1885 in Canada
overview of Canada-related events during the year of 1885
Events from the year 1885 in Canada.
Incumbents
Crown
Monarch – Victoria
Federal government
Governor General – Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
Prime Minister – John A. Macdonald
Chief Justice – William Johnstone Ritchie (New Brunswick)
Parliament – 5th
Provincial governments
Lieutenant governors
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia – Clement Francis Cornwall
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba – James Cox Aikins
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick – Robert Duncan Wilmot (until November 11) then Samuel Leonard Tilley
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia – Matthew Henry Richey
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – John Beverley Robinson
Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island – Andrew Archibald Macdonald
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec – Louis-Rodrigue Masson
Premiers
Premier of British Columbia – William Smithe
Premier of Manitoba – John Norquay
Premier of New Brunswick – Andrew George Blair
Premier of Nova Scotia – William Stevens Fielding
Premier of Ontario – Oliver Mowat
Premier of Prince Edward Island – William Wilfred Sullivan
Premier of Quebec – John Jones Ross
Territorial governments
Lieutenant governors
Lieutenant Governor of Keewatin – James Cox Aikins
Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories – Edgar Dewdney
Events
March 26 – Louis Riel and the Métis battle the North-West Mounted Police at Duck Lake
March 30 – North-West Rebellion: The Looting of Battleford begins. It will continue until April 24 when the Militia reach the town.
April 2 – North-West Rebellion: In the Frog Lake Massacre, Cree warriors kill nine settler civilians and take 70 captive
April 24 – North-West Rebellion: Battle of Fish Creek fought between Canadian Militia and the Métis
May 2 – North-West Rebellion: Battle of Cut Knife
May 9–12 – North-West Rebellion: Battle of Batoche the Métis are defeated in battle
May 15 – Riel surrenders near Batoche, District of Saskatchewan, and is arrested
May 28 – North-West Rebellion: Battle of Frenchman's Butte
June 3 – North-West Rebellion: Battle of Loon Lake. The last Cree resistance is shattered.
July 2 – Big Bear captured.
July 6 – Riel is charged with six counts of high treason.
July 20 – The trial of Louis Riel begins in Regina, District of Assiniboia
July 20 – The Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 was enacted. The act imposed a $50 head tax on Chinese immigrants, with the exceptions of diplomats, government representatives, tourists, merchants, "men of science", and students. The act came after a big wave of Chinese immigrants going to Canada.
“1885 in Canada” enters the record as overview of Canada-related events during the year of 1885. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Canada, overview and Canada-related can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2810637. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1885.
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