Home » Travel » Canadian Culture » 100th Article, 100 year old events

100th Article, 100 year old events

© David Newman

This is Article #100. And to celebrate that I decided that I would look at Canadian Corporations or Organizations and Events that were established or that occurred 100 years ago, that is in 1901 (alright, so some of these things aren't 100 years old yet but hey, early birthday celebrations never hurt anyone).

In 1901, Canada was a seven province (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island) , two territory (North West and Yukon) country. Yukon was created a few years before due to a Gold rush in the surroundings. Canada was involved in the Boer War in South Africa, unofficially of course, but equipped Canadian volunteers, who returned to their homeland in 1901. Wilfrid Laurier was the Prime Minister of Canada at the time. The Population of Canada was of 5,371,000 inhabitants (about a million more than the GTA Today, héhé)

The Merchants' Bank of Halifax was renamed The Royal Bank of Canada in 1901 (it dropped the "The" in 1990) In 1921, The Royal Bank was the largest bank in Canada along with The Bank of Montreal. In 1941, the Royal Bank went ahead of the Bank of Montreal. The Bank is still a major financial institution in Canada.

1901 marks the anniversary of the first trans-Atlantic radio message. It was transmitted from Great Britain to St John's Newfoundland (which although not Canadian at the time, makes this list anyway)

Although written in 1880 by Calixa Lavallée, it is believed that 1901 was the first time "O Canada" was heard in English Canada, as it was sung during a tour for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (later King George V and Queen Mary). A few years latter it was translated into English by Thomas Richardson, and was re-written with English lyrics by different people: Mercy E. Powell McCulloch, Wilfred Campbell, Augustus Bridle and Buchan. The modern (although slightly altered) version was written by Robert Stanley Weir. It became the Official National Anthem in 1980.

In 1901, Journalist Alphonse Desjardins founded the first North American financial cooperative in Quebec, also known as La Caisse Populaire. This cooperative is still in existence. "Desjardins va de l'avant"

Alright now, see you next week on Life in Canada.

The copyright of the article 100th Article, 100 year old events in Canadian Culture is owned by . Permission to republish 100th Article, 100 year old events in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.