Browse "Disasters"

In Liboire Lefebvre’s four years as mayor, St-Bernard-de-Beauce has enjoyed small triumphs. Local residents have racked up honors in provincial flower competitions.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on October 27, 1997

The terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001 had an immediate and profound impact on Canada. Twenty-four Canadians died in what became known as the "9/11" attacks. When the US closed its airspace, hundreds of planes carrying thousands of passengers were diverted to Canadian airports. In the weeks following, Canada passed controversial anti-terrorism laws and sent its first troops to Afghanistan as part of the “War on Terror.”

Even for a symbolic act of violence it was a particularly cynical target - the tiny, perfect Prince Edward Island legislature in Charlottetown where the Fathers of Confederation once thrashed out the terms for the formation of Canada.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on May 1, 1995

Clement Courtenay Ligoure, physician (born 13 October 1886 in Trinidad; died 23 May 1922 in Halifax, NS). Dr. Ligoure was Halifax’s first Black doctor and an unsung hero of the Halifax Explosion, as he treated hundreds of patients free of charge in his home medical office. Dr. Ligoure was also instrumental in the formation of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada’s first and only all-Black battalion (see Black Canadians; Caribbean Canadians).

Coal mining involves deep workings, soft rock, dust, poisonous and flammable gases, explosives, machinery, transport and ventilation systems, and, in early times, open-flame lamps. Each has been a factor in the many Canadian coal mine tragedies, the worst of which are detailed here.

​The spectacular suspension bridge across the Peace River south of Fort St. John, British Columbia, was opened in the summer of 1943, replacing a ferry crossing on the Alaska Highway.

Catastrophic accidents or natural disasters may be spectacular or tragic, but they seldom have great historical significance.

Dumpy, balding and bespectacled, he did not look like a demonic angel of death.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on March 25, 1996

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

On 19 April 1904, a fire swept through 20 acres of Toronto’s industrial core. By the time firefighters contained it, the blaze had destroyed at least 98 buildings. The fire incurred around $10 million in losses and left thousands unemployed. One person died in its aftermath. The disaster is known as the Great Fire of Toronto or the Second Great Fire of Toronto (the first major fire occurred in 1849). It exposed the city’s need for safer building codes and a high-pressure water system.

Then, Margaret's son, Allan, urged her to stay with him in Ottawa - but all trains in and out of the two cities were cancelled, and roads closed. Meanwhile, Allan, his wife, Lori, and their three young sons hosted nine neighborhood boys whose own homes were without power.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on January 19, 1998

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

Numerous tragedies have unfolded on Canadian roads and highways, the deadliest being a bus crash that killed 44 people in Quebec in 1997. Despite the death toll in such headline-grabbing disasters, Canada’s motor vehicle fatality and injury rates are steadily declining, thanks to engineering improvements in vehicles, and the increasing promotion and awareness of safe driving practices.

Historic Rockslides in Canada Site Date Volume m³ Damage Rubble Creek, BC 1855? 25...

​HMCS Kootenay was a destroyer in the Canadian Navy. In 1969, an accident at sea killed 9 sailors and injured 53 others. It was the worst peacetime disaster in the history of the navy.