2 June 1916
Mount Sorrel on the Ypres salient is captured by the Germans following a massive bombardment. By the time the ground is retaken, the Canadian Corps suffers more than 8,000 casualties (also see “The take back,” page 26).
Credit: Wikimedia
6 June 1944
Canadian troops land on Juno Beach and begin fighting their way inland. Canada also contributes naval and air forces to the five-division assault in Normandy.
Credit: DND/LAC/4950961
8 June 1992
Chris Hadfield and Julie Payette are among new astronauts named by the Canadian Space Agency.
10 June 1940
Italy declares war on France and Britain, while Norway surrenders to Germany.
Credit: Brooklyn Eagle
11 June 1999
A UN mission, including more than 600 Canadians, is established in East Timor to help organize elections, support the new government and establish rule of law.
12-13 June 1944
With his aircraft on fire, PO Andrew Mynarski delays his own escape to help a fellow crew member. While his crewmate survives the crash, Mynarski is badly burned and later dies from his wounds. He is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Credit: Sharif Tarabay
15 June 1846
Britain and the U.S. sign the Oregon Treaty, extending the Canada-U.S. boundary along the 49th parallel west from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Georgia.
16 June 1755
After landing earlier in the month, British and New England forces capture Fort Beauséjour, N.B., from French and Acadian defenders and rename it Fort Cumberland.
18 June 1812
The U.S. declares war on Britain; Canada becomes the main battleground in the War of 1812.
19 June 1918
On his final day in France, air ace Billy Bishop downs five enemy aircraft, earning him the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Credit: CWM/19920085-649
21 June 2001
A national monument to Indigenous veterans designed by Lloyd Pinay of Peepeekisis First Nation, Sask., is unveiled in Ottawa. The bronze sculpture honours the thousands of Indigenous Peoples who served Canada during the First and Second world wars and the Korean War.
24 June 1948
The Soviet Union begins a blockade of Berlin in one of the first international crises of the Cold War.
25 June 1950
North Korea invades South Korea, starting the Korean War. Canada deploys nearly 27,000 troops as part of a United Nations force supporting the south.
28 June 1914
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, sparking the First World War.
29 June 1974
Ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union while on tour in Toronto.
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