1.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
2.
Winnipeg
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Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is located near the centre of North America and is 110 kilometres from the U. S. border. It is also the place of the confluence of the Red, the city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg, the name comes from the Western Cree words for muddy water. The region was a centre for aboriginal peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. French traders built the first fort on the site in 1738, a settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. As of 2011, Winnipeg is the seventh most populated municipality in Canada, being located very far inland, the local climate is extremely seasonal even by Canadian standards with average January lows of around −21 °C and average July highs of 26 °C. Known as the Gateway to the West, Winnipeg is a railway, Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games. It is home to professional sports franchises, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose. Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and the Red River of the North and this point was at the crossroads of canoe routes travelled by First Nations before European contact. Winnipeg is named after nearby Lake Winnipeg, the name is a transcription of the Western Cree words for muddy or brackish water. Estimates of the date of first settlement in this area are varied, in 1805, Canadian colonists observed First Nations peoples engaged in farming activity along the Red River. The practice quickly expanded, driven by the demand by traders for provisions, the rivers provided an extensive transportation network linking northern First Peoples with those to the south along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Ojibwe made some of the first maps on birch bark, sieur de La Vérendrye built the first fur trading post on the site in 1738, called Fort Rouge. French trading continued at this site for decades before the arrival of the British Hudsons Bay Company after France ceded the territory following its defeat in the Seven Years War. Many French and later British men who were trappers married First Nations women, their mixed-race children hunted, traded and they gradually developed as an ethnicity known as the Métis because of sharing a traditional culture. Lord Selkirk was involved with the first permanent settlement, the purchase of land from the Hudsons Bay Company, the North West Company built Fort Gibraltar in 1809, and the Hudsons Bay Company built Fort Douglas in 1812, both in the area of present-day Winnipeg. The two companies competed fiercely over trade, the Métis and Lord Selkirks settlers fought at the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. In 1821, the Hudsons Bay and North West Companies merged, Fort Gibraltar was renamed Fort Garry in 1822 and became the leading post in the region for the Hudsons Bay Company
3.
Toronto St. Michael's Majors
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The Mississauga Steelheads are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The team was known as the Toronto St. Michaels Majors. The current franchise was revived in 1996, and was relocated to Mississauga in 2007 after spending 10 years in Toronto, the team was known as the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors from 2007-2012, until owner Eugene Melnyk sold the team to Elliott Kerr of Mississaugas Landmark Sport Group. As a part of the sale, the Majors identity was returned to St. Michaels College, 2013–14 Lost to Oshawa Generals 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals. 2015–16 Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals, the primary logo for the Steelheads displays a Steelhead trout above the word Steelheads with a maple leaf within the A. The Steelheads colours are blue & white, the secondary logo features the Port Credit lighthouse within an M, representing the city landmark. The team mascot is named Sauga, the name was created during a fan contest during the summer of 2012, when the organization asked its fans to create a name for the new Steelheads mascot. Mississauga IceDogs Toronto St. Michaels Majors List of ice hockey teams in Ontario Official website
4.
Winnipeg Victorias
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The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level mens amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association in the late 19th, the Victorias won the Stanley Cup in February 1896,1901 and January 1902 while losing the Cup in December 1896, February 1899, February 1900, March 1902, and February 1903. After the Stanley Cup became the championship, the Victorias continued in senior-level amateur play. The Victoria Hockey Club, and the first rink they played in, took their name from the monarch of Canada. From 1889 until 1892, the Victorias played exhibitions and played against other Winnipeg teams, the Victorias played in the first match in Western Canada between organized hockey clubs on December 20,1890 against the Winnipeg Hockey Club at the Street Railway Rink in Winnipeg. The players were, Source, In the Early Days, the Victorias helped to found the Manitoba Hockey Association in 1893. In the rematch, Winnipeg lost to Montreal in a single-game challenge 5-6 on December 30,1896 in Winnipeg, in 1898, the team moved to the new Winnipeg Auditorium, built to hold 2000 spectators for hockey. In February 1899, the Victorias would lose a total goals series 5-3 against Montreal. In their next chance, the Victorias defeated Montreal Shamrocks in a two-game, total goals series 4-3, 2-1 on January 29 and 31,1901 in Montreal. The Victorias run as champion ended in a loss to Montreal Hockey Club in a best two-of-three 1-0, 0-5 and 1-2 on March 13,15 and 17,1902 in Winnipeg. After the Stanley Cup was awarded only to professional teams starting in 1908, the Victorias did not challenge for the Stanley Cup, the 1911 Winnipeg Victorias appear to have won the Allan Cup by default when the Ontario Hockey Association refused to allow their team to play mid-season. In March of that year, the Vics defended the cup by defeating Kenora 12-5, in 1912 the Victorias defended the cup against Calgary, Toronto Eatons and Regina. B. An interesting factoid for this 2-0 win over the similarly named Montreal Victorias is that the very first Stanley Cup Parade was held in Winnipeg on Main Street celebrating this victory. January 31,1901 Stanley Cup winners Art Brown, Rod Flett, Jack Marshall, Magnus Flett, Burke Wood, Dan Bain, Fred Cadham, Charles Johnstone, Tony Gingras, carruthers Jack Armytage, Mark Hooper, Ted Robinson, Walter Pratt. List of Stanley Cup champions List of ice hockey teams in Manitoba Podnieks, Andrew, Hockey Hall of Fame
5.
Manitoba
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Manitoba is a province at the longitudinal centre of Canada. It is one of the three provinces and Canadas fifth-most populous province with its estimated 1.3 million people. Manitoba covers 649,950 square kilometres with a varied landscape. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited what is now Manitoba for thousands of years, in the late 17th century, fur traders arrived in the area when it was part of Ruperts Land and owned by the Hudsons Bay Company. In 1869, negotiations for the creation of the province of Manitoba led to an uprising of the Métis people against the Government of Canada. The rebellions resolution led to the Parliament of Canada passing the Manitoba Act in 1870 that created the province, Manitobas capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is Canadas eighth-largest census metropolitan area. Winnipeg is the seat of government, home to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, four of the provinces five universities and all four of its professional sports teams are in Winnipeg. The name Manitoba is believed to be derived from the Cree, the name derives from Cree manitou-wapow or Ojibwa manidoobaa, both meaning straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit, a place referring to what are now called The Narrows in the centre of Lake Manitoba. It may also be from the Assiniboine for Lake of the Prairie, the lake was known to French explorers as Lac des Prairies. Thomas Spence chose the name to refer to a new republic he proposed for the south of the lake. Métis leader Louis Riel also chose the name, and it was accepted in Ottawa under the Manitoba Act of 1870 and it adjoins Hudson Bay to the northeast, and is the only prairie province to have a saltwater coastline. The Port of Churchill is Canadas only Arctic deep-water port and the shortest shipping route between North America and Asia, Lake Winnipeg is the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Hudson Bay is the worlds second-largest bay, Manitoba is at the heart of the giant Hudson Bay watershed, once known as Ruperts Land. It was a area of the Hudsons Bay Company, with many rivers. The province has a saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and more than 110,000 lakes, Manitobas major lakes are Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg, the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Some traditional Native lands and boreal forest on Lake Winnipegs east side are a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Manitoba is at the centre of the Hudson Bay drainage basin, with a volume of the water draining into Lake Winnipeg. This basins rivers reach far west to the mountains, far south into the United States, major watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill rivers
6.
Allan Cup
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The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montague Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, the current champions are the Bentley Generals of Alberta, who captured the 2016 Allan Cup in Steinbach, Manitoba. In 1908, a split occurred in the competition of ice hockey in Canada, the top amateur teams left the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association, which allowed professionals, to form the new Inter-Provincial Amateur Hockey Union, a purely amateur league. The trustees of the Stanley Cup decided that the Cup would be awarded to the professional ice champion, the Allan Cup was donated in early 1909 by Montreal businessman and Montreal Amateur Athletic Association president Sir H. Montagu Allan to be presented to the amateur champions of Canada. It was to be ruled like the Stanley Cup had, passed by champion to champion by league championship or challenge. Three trustees were named to administer the trophy, Sir Edward Clouston, President of the Bank of Montreal, Dr. H. B. Yates of McGill University, and Graham Drinkwater, four-time Stanley Cup champion. The trophy was presented to the Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, members of the IPAHU. The first IPAHU champion, and by extension, first winner of the Cup was the Ottawa Cliffsides hockey club, after the season, the Cliffsides were defeated in the first-ever challenge by the Queen’s University hockey club of Kingston, Ontario. In the early years, trustees of the Cup quickly came to appreciate the difficulties of organizing a competition in so large a country. In 1914, at the suggestion of one of the trustees, Claude Robinson, one of the CAHAs first decisions, in 1915, was to replace the challenge system with a series of national playoffs. Starting in 1920, the Allan Cup champion team would represent Canada in amateur play at the Olympics and this was discontinued in the 1960s with the introduction of the Canadian national team. In 1928 the trustees turned over responsibility for the Cup to the CAHA, by 1951, many senior teams had become semi-professional or professional. In 1951, the CAHA set up a league of competition from the semi-pro. The leagues would no longer compete for the Allan Cup, the Allan Cup would be competed for on a more purely amateur basis from teams in smaller centres of Canada. The major league concept broke up by 1953, and the Alexander Cup competition was retired after 1954, since 1984 the Allan Cup has been competed for by teams in the Senior AAA category. Although interest in ice hockey has diminished over its history. The Cup championship is determined in a tournament held in the city or town of a host team. The Cup has been won by teams from every province and from the Yukon, the city with the most Allan Cup championships is Thunder Bay with 10, including four won as Port Arthur before the citys amalgamation
7.
Kenora Thistles
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The Kenora Thistles were an early amateur mens ice hockey team based in Kenora, Ontario, Canada, formed in 1885 as a senior team by a group of Lake of the Woods lumbermen. The club is notable for winning the Stanley Cup as a team in 1907. The town is the smallest in population to have won the Cup. The junior team started play in leagues in the 1890s. The team nickname has been revived since the demise of the club in late 1907 to denote minor, junior. The town of Kenora was originally known as Rat Portage, in the late 1880s, an amateur senior hockey club was formed by older professional men, most of them lumbermen, gold prospectors, or individuals in the local mining businesses. Among these young men were future Hockey Hall of Famers Tommy Phillips, Tom Hooper, Billy McGimsie, over the next five years, these young players began to populate the senior team and quickly established themselves as one of the premier amateur hockey clubs of the western Canadian provinces. In 1903 they challenged the Ottawa Silver Seven for the Stanley Cup, in 1905 they again challenged the Ottawa squad with the same disappointing results. That summer, the town of Rat Portage changed its name to Kenora, in January 1907 the Thistles again challenged for the Cup, winning it in a two-game, total-goals series against the Montreal Wanderers. Two other future Hockey Hall of Famers, Art Ross and Bad Joe Hall were added to the roster from Brandon, the games were played on January 17 and 21 in Montreal. Phillips scored seven goals in the two games and Kenora defeated the Wanderers 12–8, winning both games 4–2 and 8–6, Kenora, with a 1907 population of around 4,000, is the smallest town ever to claim the Stanley Cup. Just two months later, the Thistles were challenged by the Wanderers to a re-match, roxy Beaudro retired, Si Griffis moved to British Columbia, Billy McGimsie retired due to his injury, Tommy Phillips signed with Ottawa and Fred Whitcroft signed with Edmonton. Smith and Westwick returned to Ottawa, the team continued on into the 1907–08 season. The team signed George Archambault, Matt Brown, Bill Cotter, despite the promises from a rich lumber boss by the name of Taylor Concord Kraus to provide financial support to continue to field a professional team, the Thistles folded after two games. Eddie Giroux retired, Tom Hooper signed with the Montreal Wanderers, Kenora engraved their name inside the bowl of the Stanley Cup. An intermediate version of the Kenora Thistles were a Canadian Junior Hockey Team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, in 1934, they won the Turnbull Cup Championship, and repeated in 1940. The Thistles went on to win the Abbott Cup, defeating the Edmonton Athletic Club earning the right to represent the west in the Memorial Cup and it was the first year that two teams from Ontario would face off for the Memorial Cup. The best-of-five series was played in Winnipeg, Kenora lost the final in four games to the Oshawa Generals
