1 February 1968
The Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force are unified into a single organization called the Canadian Forces.
2 February 1943
The last of the German 6th Army surrenders at Stalingrad.
3 February 1916
The Parliament Buildings in Ottawa are destroyed by fire.
4 February 1945
I Canadian Corps departs Italy to support the Allied advance in Northwest Europe.
6 February 1919
The last Canadian troops withdraw from the Army of Occupation in Belgium.
8 February 1944
Near Littoria, Italy, Tommy Prince, disguised as a farmer, fixes a broken communication wire right under enemy noses.
9 February 2004
Canadian Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier assumes command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
10 February 1763
The Treaty of Paris is signed by Britain, France and Spain, formally ending the Seven Years War. France cedes its North American territories to the British.
12 February 1918
The London Gazette announces Lieutenant Hugh McKenzie is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery at Passchendaele.
14 February 1945
Spilled fuel starts a conflagration in the port at Ostend, Belgium, burning 12 vessels and killing 61 Canadian and British sailors.
15 February 1965
The Maple Leaf becomes Canada’s official flag.
16 February 1945
HMCS Saint John uses depth charges to sink U-309 in the North Sea near Moray Firth.
18 February 2010
John Babcock, last known Canadian First World War veteran, dies.
19 February 1942
Winnipeg unconditionally surrenders during a simulated Nazi invasion that brings the reality of war “over there” home on If Day.
20 February 1959
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker makes the unexpected announcement that the CF-105 Avro Arrow fighter project is cancelled.
22 February 1919
Tens of thousands of mourners pay respects at the funeral of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada’s seventh—and first francophone—prime minister.
24 February 1925
RCAF’s first flying deaths result when two planes collide at Camp Borden, Ont.
25 February 1916
The 224th Canadian Forestry Battalion is authorized by the Department of Militia.
26-28 February 1838
Robert Nelson gathers 600 volunteers in Vermont aiming to free Lower Canada to join the U.S. He invades and is repelled.
27-28 February 1915
The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry carries out the first trench raid of the war, near Ypres, Belgium.
28 February 1991
Operation Desert Storm, the combat phase of the Persian Gulf War, ends.
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