Universities and Colleges in Canada

15,000 B.C. - The first Aboriginals arrive in northern Canada, crossing the land bridge between Asia and Alaska.

1497 - Italian John Cabot, hired by King Henry VII of England, lands in Newfoundland and claims the area for England.

1534 - French explorer Jacques Cartier travels the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

1608 - French explorer Samuel de Champlain founds the city of Quebec.

1610 - Henry Hudson of England explores Hudson Bay.

1663 - French King Louis XIV proclaims New France a royal colony of France. New France stretched from modern day Quebec and Labrador, south to the modern state of Louisiana, and west to the Rocky Mountains.

1759 - The city of Quebec falls to the British.

1774 - Britain passes the Quebec Act granting official recognition to the French people and their culture in British Canada.

1770-1790 - About 40,000 Loyalist refugees from the American War for Independence settle in British North America (now Eastern Canada).

1791 -British North America is divided into Upper Canada (modern Ontario) and Lower Canada (modern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia). Each has separate governing authority.

1812-1815 - During the War of 1812, British North American forces repel two invasions by American armies superior in number.

July 1, 1867 - British North America is granted full autonomy from Britain. The provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick form the Dominion of Canada. Britain retains its presence through the Governor General, the monarch's representative to the Canadian government. Sir John A. Macdonald becomes the first Prime Minister.

1870 - Manitoba joins the Dominion of Canada as the fifth province.

1870 - The Northwest Territories are established.

1871 - British Columbia becomes the sixth province of Canada.

1873 - Prince Edward Island becomes the seventh province of Canada.

1880 - The Canadian national anthem was composed by Calixa Lavalee.

1885 - The Canadian Pacific Railway crossing Canada is completed.

1890 - The Yukon is recognized as a territory of Canada.

1896 - Sir Wilfrid Laurier becomes Canada's first French-Canadian Prime Minister.

1905 - The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan join the Dominion of Canada.

1931 - The Statute of Westminster, passed by the British Parliament, grants Canada full independence from the British Empire.

1949 - Newfoundland becomes the tenth province of Canada.

1959 - The St. Lawrence seaway is opened by Canada and the U.S.

Feb 15, 1965 - Canada adopts its current flag with two red borders and an eleven-pointed Maple Leaf.

1969 - The Official Languages Act recognizes English and French as Canada's two official languages.

July 1, 1980 - O Canada is proclaimed the National Anthem for Canada a century after being sung for the first time.

1982 - The Constitution Act gave Canada the right to change the Canadian constitution without approval from Britain. The Canadian Bill of Rights was also passed into law.

1988 - Canada's commitment to preserving the culture and lifestyle of ethnic communities was officially recognized in the Multiculturalism Act.

1994 - The Parti Quebecois gains control of the Quebec government and calls for a vote on the Separatist proposal. It is voted down by only a 51-49 margin.

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