Events January 14 - Swift Current, Saskatchewan incorporates as a city. March 19 - The Royal Ontario Museum opens May 14 - First major discovery of oil in western Canada at Turner Valley May 29 - Ocean liner Empress of Ireland sinks in Gulf of St. Lawrence; 1,024 lives lost. June 19 - A coal mine explosion in Hillcrest, Alberta kills 189, the worst mining disaster in Canadian history June 29 - Ontario election: Sir James Whitney's Conservatives win a fourth consecutive majority August 4 - WWI: United Kingdom declares war on Germany, meaning Canada is automatically involved. Canada's War Measures Act is passed suspending all civil rights in Canada during a crisis. September 9 - WWI: The creation of the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade, the first fully mechanized unit in the British Army October 2 - William Hearst becomes Premier of Ontario replacing the retiring James Whitney October 3 - WWI: 33 000 Canadian troops depart for Europe, the largest force to ever cross the Atlantic Ocean at the time. December 17 - George J. Clark becomes Premier of New Brunswick replacing the retiring James K. Flemming All-time high levels of Immigration are ended by the war Canada suspends the convertibility of the dollar into gold Edmonton adopts a new numbered street and avenue pattern Ontario passes a worker's compensation act that provides all workers with funding in case of disability Births March 13 - W.O. Mitchell, author April 3 - Edwin Boyd, bank robber April 11 - Norman McLaren, animated film director April 11 - Robert Stanfield, Tory leader April 18 - David Smith, veterinarian |David Smith]], verterinarian May 9 - Hank Snow, musician July 1 - Stephen Juba, businessman July 10 - Joe Shuster, artist July 19 - John Kenneth Macalister, WWII hero December 10 - Frank Thurston, engineer December 26 - Crawford Gordon, businessman Hugh LeCaine, instrument designer Deaths
