Montreal Quebec - CBFT in Montreal (part of CBC French network Radio-Canada) starts transmitting with a broadcast of Jean Cocteau's drama Oedipus Rex; Canada's first television station; English-language CBLT in Toronto will start operations two days later. Both stations start with 18 hours of programming a week.

Also On This Day...

Ontario - Bob Rae 1949- wins Ontario election for NDP; takes 74 seats to 26 for David Peterson's Liberals, 20 for Mike Harris' PCs; wins only 37.6% of the popular vote; says, 'Maybe a summer election wasn't a bad idea after all'; Peterson, threatened by scandal, called the election only three years into his term; Rae first New Democratic premier of Ontario.

And in Today's Canadian Birthdays...

George-Etienne Cartier 1814-1873
lawyer and politician, was born on this day in St-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec in 1814; died in London, England May 20, 1873. A rebel at St-Denis in 1837, Cartier spent time in exile in Vermont. On his return, he entered politics as an aide to L-H LaFontaine, became a Liberal MP for Montreal East, then solicitor of the Grand Trunk Railway. He helped engineer the Bleue coalition with the Conservatives, then served as co-Premier with John A. Macdonald 1857-58 and 1858-62, setting in motion the events leading to Confederation. As Chairman of the Railway Committee, he engineered the first CPR contracts, wanting to make Montreal the terminus of a transcontinental trading network.

Also Alexander Tilloch Galt 1817-1893
politician, promoter, was born on this day at London England in 1817, the son of Canada Company promoter John Galt; died in Montreal Sept. 19 1893. Galt began his career working for the British American Land Company, settling Quebec's Eastern Townships. He got involved in railway development, then politics, serving as Finance Minister, bringing in his nationalistic Galt Tariff in 1859. He supported Confederation at the Quebec and London conferences, but resigned from Cabinet in 1866 when he failed to get educational guarantees for Quebec Protestants put into the BNA Act. He was Canada's first Minister of Finance, but again resigned after the failure of the Commercial Bank in Kingston.

Also George Herrick Duggan 1862-1946
civil engineer, boat designer, yachtsman, was born on this day at Montreal in 1862; died Oct. 8 1946. Duggan designed and built a total of 142 racing yachts. In 1896, sailing for the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club of Montreal, he skippered his Glencairn I to victory over the Americans in the Seawanhaka Cup, a small yacht alternative to the America's Cup, and defended the cup for the next eight years.

Also Boardman Robinson 1876-1952
illustrator, painter, was born on this day at Somerset, Nova Scotia in 1876; dies Sept. 5, 1952 in Stamford, Connecticut. Robinson was noted for his political cartoons.

Also W. A. C. Bennett 1900-1979
merchant, BC Premier, was born on this day at Hastings, New Brunswick in 1900; died in Kelowna, BC Feb. 23 1979. Bennett began his career building up a family hardware business in Kelowna. He was elected to the BC Legislature as a Conservative in 1941, but crossed the floor to the Social Credit party in 1952, and led them to electoral victory in July 1952. Premier of BC for the next 20 years, Bennett promoted hydro power, extended the Pacific Great Eastern Railway northward, and created BC Ferries in 1958. He resigned in Aug 1972 after his defeat by Dave Barrett's NDP.

Also Angela Chalmers 1963-
sprinter, was born on this day at Shilo, Manitoba in 1963. In 1996, Chalmers broke the Canadian record for the 5000 metres, in a time of 15:09.35.