Elijah McCoy, born in Colchester, Ontario, invents the first of his many devices to oil engines used on trains and in factories.
The new Patent Act encourages import or licensing of technology and foreign patents by allowing legal use (theft) of patent in Canada if not registered in Canada within two years.
See also: 1871 in Canada, other events of 1872, 1873 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.
July 20 - October 12 - In the 1872 federal election Sir John A. Macdonald's Conservatives are re-elected.
An award of arbitration sets the final boundary between Canada and the United States in the Gulf of Georgia and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, ending the San Juan boundary dispute.