Chapter 1: Recreation and Leisure Becomes an Industry
1.2 Historical Timeline
Below is a Timeline highlighting many of the important developments that contributed to recreation and leisure becoming an industry in Canada.
Text Description
FNMIs’ cultures enjoy all aspects of recreation and leisure, seen in their art, music, dance, and games. First Nations people invented the game called ‘baggataway’ as named by the Algonquins & Iroquois or ‘tewaarathon’ as named by the Mohawks. The game is now known as Lacrosse, Canada’s national sport.
1750 – Establishment of Halifax Common, creation of open space for public use.
1807 – Montreal Curling Club established by Scottish immigrants.
1825 – Montreal opens first theatre – Theatre Royal
1851 – Toronto City Council establish Committee on Public Walks and Gardens
1851 – YMCA opens in Montreal (YMCA founded in 1844 in England)
1854 – Establishment of Royal Canadian Yacht Club, one of the first private sport and athletic clubs in Canada
The 36 men traditionally regarded as the Fathers of Confederation were those who represented British North American colonies at one or more of the conferences that led to Confederation. (2017). Confederation, 1867. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/confederation-1867
1873 – Establish Royal Montreal Golf Club, first private golf club in North America
1875 – International Ice Hockey Federation has declared that a game in Montreal in 1875 was the start of ice hockey as an organized sport
1883 – The Public Parks Act of Ontario – An Act to Provide for the Establishment and maintenance of Public Parks in Cities and Towns was passed
1884 – formation of Montreal Hockey Club
1887 – Rocky Mountain Parks Act – began the establishment of National Parks
1889 – Stanley Park in Vancouver was established
1891 – Basketball invented by Canadian James Naismith
1893 – Algonquin Park established
1905 – Recreation Park Company, start of private sector leisure companies to meet demand for leisure and entertainment
1906 – first established playground and start of the ‘playground’ movement
1913 – National Council of Women petitioned to form the National Canadian Playgrounds Assoc, for the association to train and develop recreation leaders
1913 – City of Toronto Parks Dept hire first full-time staff to implement recreation programming
1917 – Fort Anne in Nova Scotia, first designated Historical Park in Canada
1917 – NHL formed
1923 – Canadian National Parks Association, a lobby group formed to promote recreation, travel tourism and parks
1930 – National Parks Act – began the process of setting aside land for historical preservation
Rocky Mountain Park renamed Banff National Park,
1936 – Ontario Parks Association established
1944 – CPRA founded as Parks and Recreation Association of Canada
1954 – Ontario has 8 provincial parks and forms a Division of Parks within the Department of Lands and Forests
1958 – CFL formed, however the Grey Cup dates to 1909 originally awarded to the best amateur rugby team in Canada
1960 – Ontario has 45 provincial parks
1970 – University of Waterloo establishes The Therapeutic Information Centre, start of therapeutic recreation as a field.
1972 – Ontario hires first therapeutic recreation consultant.
1974 – National government establishes a national policy on recreation, Provinces provide funding to Municipalities who provide services. Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation established, and Ontario has over 600 municipal recreation committees.
1987 – National Recreation Statement – statement of value of recreation
1992 – The Benefits of Parks and Recreation: A Catalogue (a renewed interest in the positive effects of recreation)
1995 – Parks and Recreation Ontario (PRO) founded
1996 – Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association formed
1998 – Parks Canada Agency Act – prevents commercialization of National Parks
2000 – JAMDAT Mobile founded – becomes a major publisher of mobile games
2000 – PlayStation 2 released
2015 – Framework for Recreation – a strategic plan created by CPRA to achieve well-being, by Canadians, through recreation
125th anniversary of the Ontario Parks system, there are over 330 provincial parks which occupy over 8.2 million hectares of land and water (7.7 % of Ontario)
