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Timeline of Alberta history

Summary

Below is a brief timeline covering the history of Alberta and its predecessor states.

Pre-history edit

Date Event Reference
c. 8000 BC Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo-Jump is first used, archaeology indicates. [1]

Pre-Confederation edit

 
The Watersheds of North America displayed over the continent played important roles in the determination of political boundaries established across North America, including Alberta. They also served as important conduits for early explorers.
Date Event Reference
May 2, 1670 King Charles II of England grants the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) a royal charter for "the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights, Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the Streights commonly called Hudson's Streights... which are not now actually possessed by any of our Subjects, or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State... and that the said Land be from henceforth... called Rupert's Land". Part of Rupert's Land covered part of today's Alberta. (The Milk river valley in the extreme south of the province and the north half of the province were not part of the Hudsons Bay watershed.) [2]
1715 Captain Swan reports finding "gum or pitch" in the region now known as the Athabasca oil sand. The Captain's report is the first known to mention the oil sands. [3]
September 11, 1754? Anthony Henday, believed to be the first European to explore the area, enters present day Alberta. [4]
1778 Peter Pond establishes the first fur trading post in Alberta[5] and submits a map of the area to the United States Congress and Lt. Governor of Quebec on March 1, 1785.[6] [5][6]
1788 Alexander Mackenzie mentions "bituminous" substances banking the Athabasca river. Mackenzie and Peter Pond found Fort Chipewyan.
July 3, 1789 Alexander Mackenzie embarks on his 1789 expedition to the Arctic Ocean from Fort Chipewyan.
February 12, 1793 Peter Fidler reports coal deposits on the banks of Kneehills Creek, near the Red Deer River, north of present-day Drumheller. Fidler is the first known to mention coal deposits on the Prairies. [7]
1795 Fort Edmonton established by the HBC as a trading post at the present site of Fort Saskatchewan.
December 20, 1803 Mississippi drainage lands lying within present day Alberta are transferred to United States with the Louisiana Purchase, which was signed on April 30, 1803, comes into effect.
October 10, 1812 HBC factor Jame Bird marked out the layout of Fort Edmonton IV. This marked the start of recorded permanent human occupancy on the site of the present City of Edmonton.[8]
October 18, 1840 Robert Rundle arrives at Fort Edmonton as the first permanent cleric to the area.


 
Copy of a map presented to the United States Congress and the Lt. Governor of Quebec by Peter Pond.

Post-Confederation edit

 
Territorial evolution of the province of Alberta within Canada since Confederation, 1867
 
Alberta's first legislature, Edmonton, 1906
Date Event Reference
July 15, 1870 The Prairies and Great Northland become part of the young country of Canada. Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory are combined under the new name of the North-West Territories, parts of which will become part of Alberta. [9]
October 25, 1870 Battle of the Belly River occurs. The battle is the last major conflict between the Cree (the Iron Confederacy) and the Blackfoot Confederacy, and the last major battle between First Nations on Canadian soil.
October 1, 1874 First North-West Mounted Police outpost in Alberta at Fort Macleod is established. The following spring Mounties established a post at Fort Saskatchewan, ouitside Edmonton. (The police force was legally established in 1873 and was staffed and put into the field in 1874, in response to the Cypress Hills Massacre of 1873.)
September 1875 Fort Brisebois, later renamed Fort Calgary in 1876 by James MacLeod, established by Éphrem Brisebois. [10]
August 23, 1876 Treaty 6 receives its first signatories, ceding much of central Alberta to the crown.
September 22, 1877 Treaty 7 is signed, ceding much of southern Alberta to the crown.
May 2, 1882 North-West Territories, which then included the future land of Alberta, is divided into provisional districts, among them being the divisions of Alberta, Athabasca, Saskatchewan and Assiniboia. [11]
October 13, 1882 Alexander Galt's company, the North Western Coal and Navigation Company, opens its first drift mine. The community of Coalbanks, later named Lethbridge, establishes itself around the mine. [12][additional citation(s) needed]
August 10, 1883 Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) construction reaches Calgary, having entered Alberta in early May. [13]
1883 Langevin Siding, later renamed Carlstadt, and later Alderson, serves as the first discovery point for natural gas by CPR employees accidentally drilling for water. [14][additional citation(s) needed]
April 2, 1885 Frog Lake Massacre occurs as the North-West Rebellion stretches into modern day Alberta. Cree discontents kill nine white officials, instructors and priests living in the small settlement of Frog Lake (then, in the District of Saskatchewan). Perpetrators later hanged.
June 23, 1887 Rocky Mountains Park (later renamed Banff National Park), is created by the Rocky Mountain Park Act. [15]
1891 Calgary & Edmonton Railway built, connecting Calgary to the south bank of North Saskatchewan River, opposite Edmonton. South Edmonton (later named Strathcona) grew up at the rail-head.
1892 Edmonton incorporated as a town.
January 1, 1894 Calgary incorporated as a city. [10]
November 7, 1898 Klondike Trail construction is started by Thomas Chalmers on behalf of the North-West Territorial government. He worked on stretch of trail between Fort Assiniboine and Lesser Slave Lake. Edmonton at the time was the starting point for many who attempted the overland trek to the Yukon goldfields. [16]
June 21, 1899 Treaty 8 is signed, ceding much of Northern Alberta to the crown.
April 29, 1903 Frank Slide, Canada's deadliest rockslide occurs in the town of Frank, then North-West Territories.
November 7, 1904 Edmonton incorporated as a city. [17]
September 1, 1905 The Alberta Act creates Alberta as a province from the North-West Territories.
November 9, 1905 1st Alberta general election occurs, the Alberta Liberal Party defeats the Alberta Conservative Party led by R.B. Bennett. Bennett will become the 11th Prime Minister of Canada.
1907 Strathcona incorporated as a city.
January 11, 1911 Lowest temperature every recorded in Alberta, -60.6 °C at Fort Vermillion.
September 3, 1912 Alberta Legislature Building opened by Governor General of Canada, the Duke of Connaught. [18]
1912 The cities of Edmonton and Strathcona amalgamated.
May 14, 1914 A.W. Dingman struck wet natural gas at Turner Valley, which produced gasoline. The Turner Valley/Black Diamond oil field became a major supplier of oil and gas and the largest producer in the British Empire.[19]
June 19, 1914 Hillcrest mine disaster, Canada's deadliest coal mining accident killing 189 workers.
July 21, 1915 1915 Alberta liquor plebiscite occurs with 61% voting in favour of prohibition. [20]
April 19, 1916 Women's suffrage movement prevails in Alberta, women earn the right to vote, being the third province to grant the right with the passage of the Equal Suffrage Statutory Law Amendment Act. [21]
1917 Louiske McKinney and Roberta MacAdams elected to the Alberta Legislature, the first women elected to government in the British Empire.
October 2, 1918 Spanish Influenza causes the Alberta Board of Public Health to declare all citizens be masked in public. Around 4,700 people die and over 31,000 cases are reported in Alberta. [22][23]
July 18, 1921 5th Alberta general election occurs, the United Farmers of Alberta defeats the incumbent Liberal government.
November 5, 1923 1923 Alberta prohibition plebiscite occurs. 58% voted in favour of clause (d), enabling government sale of liquor and private operation of beerhalls, and ending the Prohibition that had been in effect since 1916, following the 1915 Prohibition plebiscite. [24]
June 16, 1926 The City of Edmonton receives a licence to operate airport, later named Blatchford Field, the first municipal airport in Canada. [25]
April 24, 1928 Edwards v Canada decision is released, favouring the all-Albertan group, the Famous Five. The decision decides women are persons under the law and thus could be appointed to the Senate. [26]
December 14, 1929 Alberta Natural Resources Act passed, transferring control of natural resources and Crown land to the province. [27]
July 2, 1934 Brownlee sex scandal, captures widespread attention in the province, resulting in the premier's resignation. [28]
1935 The UFA government was defeated in the 1935 election by William Aberhart's Social Credit party. This was the first Social Credit government elected anywhere in the world.
September 29, 1938 Alberta Treasury Branches established as a provincially owned bank, as part of the Social Credit government's monetary reform policies.
1939-1945 Alberta plays a role in the WWII Allied war effort. This includes participation in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, base and administrative headquarters for construction of the Alaska Highway, and hundreds of planes being ferried through Alberta to go to aid the Soviet Union's war effort.

Post World War II edit

 
Leduc No. 1 well
Date Event Reference
February 13, 1947 Leduc No. 1, the first major oil discovery in northern Alberta is made, growing the petroleum industry in Alberta.
August 30, 1971 17th Alberta general election occurs. The Progressive Conservatives win a majority, led by Peter Lougheed — ending 36 years of the Social Credit party's successive victories and grip on majority power in the Legislature.
May 19, 1976 Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund created upon Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Act receiving royal assent. The Heritage fund remains the only sovereign wealth fund in Canada. [29]
October 28, 1980 National Energy Program is announced by the federal Trudeau government, creating anger and resentment in the West and set to take effect on January 1, 1981. [30]
September 15, 1981 West Edmonton Mall, at the time the world's largest, opens.
September 25, 1985 Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology opened.
February 8, 1986 The Hinton train disaster kills 23 people, the deadliest railway accident in Alberta history.
June 14, 1986 The Mindbender derails, killing three people
July 31, 1987 The Edmonton tornado killed 27 people and caused more than $330M in damage.
February 13, 1988 1988 Winter Olympics open in Calgary with closing ceremonies on February 28.
June 19, 2013 2013 Alberta floods begins, causing some of the worst flooding damage in Alberta's history.
May 5, 2015 29th Alberta general election occurs. The Alberta New Democratic Party win a majority — ending 44 years of Progressive Conservative party's successive victories (since the 1971 election).
May 1, 2016 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire begins. It would displace more than 88,000 people from their homes.
December 2, 2018 Rachel Notley#Oil_curtailments announced to take effect in January 2019, limiting production to 3.56 million barrels per day.
April 16, 2019 30th Alberta general election occurs. The United Conservative Party win a majority, displacing the incumbent majority government of Alberta NDP after one-term.
January 8, 2020 The shoot-down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in Iran kills 51 Canadians, including 13 Edmontonians, of whom 10 were faculty at the University of Alberta. This is believed to be the most Edmontonians killed in a single event since the 1987 tornado, and deadliest day in the history of the university.
February 23, 2020 Teck Resources withdraws its application to build the Frontier Mine in northern Alberta despite having spent more than one billion dollars over then ten years on the project.
March 17, 2020 COVID-19 causes the government of Alberta to declare a state of emergency.[31] The first person in Alberta dies from the virus on March 19.[32]
September 30, 2022 On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Alberta government and Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Centre committed to returning the Manitou Stone (Creator Stone), a 145 kg meteorite, to its landing site near Hardisty. A $7.5-10 million geodesic dome designed by Indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal, will be a prayer healing facility and vesicle for the allegedly sacred stone. Former Poundmaker Chief Blaine Favel said land for the site and funding from corporate donors was being negotiated. The Royal Alberta Museum will continue to curate the artifact until the site is constructed.[33]

Timeline of Alberta Premiers edit

Danielle SmithJason KenneyRachel NotleyJim PrenticeDave HancockAlison RedfordEd StelmachRalph KleinDon GettyPeter LougheedHarry StromErnest ManningWilliam AberhartRichard Gavin ReidJohn Edward BrownleeHerbert GreenfieldCharles Stewart (premier)Arthur SiftonAlexander Cameron Rutherford


Other Alberta timelines edit

References edit

  1. ^ Buffalo Tracks: Educational and scientific studies from Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo-Jump (PDF). Alberta Government.
  2. ^ "Text of HBC's Royal Charter". HBC Heritage. Retrieved Feb 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Neatby, L.H. (1979) [1969]. "Swan (Captain Swan)". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  4. ^ "Peel 35, Henday, Anthony".
  5. ^ a b "Biography — Peter Pond". Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
  6. ^ a b "Peter Pond: Map Maker of the Northwest (1740-1807)" (PDF). UCalgary.
  7. ^ "Peter Fidler". Government of Alberta.
  8. ^ Edmonton House Journals, Correspondence and Reports, 1806-1821 (published by the Historical Society of Alberta), p. 182
  9. ^ "Deed of Surrender". HBC Heritage. Retrieved Feb 14, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "The City of Calgary - Historical Information". City of Calgary.
  11. ^ Canada (1886). Acts of the Parliament of the Dominion of Canada, Volumes 1-2. p. xviii.
  12. ^ "Alberta's First Coal Mining Community". Alberta Government.
  13. ^ "The Canadian Pacific Railway in Western Canada". Atlas of Alberta Railways.
  14. ^ "Alberta's First Natural Gas Discovery". Petroleum History Society.
  15. ^ "Rocky Mountains Park Act, 1887". Parks Canada History.
  16. ^ "Chalmers Trail". Klondike Trail Society. Archived from the original on 2008-12-21.
  17. ^ "CITY OF EDMONTON POPULATION, HISTORICAL". Government of Edmonton.
  18. ^ "Alberta Legislature Building". Heritage Resources Management Information System.
  19. ^ "Turner Valley Gas Plant". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  20. ^ "The Edmonton Bulletin, July 21, 1915". Edmonton Peel Archive.
  21. ^ "Equal Suffrage Statutory Law Amendment Act" (PDF). Alberta Legislature.
  22. ^ Yousif, Nadine (Nov 26, 2018). "100 years later, Alberta remembers the devastation of the Spanish Flu". The Star.
  23. ^ Zurowski, Monica (March 13, 2020). "In 1918, Spanish flu pulled into Calgary on a train. Here's how the city coped". Calgary Herald.
  24. ^ Hamill, Sarah (2015). "Prohibition Plebiscites on the Prairies: (Not-So) Direct Legislation and Liquor Control in Alberta, 1915–1932" (PDF). Law and History Review. 33 (2): 377–410. doi:10.1017/S0738248015000097. S2CID 147335687.
  25. ^ https://www.albertaaviationmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Blatchford-Field-Tingley-Article-1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  26. ^ "(J) The Person's Case: Supreme Court of Canada decision (April 24, 1928)". Nellie McLung Foundation.
  27. ^ "Alberta Natural Resources Act". Government of Canada. January 2003.
  28. ^ "MacMillan v. Brownlee, 1934 CanLII 376 (AB QB)". CanLII.
  29. ^ "Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Historical Timeline" (PDF). Alberta Government. February 28, 2020.
  30. ^ The Budget 1980 (PDF). 1980. p. 9.
  31. ^ "Update 4: COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta (March 17 at 3:30 p.m.)". Alberta Government. March 17, 2020.
  32. ^ "Update 6: COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta (March 19 at 5 p.m.)". Alberta Government. Mar 19, 2020.
  33. ^ Amato, A (Sept 30, 2022)'Creator’s Stone meteorite to be returned to original site in Alberta', Global News. retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/9168028/alberta-government-returns-creators-stone-meteorite/#:~:text=Creator's%20Stone%20meteorite%20to%20be%20returned%20to%20original%20site%20in%20Alberta,-By%20Angela%20Amato&text=After%20years%20of%20negotiations%2C%20the,displaced%20for%20over%20150%20years.

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