holmes's Conservatives win a majority, defeating Philip Carteret Hill's Liberals.
October 16 – John Norquay becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Robert A. Davis.
October 17 – Sir John A. Macdonald becomes prime minister for the second time, replacing Alexander Mackenzie.
October 22 – Simon Holmes becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing Philip Hill.
December 18 – The Manitoba election.

Full date unknown[edit]

Anti-Chinese sentiment in British Columbia reaches a high point as the government bans Chinese workers from public works.
John James Fraser becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing George King.
The Newfoundland election.

Births[edit]

January to June[edit]

January 11 – Percy Chapman Black, politician (d.1961)
January 13 – Lionel Groulx, priest, historian, Quebec nationalist and traditionalist (d.1967)
January 22 – Ernest Charles Drury, politician, writer and 8th Premier of Ontario (d.1968)
February 27 – William Herbert Burns, politician (d.1964)
February 28 – Arthur Roebuck, politician and labour lawyer (d.1971)
April 14 – John Walter Jones, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island (d.1954)
April 29 – Fawcett Taylor, politician
June 14 – Lewis Stubbs, judge and politician (d.1958)
June 20 – Seymour Farmer, politician (d.1951)

July to December[edit]

July 14 – Ernest Frederick Armstrong, politician (d.1948)
July 23 – James Thomas Milton Anderson, politician and 5th Premier of Saskatchewan (d.1946)
August 15 – Thomas Laird Kennedy, politician and 15th Premier of Ontario (d.1959)
September 18 – William Sherring, marathon runner and Olympic gold medalist (d.1964)
December 8 – Henry Herbert Stevens, politician and businessman (d.1973)
December 30 – William Aberhart, politician and 8th Premier of Alberta (d.1943)

Deaths[edit]

February 23 – William Workman, businessman and municipal politician (b.1807)
April 3 – Louis-Philippe Turcotte, historian (b.1842)
April 12 – John Young, politician (b.1811)
May 13 – George Moffat, Sr., businessman and politician (b.1810)
May 20 – Lemuel Allan Wilmot, lawyer, politician, judge, and 3rd Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (b.1809)
November 3 – Pierre Bachand, politician (b.1835)
November 28 – Francis Evans Cornish, politician (b.1831)
December 6 – Jean-Baptiste Meilleur, doctor, educator and politician (b.1796)

Historical documents[edit]

J.A. Macdonald's speech about the dismissal of Quebec's government by its lieutenant-governor^[2]

Hudson's Bay Company policy change causes Indigenous people to starve in the Sept-Îles, Que. area^[3]

Editorial foresees great immigration as Winnipeg inaugurates regular train service^[4]

Arrivals in Manitoba find the good land is "taken" and freight and other costs are exorbitant^[5]

First apples and pears arrive in Battleford, causing homesickness^[6]

References[edit]

^ "Queen Victoria | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
^ The Quebec Constitutional Question; Speech by the Rt. Hon. Sir John Macdonald. Accessed 17 September 2018
^ Report by the Commissioner of Marine and Fisheries on the Condition of the Indians of the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River near Mingan (1878). Accessed 17 September 2018
^ First Train Reaches Winnipeg Manitoba Free Press (December 9, 1878). Accessed 17 September 2018
^ Harris H. Barnes, Journal of a Trip to Manitoba and Back, June and July, 1878 (1879), pgs. 12-14. Accessed 17 September 2018
^ Saskatchewan Herald, Stories of the Old Times from the "Saskatchewan Herald" Files (Battleford, Sask.: Mrs J.C. DeGear, 1951), pg. 21. Accessed 17 September 2018

[1] "Queen Victoria | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 5 December 2022.

[2] The Quebec Constitutional Question; Speech by the Rt. Hon. Sir John Macdonald. Accessed 17 September 2018

[3] Report by the Commissioner of Marine and Fisheries on the Condition of the Indians of the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River near Mingan (1878). Accessed 17 September 2018

[4] First Train Reaches Winnipeg Manitoba Free Press (December 9, 1878). Accessed 17 September 2018

[5] Harris H. Barnes, Journal of a Trip to Manitoba and Back, June and July, 1878 (1879), pgs. 12-14. Accessed 17 September 2018

[6] Saskatchewan Herald, Stories of the Old Times from the "Saskatchewan Herald" Files (Battleford, Sask.: Mrs J.C. DeGear, 1951), pg. 21. Accessed 17 September 2018

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