1863 in Canada

Events from the year 1863 in Canada.

← 1862 1861 1860 1863 in Canada → 1864 1865 1866
Decades:	1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s
See also:	History of Canada Timeline of Canadian history List of years in Canada

Incumbents

• Monarch — Victoria^[1]

Federal government

• Parliament — 7th then 8th

Governors

• Governor General of the Province of Canada — Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck
• Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Alexander Bannerman
• Governor of New Brunswick — Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore
• Governor of Nova Scotia — George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
• Governor of Prince Edward Island — George Dundas

Premiers

• Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada –
  • John Sandfield Macdonald, Canada West Premier
  • Louis-Victor Sicotte, Canada East Premier until May 15, 1863
  • Antoine-Aimé Dorion, Canada East Premier on May 15, 1863
• Premier of Newfoundland — Hugh Hoyles
• Premiers of New Brunswick — Samuel Leonard Tilley
• Premiers of Nova Scotia –
  • Joseph Howe (until June 5, 1863)
  • James William Johnston (on June 11, 1863)
• Premier of Prince Edward Island –
  • Edward Palmer (before March 2, 1863)
  • John Hamilton Gray (on March 2, 1863)

Parliaments and Assemblies

• 7th Parliament of the Province of Canada
• 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada
• 19th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly
• 22nd General Assembly of Nova Scotia
• 21st General Assembly of Prince Edward Island
• 22nd General Assembly of Prince Edward Island

Events

• March 17 — U.S. gives notice of intent to abrogate reciprocity.
• September 5 — Louis-Victor Sicotte appointed a puisne judge of the Superior Court for Saint-Hyacinthe District
• December 7 — New Brunswick and Nova Scotia: the Chesapeake Affair.
• Militia Pay Act for all males 18–60.

Births

• February 3 — James White, geographer
• May 19 — John Alexander Mathieson, jurist, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island (died 1947)
• July 1 — William Grant Stairs, explorer, soldier and adventurer (died 1892)
• October 4 — Peter Veniot, businessman, newspaper owner, politician and 17th Premier of New Brunswick (died 1936)
• October 10 — Louis Cyr, strongman (died 1912)
• November 14 — Edward Foster, fingerprint expert

Deaths

• January 17 — Peter Warren Dease, HBC officer and Arctic explorer (born 1788)
• January 31 — Sir John Robinson, 1st Baronet, of Toronto, lawyer, judge and political figure (born 1791)
• November 20 — James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, Governor General (born 1811)
• December 10 — James FitzGibbon, British colonel who served in Canada for 45 years (born 1780)

Historical documents

• Prevalence of death in girls among "imperfect" statistics from Indigenous schools and hospitals (Note: "uncivilized," other stereotypes)^[2]
• Report on escaped slaves in Canada West says they are doing well ^[3]
• Editorial on high rate of Canadian emigration to U.S.A.^[4]
• Montreal doctor advocates making smallpox vaccination compulsory^[5]
• Ice bridge forms on Niagara River^[6]

References

1. "Queen Victoria | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
2. Florence Nightingale, Sanitary Statistics of Native Colonial Schools and Hospitals (1863), pgs. 4-14 plus appendices. Accessed 16 February 2020
3. S.G. (Samuel Gridley) Howe, The Refugees from Slavery in Canada West: Report to the Freedmen's Inquiry Commission (Boston: Wright & Potter, Printers, 1864; Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library, 2005), pgs. III-IV. Accessed 5 September 2018
4. "Leaving Canada" The Seattle Gazette, Vol. 1, No. 3 (December 26, 1863), pg. 2. Accessed 5 September 2018
5. Wm. H. Hingston, M.D., "A Few Remarks on Vaccination and Re-Vaccination" Canada Lancet, Vol. 1, No. 10 (December 15, 1863), pg. 1. Accessed 5 September 2018
6. "Ice Bridge at Niagara" The Illustrated London News (April 4, 1863), The Civil War in America from The Illustrated London News. Accessed 20 September 2018