CMOS Bulletin SCMO
Vol. 45, No.2
7
Article: Weather on Canada’s First Day
The sun dawned across Canada on the first day of nationhood back on the first of July, A.D. 1867. There were a
few sprinkles of rain here and there in Ontario, but across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Canadas (Quebec
and most of Ontario), Confederation Day was warm, sunny and uneventful – what some described as boring
weather. Afternoon highs across the new nation were seasonably warm reaching a high of 33°C in Hamilton and
Windsor, ON. The absence of summer thunderstorms and high humidity was a rarity of sorts for July. Everywhere,
Canadians rejoiced at the alliance of the two Maritime states with the two Canada provinces into the British North
American Union. Owing to agreeable weather − “a finer day could not have been desired” − Canadians spent the
holiday Monday outdoors amongst family, friends and strangers celebrating the historic moment and enjoying
picnic lunches, parades, sports and games. First-day Canadians − three million of us − were pleased to have an
extra day off. In large cities and towns from Sarnia to Sherbrooke, and Sussex to Sydney, officials in market
squares, parks and on the steps of public buildings read aloud the Queen’s Official Proclamation creating the
Dominion of Canada.
In several communities across the Dominion, shortly after midnight on the first day of July, the pealing of church
bells and the dull thudding of multiple-gun salutes woke people. Once the official business was over, citizens
turned to watching harness races, cricket matches, sailing and sculling events, and canoe and tub races. Where
there were no brass bands, racing tracks or regattas, farming families gathered at fairgrounds and picnic spots.
Everywhere crowds marched in different directions, singing loyal and patriotic anthems. In several places, the
festive day ended with a spectacular display of fireworks late into the evening.
No one knew what the weather was going to be on that first day. In Sarnia, ON, a local newspaper reported that:
“Whether caused by the hot weather, or bad whiskey, or both combined, fighting seems to have been the rage
wherever a number of people were gathered together. It is to be regretted that the first day of our national
existence should be marked by so much disreputable conduct.” In Barrie, ON, celebrations verged on the hilarious
as contestants scaled a 10-m greasy pole or quick-stepped on rolling poles, frantically trying not to slip into the
waters of Lake Simcoe. In Toronto, trees were decorated with hundreds of festive Chinese paper lanterns.
Children waved Union Jacks and an ox was roasted in front of St. Lawrence Hall. In the afternoon, thousands
enjoyed a picnic on government grounds. In the evening, hundreds danced away and, after 9 PM, fireworks were
set off in Queen’s Park. In Montreal, QC, the sky was clear and the day was comfortable with a refreshing breeze.
Enormous crowds filled picnic and sports grounds, played games, listened to brass bands, and watched the
spectacular display of fireworks late at night. Adding to the dazzle, an intensely brilliant meteor shot through the
sky at 11:30 PM leaving a long trail of multi-colours that remained in view for several minutes. At Fredericton, NB,
gusty winds hampered accuracy during a shooting match involving 40 competitors. The local newspaper reported:
“It was the dullest holiday that could be imagined, so dull that even a dog fight would have been hailed with
delight.” In Halifax, NS, a volunteer artillery fired their guns and were answered by the naval brigade on the
Dartmouth side of the harbour.
Dawning of a New Country and a New Weather Service
David Phillips, Senior Climatologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada
CMOS Bulletin SCMO
Vol. 45, No.2
8
Article: Weather on Canada’s First Day
Optimism prevailed across the nation as citizens spoke glowingly of Canada’s many attributes. Even the weather
was praised. The
Globe (and Mail)
said there was no other country in the world where the climate conditions were
more favourable for health and longevity, especially in Upper Canada where the extremes of heat and cold were
moderated by the Great Lakes. Official propaganda tried to let on that Canadian weather − especially winters –
wasn’t all that tough. In the formative years, the weather boasting was said to be “pure purple prose”. Some
officials convinced themselves that the bracing and cleansing cold made us superior human beings and kept out
undesirables. Government officials devoted considerable attention to trying to dispel ugly rumours that Canada
was a blizzard-swept desert, a frigid, useless wasteland fit only for hunters and trappers. The government even
dictated that the word “cold” be avoided in all government publications, replaced instead by “buoyant or
invigorating.”
In 1867, Canadians had to be their own weather forecasters. Skywatching was a daily occurrence by those whose
lives and livelihoods depended on coming storms. Farmers watched the shape and texture of clouds and sky colour to
know when to sow and reap. Mariners listened to the wind and watched wave motions for signs of change. Early
Canadians divined their personal weather forecast based on local conditions and accumulated weatherlore – such
as “red sky at night, sailors’ delight.”
It would be almost five years after Confederation before an act of Parliament would create a national weather
service and 10 years before release of the first weather forecast, although weather observing had been going on
for several years. In the 1860s and 70s, a great number of ship disasters occurred on the Great Lakes and on the
Atlantic Seaboard. Two years after Confederation, there were 1,914 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes alone.
Increasingly, governments saw it as their duty to establish a storm-warning service. Ten years before
Confederation, University of Toronto professor of meteorology and director of the Toronto Observatory, George
Kingston, drafted a simple plan for storm warnings – specific telegraph operators in towns and cities would advise
the city’s main telegraph office immediately at the local onset of a gale. In turn, the weather office would be in
direct telegraphic contact with the stations reporting the storm. Meteorologists would maintain a watch on the
storm and would be able to send notice to the towns and ports likely to be affected, the probable time of its arrival,
the direction expected, and its possible duration. Kingston’s plan was similar to that instituted a few years later in
England and in the USA a dozen years later.
In 1871, Parliament voted the grand sum of $5,000 to establish a national weather service. But a fierce storm in
1873 was the turning point in the establishment of weather forecasting in Canada. A hurricane smashed headlong
into Cape Breton’s east coast − the Great Nova Scotia Cyclone laid waste a large swath of the province − almost
1,000 people died, some 1,200 ships sank or smashed and 100s of homes were destroyed. Tragically, weather
officials in Toronto knew a day in advance that the hurricane would make landfall in the Maritimes, but no alarm
was raised because the telegraph lines to Halifax were down. In Ottawa, politicians, prompted by the public outcry
over the disaster, voted $37,000 for the development of a national weather warning system. For five years,
teenagers practiced drawing maps and making weather forecasts and warnings. From the collection of maps and
rudimentary understanding of meteorological processes they were ready to issue their first public weather forecast
in October of 1876.