1855 in Canada explained

Events from the year 1855 in Canada.

Incumbents

• Monarch — Victoria^[1]

Federal government

• Parliament — 5th

Governors

• Governor General of the Province of Canada — Edmund Walker Head

Premiers

• Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
  • Canada West Premier
    • Sir Allan Napier MacNab, until May 24, 1856
    • Sir John A. Macdonald, from May 24, 1856
  • Canada East Premier
    • Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché

British North America Colonies

• Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
• Premier of Newfoundland — Philip Francis Little
• Governor of Nova Scotia — John Gaspard Le Marchant
• Premier of Nova Scotia — William Young
• Governor of New Brunswick — John Manners-Sutton
• Premier of New Brunswick — Charles Fisher
• Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly
• Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

• British Empire's Crimean War continues, British troops being withdrawn.
• Albert Salter surveys the North Shore of Lake Huron, following the signing of the Robinson-Huron Treaty in 1850.^[2]
• January 1 – Bytown is renamed Ottawa.
• March 8 – A bridge over the Niagara River near Niagara Falls is completed.
• April 11 – The Militia Act of 1855 is passed in the Parliament of the Province of Canada^[3]
• April 17 – Charlottetown incorporated as a city.
• May 19 - The Militia Act is proclaimed.^[4]
• August 17 – The Charlottetown Police Department is established.
• August 31 – The First Volunteer Militia units are formed,^[5] by year end 21 Companies have been formed.
• November 19 – The first section of the Grand Trunk Railway's original Toronto–Montreal mainline is completed between Montreal and Brockville.^[6]

Full date unknown

• 1855 Newfoundland general election

Births

• January 14 – Homer Watson, artist (died 1936)
• February 22 – Grace Annie Lockhart, first woman in the British Empire to receive a Bachelor's degree (died 1916)
• March 5 – Nérée Le Noblet Duplessis, politician, 19th Mayor of Trois-Rivières and father of 16th Premier of Quebec Maurice Duplessis (died 1926)
• May 11 – Charles Doherty, politician and jurist (died 1931)
• July 29 – Bowman Brown Law, politician (died 1916)
• August 3 – Charles Hibbert Tupper, politician (died 1927)
• September 12 – Simon-Napoléon Parent, politician and Premier of Quebec (died 1920)
• December 14 – William Brymner, art teacher and painter (died 1925)

Deaths

• July 7 – Henry Sherwood, lawyer, local politician and 4th Premier of Canada West (born 1802)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Queen Victoria The Canadian Encyclopedia . www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca . 5 December 2022.
2. Book: Saarinen, Oiva . From Meteorite Impact to Constellation City: A Historical Geography of Greater Sudbury . . 2013 . 978-1-55458-837-4 . 41.
3. CFHQ Report #6, Canadian Militia prior to Confederation, pg 70 ph 162
4. Canadian Gazette Extra May 19, 1855 pg 1
5. Canadian Gazette Sep 1, 1855 pg 1153
6. Web site: Grand Trunk Railway . Toronto Railway Historical Association . Adam . Peltenburg . November 17, 2022.