Firsts | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • Article

    Persons Case (Plain-Language Summary)

    The Persons Case was a constitutional ruling. It established the right of women to serve in the Senate. The case was started by the Famous Five. They were a group of women activists. In 1928, they objected to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that women were not “persons.” As such, they were not allowed to serve in the Senate. The Famous Five challenged the law. In 1929, the decision was reversed. As a result, women were legally recognized as “persons.” They could no longer be denied rights based on a narrow reading of the law. (This article is a plain-language summary of the Persons Case. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see the full-length entry.)

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/65699b89-06c0-4518-aa06-4eea43f2ec74.jpg Persons Case (Plain-Language Summary)

  • Editorial

    The First Telegraph in Canada

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

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/d728ded5-05be-48c5-8097-f08db72cac00.jpg The First Telegraph in Canada

  • Editorial

    The First Thanksgiving in North America

    The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. It has become common knowledge that the first Thanksgiving in North America was held by Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew in Nunavut in 1578. There are those — mainly Americans upset by the thought of having their holiday co-opted — who argue that it wasn't a “real” Thanksgiving. I would counter that Frobisher had reason to give thanks, and that giving thanks was an important aspect of Elizabethan society, so it would have been a natural thing for him and his men to do.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/c07fc308-7b63-421f-8b08-2c821321ba57.jpg The First Thanksgiving in North America

  • Editorial

    Vancouver Feature: Canada’s First Gas Station Opens for Business

    The following article is a feature from our Vancouver Feature series. Past features are not updated. The first gasoline-powered automobile had arrived in Vancouver in 1904, and there were not many more by 1907. But that year someone in the local Imperial Oil office determined that filling cars with a bucket and funnel was not very safe. So the first Canadian filling station — a hot-water tank and a garden hose — was set up at the company’s storage yard at Cambie and Smithe.

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    https://development.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Vancouver Feature: Canada’s First Gas Station Opens for Business