Victoria

Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India (b at Kensington Palace 24 May 1819; d at Windsor Castle 22 Jan 1901). She succeeded her uncle William IV in 1837 at age 18. She was an ardent imperialist and took an intense interest in her colonial subjects. No individual has been more honoured than Queen Victoria in the names of Canada's public buildings, streets, populated places and physical features. Victoria College in Toronto, Royal Victoria Hospital in Montréal, Victoria General Hospital in both Halifax and Winnipeg are among the notable public institutions named for her. Among Canada's 280 postal divisions, more than half have at least one thoroughfare identified by the name Victoria, most named to honour her. In 1831 John ROSS, while searching for the Northwest Passage, entered a small bay on the E side of Boothia Pen and named it Victoria Harbour for the young princess. Subsequently, she formally granted him permission to use her name for this remote and minor water feature in Canada's Arctic. From then on, explorers, mapmakers and administrators assigned the name Victoria to a multitude of geographical features all over the Canadian map, where her name appears more than 300 times.

On the occasions of the golden (1887) and diamond (1897) anniversaries of her reign many features were named for her. And long after her death, Queen Peak in northern BC was named for her in 1933 because of its association with nearby Victoria Peak and Consort Park.

The best-known place named for the British monarch is the city at the tip of Vancouver I. In 1843, the Hudson's Bay Co resolved to name the new fort overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca for the beloved queen, but Fort Albert was locally assigned to it. Subsequently, a terse message from London compelled the use of Fort Victoria. The townsite of VICTORIA was established in 1851-52, and in 1868 the growing city became the capital of the colony of British Columbia. Alberta also had a Victoria northeast of Edmonton, where George MCDOUGALL had established a mission in 1862, and the Hudson's Bay Co had set up a post in 1864. In 1887, to avoid confusion with other Victorias, the name of this small community was changed to Pakan, the nickname of a Cree chief. The village of Empress, NE of Medicine Hat, was named in 1913 in commemoration of the queen's imperial title received from Parliament in 1876 when Disraeli was prime minister. The marquess of Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise (the queen's daughter), wanted to give the name Victoria to the capital of the North-West Territories in 1882, but wisely chose the other half of her Latin title, Regina. In 1905 it became the capital of the new province of Saskatchewan. Manitoba has a rural municipality and a lake named Victoria, and another municipality called Victoria Beach.

Ontario has at least 47 distinct features with her name: one county, one township, 14 populated places and 31 physical features. In fact, one does not travel far in Ontario before encountering Victoria Corners, Victoria Square, Victoria Harbour, Victoria Springs, Victoria Lake or just plain Victoria. Evidence of Victoria is less apparent in Québec, although the second-largest place in Canada with her name is in that province. Victoriaville, a town of more than 21 500 people, was named for the queen in 1861. There are as well 7 physical features in Québec with the name Victoria, including Grand lac Victoria at the head of the Ottawa R, S of Val-d'Or.

The Atlantic provinces have 29 places and features with the name Victoria. Among these are a county in each of NB and NS. Victoria is an attractive seaside village in PEI, where there are also places called Victoria Cross and Victoria West. Newfoundland has a Victoria, a town of nearly 2000; it lies on the west side of Conception Bay about 50 km NW of St John's.

The 2 northern territories have 22 features with the name Victoria. Among them are Victoria I, Canada's second-largest island (after Baffin) in the Arctic Archipelago, and Victoria and Albert Mountains on Ellesmere I. See also PLACE-NAMES.

Author ALAN RAYBURN

Links to Other Sites
Historica-Dominion Institute
The website for the Historica-Dominion Institute, parent organization of The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Check out their extensive online feature about the War of 1812, the "Heritage Minutes" video collection, and many other interactive resources concerning Canadian history, culture, and heritage.

Sovereign's birthday
An information page about Queen Victoria's birthday, which has been celebrated in Canada since the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).

Victoria's Day
See an illustrated feature about events that marked the Victoria Day holiday in Victoria, BC. From the Royal BC Museum blog.

Empire Day
See the text of a rousing 1919 speech that celebrated Empire Day and the state of the British Empire. From the website for the Empire Club of Canada.

Queen Victoria's journals
See brief comments about rebellions in Upper Canada in a Tuesday 16th January 1838 entry in a digitized copy of Queen Victoria's journals. Search or browse this site for other references to Canada and political figures involved in Canadian affairs during the reign of Queen Victoria. From the website "Queen Victoria's Journals."

Jane's Walk
The website for Jane’s Walk, a network of free walking tours that explore the quality and livability of local neighbourhoods based on ideas espoused by Jane Jacobs. Click on "The Community" to access the latest news and photos on their blog and more. Also, check out "Find Your Walk" for maps and descriptions of local walks throughout the country.