150 Little Known Canadian Facts #15

We’re taking a bit of an aviation theme in this week’s portion of Canadian facts; however, you’ll also find some information on medicine and food just to keep it interesting.

101.  The first licensed airfield in Canada was Blatchford right here in Edmonton, AB. Nestled between the Yellowhead Highway and Kingsway Avenue, it used to be the Hagmann Farm until 1926. The city and the Northern Alberta Aero Club received a $400 grant to take a bit of the farmland to turn it into a runway. Then in 1929, Edmonton City Council authorized the farm to be turned into an airfield, and it was named after Mayor Kenneth Blatchford. It was also a former military airbase, and it held the wartime British Commonwealth Air Training Plan flying school.

102.  A few Canadian aviation firsts:

• In 1909, John Alexander Douglas McCurdy of Nova Scotia was the first person in the British Empire to fly a plane, and in 1911, he was also the very first person to fly out of sight of land.
• In 1928, Eileen Vollick of Ontario was the first Canadian woman to earn a private pilot’s certificate.
• In 1973, Rosella Bjornson of Alberta was the first woman in North America hired as a first officer with Transair.
• In 1978, Judy Cameron of British Columbia was the first woman pilot to be hired by Air Canada.

103.  A few Canadian medical firsts:

• The first licensed woman to practice medicine in Canada was first generation Canadian Dr. Jennie Kidd-Trout in 1875; however, her friend Dr. Emily Stowe—who received her medical degree in the States—had a medical practice in Canada, but without a license.
• In January of 1922, Insulin was first used to treat Type 1 Diabetes at Toronto General Hospital. It was discovered a year earlier by Sir Frederick Banting, Charles Best and J.J.R. Macleod at the University of Toronto. Before Insulin was discovered, most patients survived about one or two years, and it’s still the only way to treat Type 1 Diabetes.
• The first Indigenous forensic pathologist is Dr. Kona Williams, who originally wanted to work with animals but had allergies that prevented this. In 2015, she was hired at Toronto’s new Forensic Services and Coroner’s Complex.

104.  Although icewine was discovered in Germany, Canada has become world renowned for its icewine. Since the 1990s, when Inniskillin Winery won the prestigious gold medal in the Prix d’honneur at Vinexpo, Canada’s icewine are found in stores and restaurants from India to New York City. Pillitteri Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake is reportedly the world’s largest winery estate making icewine (13 different kinds). There’s even a Canadian Icewine Law that says the grapes can’t be picked until the temperature reaches at least -8°C, and the sugar in the grapes must be 35 Brix or more (one Brix equals one gram of grape sugar). One grape vine makes one glass of icewine, unlike conventional wine where one vine makes one bottle of wine.

105.  Canada is the single largest producer of canola at nearly 15 million tonnes a year. The canola as we know it today was created by two Canadians—Baldur Stefansson and Keith Downey in the 1970s.

106.  John J. McLaughlin invented Canada Dry Ginger Ale in 1904 after many attempts. McLaughlin also created the mass bottling system where he and others could sell freshly bottled ginger ale to anyone who wanted it. Canada Dry was the first major soft drink company to develop sugar-free drinks and put soft drinks into cans.

107.  Portage La Loche, Saskatchewan, was the longest portage during the fur trade at 20 km. It began—or ended, depending on where one started—at Lac La Loche at the top of the Churchill River system in the southeast and went to Clearwater River in the northwest. Portage La Loche is also known as Methye Portage, which is Cree for burbot (a species of cod).

108.  Don Hings, a British-Canadian, is credited to have invented the walkie-talkie in 1937. He originally called it the two-way field radio as they were first used by bush pilots when they flew to remote northern areas in Canada. They were adapted for military use and became indispensable during WWI.