A rainbow-hued butterfly fluttered onto Canadian TV screens, and the host of the current affairs program Telescope appeared in front of a green pasture, stating “Tonight, Telescope is in color.” This was one of the first color television broadcasts: The Canada Broadcasting Network (CBS) had been promising 30 hours of color television programming a week, which meant the installation of all new recording and broadcasting equipment, delaying the launch slightly. But on the eve of Canada’s 100th anniversary, they finally made it.

On this day, July 1, in 1966, at 12:01 a.m. a Toronto television station broadcast the first color images seen anywhere in the nation.

They were not seen by many. Although the broadcasts were in color, most television sets were not. Color televisions was still very much a luxury item. At a time when prime rib sold for 79 cents a pound, color TV sets went for anywhere from $850 to $1,000 dollars, the equivalent of over $5,000 today.