1896 in Canada

Events from the year 1896 in Canada. == Incumbents == === Crown === Monarch – Victoria === Federal government === Governor General – John Hamilton-Gordon Prime Minister – Mackenzie Bowell (until April 27) then Charles Tupper (May 1 to July 8) then Wilfrid Laurier (from July 11) Chief Justice – Samuel Henry Strong (Ontario) Parliament – 7th (until 24 April) then 8th (from 19 August) === Provincial governments === ==== Lieutenant governors ==== Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Edgar Dewdney Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – James Colebrooke Patterson Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – John James Fraser (until November 24) then Jabez Bunting Snowball (from December 9) Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Malachy Bowes Daly Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – George Airey Kirkpatrick (until November 7) then Casimir Gzowski Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – George William Howlan Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau ==== Premiers ==== Premier of British Columbia – John Herbert Turner Premier of Manitoba – Thomas Greenway Premier of New Brunswick – Andrew George Blair (until July 17) then James Mitchell Premier of Nova Scotia – William Stevens Fielding (until July 18) then George Henry Murray (from July 20) Premier of Ontario – Oliver Mowat (until July 25) then Arthur Sturgis Hardy Premier of Prince Edward Island – Frederick Peters Premier of Quebec – Louis-Olivier Taillon (until May 11) then Edmund James Flynn === Territorial governments === ==== Lieutenant governors ==== Lieutenant Governor of Keewatin – James Colebrooke Patterson Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories – Charles Herbert Mackintosh ==== Premiers ==== Chairman of the Executive Committee of the North-West Territories – Frederick Haultain == Events == April 27 – Sir Mackenzie Bowell resigns as Prime Minister due to cabinet infighting. May 1 – Sir Charles Tupper becomes prime minister. May 11 – Edmund Flynn becomes Premier of Quebec, replacing Sir Louis-Olivier Taillon. May 26 – A bridge collapse in Victoria, British Columbia kills 55 people. June 23 – Federal election: Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals win a majority, defeating Sir Charles Tupper's Conservatives. One of the key issues in the campaign has been the Manitoba Schools Question. July 11 – Wilfrid Laurier becomes prime minister. July 20 – George Henry Murray becomes premier of Nova Scotia, replacing William Fielding. July 25 – Arthur S. Hardy becomes premier of Ontario, replacing Sir Oliver Mowat. July – James Mitchell becomes premier of New Brunswick, replacing Andrew Blair. August 17 – Gold is discovered in the Yukon, prompting the Klondike gold rush. === Full date unknown === A plan to populate the western prairies with immigration from eastern Europe is unveiled. The first Canadian blast furnace opens in Hamilton, Ontario. == Sport == February 14 – Winnipeg Victorias win their first Stanley Cup by defeating Montreal Victorias 2 goals to 0 at Montreal's Victoria Skating Rink == Births == === January to June === March 8 – Charlotte Whitton, feminist, politician and mayor of Ottawa (d.1975) March 16 – Harry Banks, soldier March 21 – Errick Willis, politician (d.1967) April 11 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, journalist, writer (d.1967) April 20 – Wilfrid R. "Wop" May, World War I flying ace and pioneering bush pilot (d.1952) May 2 – Elmore Philpott, journalist and politician (d.1964) May 18 – Brock Chisholm, doctor and first Director-General of the World Health Organization (d.1971) June 22 – Leonard W. Murray, naval officer (d.1971) === July to December === July 2 – Prudence Heward, painter (d.1947) July 4 – Frederick Cronyn Betts, politician (d.1938) July 10 – Thérèse Casgrain, feminist, reformer, politician and Senator (d.1981) July 13 – John Henry Cates, businessman and political figure (d.1986) July 27 – Anne Savage, painter and art teacher (d.1971) August 12 – Mitchell Hepburn, politician and 11th Premier of Ontario (d.1953) August 18 – Jack Pickford, actor (d.1933) August 30 – Raymond Massey, actor (d.1983) August 31 – Alice Strike, Canada's last surviving female World War I veteran (d.2004) November 3 – Madeleine Fritz, paleontologist (d.1990) November 7 – Henry Botterell, World War I fighter pilot (d.2003) === Full date unknown === Jean Baptiste Paul, Canadian First Nations wrestler (d. 1966) == Deaths == January 14 – Christopher William Bunting, politician, merchant, newspaper owner and newspaper publisher (b.1837) February 20 – Hart Massey, businessman and philanthropist (b.1823) April 13 – John Christian Schultz, politician and Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (b.1840) May 4 – Timothy Anglin, politician and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (b.1822) June 7 – Wyatt Eaton, painter (b.1849) June 10 – Donald Alexander Macdonald, politician (b.1817) June 19 – John Beverley Robinson, politician (b.1821) June 25 – Samuel Leonard Tilley, Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1818) November 24 – John James Fraser, lawyer, judge, politician and 4th Premier of New Brunswick (b.1829) Anne Hill, dancer and actor (b. 1804) == Historical documents == Summary of Canada's imperial history and description of Governor General's Historical Ball Joshua Slocum sails Cape Horn solo on his globe-circling voyage Visitor describes constant boat traffic on the Muskoka Lakes, Ontario == References ==