We’re proud to have a long history in Western Canada, so in celebration of Canada’s 149th birthday, we thought we’d recollect some amazing historical facts about our home and native land. Got a favourite? Tweet us @londondrugs.
1. In 1840, the first transatlantic passenger liner, Cunard, was founded in Halifax by entrepreneur Sir Samuel Cunard. The original purpose? Delivering mail.
2. Speaking of mail, the first letter sent from North America was mailed by Canadian explorer John Rut in 1527 — to King Henry VIII.
3. Montreal hosted the first organized, indoor hockey game ever on March 3, 1875. The game ended when a fight broke out.
Photo via Archives Canada
4. We put the green in the American greenback. Thomas Sterry Hunt invented the distinctive ink at McGill University in 1857.
5. During the Second World War, the Bank of Canada’s nine Victory Bond campaigns raised nearly a whopping $12 billion. That’s almost $15 trillion in 2016 dollars.
6. Mmmmmm! The first Girl Guide cookies were baked in Regina, SK back in 1927.
Photo via Girl Guides of Canada
7. Winnipeg, MB, pioneered the use of three-digit emergency response numbers by introducing 999 in 1959.
8. In the 1970s, Bob Geldof, the Irish rock star and humanitarian, was the editor of Vancouver’s alternative weekly the Georgia Straight.
9. In 1883, the baseball glove was invented in Canada. Catch!
Photo via simpleinsomnia
10. Newfoundland was the site of the first European settlement in North America when Vikings arrived in approximately 1000 CE. It didn’t become a province until 1949.
BONUS! 11. The first London Drugs store opened in 1945 in Vancouver.
