1 October 1944
The Battle of the Scheldt begins; First Canadian Army has a slog to open the port of Antwerp.
[Donald I. Grant/DND/LAC]
2 October 1952
A North Korean shore battery hits HMCS Iroquois, killing three and wounding 10.
3 October 1914
The first contingent of more than 30,000 soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force sails from Quebec to join war efforts in Europe.
[Norman Wilkinson/CWM/Wikimedia]
7 October 1918
The Spanish flu claims its first Canadian victim in Montreal. Overall, the pandemic killed approximately 50,000 Canadians and an estimated 20 million to 100 million people worldwide.
8 October 2001
A naval task group becomes Canada’s initial primary contribution to the war on terror. Within days, Canadian warships are en route to the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Apollo.
[John Horton/Government of Canada]
12 October 1916
The Newfoundland Regiment captures Hilt Trench in less than 30 minutes. Sgt.-Maj. Gardner, Sgt. Peter Samson and L.Cpl. William Bennett are awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for their actions.
13 October 1812
British Maj.-Gen. Isaac Brock is killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights.
15-17 October 1970
The Canadian Army is deployed in Montreal at the height of the October Crisis. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act and hundreds of people are arrested and thousands more are searched before the body of Pierre Laporte, Quebec’s labour and immigration minister, is discovered on Oct. 17.
[The Gazette/LAC]
18 October 1929
Women are declared persons under the law, following a long campaign led by Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards.
19 October 1914
The First Battle of Ypres begins. It lasts more than a month.
21 October 1944
I Canadian Corps launches an assault across the Savio River to divert German attention from a larger Allied attack near Bologna, Italy. On the night of Oct. 21-22, Private Ernest (Smokey)
Smith earns the Victoria Cross by single-handedly stopping a German counterattack.
23 October 1951
Five Canadian soldiers are killed and 21 wounded attacking Hills 166 and 156 and patrolling the Nabu-ri valley during the Korean War.
24 October 1962
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker reluctantly authorizes the DEFCON 3 alert to Canadian forces in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
26 October 1917
Plowing through mud and facing continuous enemy fire, the Canadian offensive is launched at Passchendaele. Nine Canadians earn the Victoria Cross for their actions during the battle.
[DND/LAC]
29 October 1929
On the worst day of the stock market crash, crowds gather at exchanges in Montreal and Toronto. World trade collapses, and the Great Depression follows.
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