March 31, 1949

1949Gilles Gilbert, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2023)^[†]

Gilles Gilbert was a Canadian professional goaltender in ice hockey who was drafted in the third round of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft from the London Knights. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars and Detroit Red Wings, but most notably for the Boston Bruins.

1949The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.^[†]

Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the original dominions under the Balfour Declaration of 1926, and accordingly enjoyed a constitutional status equivalent to the other dominions of the time. Its dominion status was confirmed by the Statute of Westminster, 1931, although the statute was not otherwise applicable to Newfoundland.