The Last Duel In Canada
If you search “the last duel in Canada,” you will find multiple sources citing the fatal duel between Robert Lyon and John Wilson in 1833. A duel so famous that the local town has a park named after it and a plaque from the Ontario Archeological and Historic Sites Board.
It’s on a plaque. It must be true.
Aside: follow that link for interesting comments on unanswered questions about the people involved!
This duel was not, in fact, the last duel in Canada, nor was it the last fatal duel.
The last fatal duel in Canada happened in 1838 in Verdun, Quebec (Lower Canada, at the time), but the duel was covered up, and the coroner’s office pronounced it a death “by some unknown person.”1
There was a later duel in Newfoundland in 1873, but technically, Newfoundland wasn’t part of Canada at the time. In this duel, the pistols were loaded with blanks. The CBC has a dramatic telling of this pointless battle for honour.
The last recorded duel challenge in Canada happened between the Consul General of the Dominican Republic and the Argentine Ambassador, but the duel never took place. Duelling had been made illegal in 1844 after all!
Canada still had laws against duelling until 2018, when they were removed because, unsurprisingly, duelling is covered by murder and I’m sure a handful of other laws.2