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Terry Fox dips his leg in the Atlantic
Terry Fox, a bone cancer survivor, dips his right, prosthetic lg in the Atlantic Ocean to mark the beginning of his Marathon of Hope. Fox will run from Newfoundland to Thunder Bay, though he hoped to make it to British Columbia. This was important to Canadian history because Fox raised awarness along with money for cancer research. Even years after his death, Fox lives on as an inspirtion to cancer patients and Canadians alike. -
Iran hostages escape
After being held hostage for 444 days in Tehran, the Canadian ambassador in Iran, Ken Taylor, helps the hostages escape. It is historically important to Canada because it further strengthned Canadian and American relations. It showed how Canada could help the United States during a state of emergency and do it in the most peaceful, non-violent way possible. -
Aids/HIV breakout
Starting in the US, a new disease had broken out amoungst gay men. This disease, now known as Aids or HIV, spread quickly. It caused fear amoungst the heterosexual community of homosexuals since they were the ones orginally getting the disease. It was important to Canadian history because it spread to Canada as well, killing thousands. Today, these diseases can be spread to both straight and gay people, and has helped Canadians study the sicknesses further. -
The Oka Crisis
The government wants to expand a golf course and buikd buildings ontop of Mohawks' burial grounds. Outraged that their land was being built on, they barracaded the area and protested. After 78 days or rioting with the Sûreté du Québec and the death of a cop, the federal government bought the land and nothing was built. Seeing as it was on the news a lot, it was an important event because it showed how Natives are not treated equally in Canada and further proved that to the public. -
The Quebec Referendum
With the failure of the signing of the Meech Lake Accord, Quebeckers feel cheated and betrayed. They once again want to seperate from Canada and become their own nation. A referendum is held and the people of Quebec vote for whether or not they want to stay as a province in Canada, or become independant. 50.58% of Quebeckers vote to not become it's own country while 49.42% of Quebeckers vote to be independant. It's important because it is the closet Quebec ever got to becoming it's own nation. -
Columbine Shooting
In Denver, Colorado USA, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold storm into their high school, Columbine, armed, and begin shooting at students. They move into the library where they proceed to kill 13 people, 12 students and one teacher. They then kill themselves. Though it took place in the US, it impacted Canada by having Canadian schools enforce better security. It also raised the awareness of mental illness, as both Harris and Klebold were mentally ill. Thus, guidance conselors are now provided. -
9/11
Osama Bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, enforces four airplanes be hijacked. Two of the planes are flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, killing thousands. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon, while the forth landed in a field in Pennsylvania. This affected Canada because there were some Canadians who were killed. Also, this made airport security get more tough, enforcing new equipement and policies be set up to prevent another tragc event like 9/11 to happen again. -
War in Afghanistan
After 9/11 the US invades Afghanistan searching for the Taliban and Bin Laden. The Taliban refused to give the US their terrorist leader, so war had begun. The war, which still rages on today, aims to expell the ideals of Al-Qaeda. Canada helped send in some troops to support the US during this time. This is why it was important to Canada as well. -
Same sex marriage is legalized
The Civil Marriage Act in Canada allows gender-neutral marriage. Homosexual people are now allowed to marry in Canada. This was important to Canadian history because it allowed all Canadians the right to marriage with whomever they wanted to marry. It shows Canada's acceptance of gay relations and people and shows how the country is progressing and staying with the times. -
G20 Summit riots
One week before the summit takes place, protests and riots begin in downtown Toronto. The riots were for poverty and anti-capitalism. They originally were just peaceful protests, but quickly evolved into violent riots with shops and cars being destroyed. People complained of police brutality as they were trying to calm the riots down. This was important to Canadian history because it was one of the biggest riots in recent years. -
Rob Ford video scandal
A video of Toronto mayor Rob Ford surfaces showing him smoking crack cocaine and making some interesting political comments. This video sparked the media all over the world, commenting on mayor Ford's decision and how he was a political leader, yet was doing such foolish things. Along with some altercations and a video of the mayor drunk and swearing, it deepened the dislike for him by Toronto citizens. This was important to Canadian history because it promoted Toronto. Everyone knows Ford. -
Parliament Hill Shooting
In Ottawa, at the Canadian National War Memorial, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo. He then rushed inside Parliament and shot at secruity. He was shot 31 times by police, was killed. This was an important event in Canadian history because it was the first time Parliament had been shot at, and a soldier had been shot down by a civilian.
