1871 in Canada

March 10 - Government of Manitoba meets for the first time
March 21 - Ontario election: Edward Blake's Liberals win a majority, defeating J. S. Macdonald's Liberal-Conservatives
April 2 - The first Canadian census finds the population to be 3,689,257
May 8 - The Treaty of Washington reaches agreements on fishing rights and Great Lakes trade between Canada and the United States
May 17 - New Brunswick abandons separate schools
July - Phoebe Campbell murders her husband with an axe. She is hanged the next year.
July 20 - British Columbia joins Confederation.
July 25 - Treaty 1 the first of a number of treaties with western Canada's First Nations is signed
August 17 - Treaty 2 is signed
November 11 - The last of the British army leaves Canada
November 13 - John McCreight becomes the first premier of British Columbia
December 14 - Marc-Amable Girard becomes premier of Manitoba, replacing Alfred Boyd
December 20 - Edward Blake becomes premier of Ontario, replacing J. S. Macdonald
National Meteorological Service is formed
Parliament legalizes the use of the metric system
Goldwin Smith immigrates to Canada
Ontario Schools Act is passed in Ontario, requiring all students aged 7 to 12 to attend school.