Victoria Timeline 1919-1925

1919-1925 – Coming Home – The Aftermath

Canada and the World

Victoria

1919

Feb 17 – Death of Sir Wilfred Laurier

Jan 24 – Empress of Asia carrying returning troops welcomed by a crowd of 15,000. Read this letter that mentions the return of troops on the Empress of Asia.

Mar 13 – Western Labour Conference agree to form “One Big Union”

Apr 12 – Call for tenders for expansion of Esquimalt Military Hospital.

May 15 – Jun 25 – The Winnipeg General Strike. Mounted Police charge a crowd on June 21 killing two and injuring 20.

May 5 – SS Monteagle disembarked men of the Siberian Expeditionary Force

May 22 – The Nickle Resolution prevents Canadians from accepting foreign honours or titles.

June 6 – Canadian National Railways incorporated

June 15 – Alcock and Brown completed the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight

June 28 – Treaty of Versailles signed

Sept 23 – HRH the Prince of Wales welcomed to Victoria. He lays the cornerstone for the Queen Victoria memorial.

The Prince of Wales visits Naden. Image provided for research purposes only. Permission from Esquimalt Archives is required for further use.
Source: Image Courtesy of Esquimalt Archives. Ruth Craven, V984.7.10. Collection
Date: 1919

Oct 1 – Duke and Duchess of Devonshire visit

Oct 6 – Gen Sir Arthur Currie welcomed home

Nov 8 – Admiral and Lady Jellicoe arrived at Esquimalt aboard HMS New Zealand for a five day visit.

Dec 18 – Colonel The Honourable Edward Prior sworn in as Lt Gov of BC

1920

Federal sales Tax imposed – 1%

Jan 15 – Ratepayers support Johnson Street bridge by-law.

Jan 10 – Canada joined the League of Nations

US granted franchise to women.

Feb 1 – Royal Canadian Mounted Police formed from RNWMP and Dominion Police

Feb 26 – The Indian Act amended to give Canadian Indians the right to vote

Mar 24 – First wireless telephone link between Victoria and Vancouver established.

May 7 – First exhibit by the Group of Seven opened in Toronto

Jul 10 – Arthur Meighen succeeded Borden as PM.

Sept 28 – Victoria Arts College opened in affiliation with UBC.

Dec 24 – Contract awarded for construction of the Esquimalt dry dock.

Dec 25 – The Hon Walter Nichol was installed as BC’s lieutenant-governor.

1921

Sir Adam Beck generating station at Niagara Falls opens as the world’s largest

Mar 24 – Hon. Mary Ellen Smith became the first woman to hold cabinet rank in the British Empire

Mar 26 – the schooner Bluenose launched at Lunenburg NS

Apr 19 – The Governor General, the Duke of Devonshire unveiled the stature of Queen Victoria

June 1 – Census reported Canada’s population as 8,788,483 July 27 – Banting and Best isolated insulin for treatment of diabetes.

Sept 10 – Victoria listens to a concert in San Jose by radio.

Sept 19 – HBC department store opens on Douglas St.

Nov 21 – The maple leaf is authorized as the emblem of Canada

Dec 3 – Toronto defeated Edmonton in the first east-west grey Cup game.

Dec 6 – Agnes Macphail became the first woman elected to the House of Commons. The liberals won a minority and Mackenzie King became PM

1922

First means of transmitting photos by wireless invented by Canadian Sir William Stephenson

Mar 18 – Mahatma Gandhi jailed for sedition in India

Mar 27 – Marshal Joffre arrived in Victoria. He unveiled several war memorials.

Apr 3 – Joseph Stalin appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party. USSR formed on Dec 30

Aug 21 – His Excellency Viscount Byng of Vimy, Governor General arrived in Victoria.

Nov 23 – BBC began daily news broadcasts in Britain

Oct 2 – Neville Chamberlain visits Victoria. Johnson Street bridge opens. Nov 11 – Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association opens the Chinese Hospital on Herald St.

Nov 26 – Tutankhamun’s tomb opened. Dec 30 – USSR formed

1923

Jan 1 – The National Defence Act took effect, creating the Department of National Defence.

Feb 8 – Cumberland Mine explosion. In Springhill NS. About 42 miners killed

Mar 2 – The “Halibut Treaty” with the US was signed. It was the first treaty signed independently by Canada, without the participation of an Imperial delegate.

May 22 – CPR Ferry service inaugurated between Victoria and Bellingham, Washington

Jul 1 – The Chinese Immigration Act replaced by legislation that virtually suspended Chinese immigration to Canada

Oct 25 – Frederick Banting and J.R. Macleod awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for the discovery of insulin.

Oct 29 – Lt Gov lays cornerstone for Christ Church Cathedral Memorial Hall Dec 29 – Victoria Grain elevator used for the first time.

1924

Jan 26 – The Red Ensign was approved as Canada’s official flag.

Jan 11 – Highway section of Johnson Street Bridge opens. The debate over the Johnson Street Bridge has been going on longer than you think. Read about it here.

Apr 1 – The RCAF was established

Jun 11 – HMS Hood and Repulse visited

5 Oct – HRH the Prince of Wales arrived

Nov 21 – Estevan wireless station sets a record by communication with RMS Tahiti within one day of Adelaide – 5,500 miles

1925

Feb 2 – Japanese Training Squadron arrived for a visit

Mar 11 – A new wing of the Royal Jubilee Hospital opened. See what the new ward looked like here.

Mar 30 – Victoria Cougars won the Stanley Cup and World Ice Hockey Championship

10 June – The First services are conducted in the newly formed The United Church of Canada

June 8 – The Crystal Garden opened

July 12 – Lt Gov Nichol unveiled the War memorial at the Legislative buildings

Oct 29 – King’s Conservatives retained power with a minority government

July 13 – Field Marshall Earl Haig addressed returned men in the Royal Theatre