Our lectures take place on the 3rd Thursday of the month, starting at 19:30.

The Lachine Canal and the Gentrification of Montreal’s Sud-Ouest

Speaker: Steven High
When: Thursday, October 19, 2023, 19:30 to 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
             288 BeaconsfieldBlvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4
Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period

The Lachine Canal was the birthplace of Canada’s industrial revolution. Once the most heavily industrialized urban area in the country, the area deindustrialized during the 1970s and 1980s. The canal was also closed in 1970. As a result, the debate over the future of the Lachine Canal unfolded at a time of social crisis for the adjoining neighbourhoods. This illustrated talk is drawn from the author’s recently published book “Deindustrializing Montreal: Entangled Histories of Race, Residence and Class”, which was awarded the "Prix de la présidence de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec" 2023, recognizing political books.

Steven High is a professor of history at Concordia University where he co-founded the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling. He is the author of many books and articles about the history of Montreal. 

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Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, ingénieur Canadien

Speaker: Jean-Pierre Raymond
When: Thursday, November 16, 2023, 19:30 to 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall, Annex Herb Linder (Lawn Bowling)
             288 BeaconsfieldBlvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4 303 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield H9W 4A7

Entrance at the West end of the City Hall parking lot

Lecture in French, followed by a bilingual question period

Canadian engineer Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, whose 300th birthday is celebrated in 2023, participated in the War of the Austrian Succession, the French and Indian War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. He became an engineer in 1753 in the wake of the commission of inquiry into the construction of the ramparts of Quebec. In 1763 he owned 7 seigneuries, 5 in the new Province of Quebec: Lotbinière, Vaudreuil, Rigaud, Nouvelle-Beauce and Villechauve and two in the Province of New York. He participated in London in the debate on the Quebec Act where he convinced the British parliament to adopt the French Law (Coutume de Paris), the French language and the Catholic religion, which today makes the Province of Quebec a distinct society.

Retired engineer and history buff Jean-Pierre Raymond personifies this Canadian-born engineer in his King's engineer costume of 1758. He will be accompanied by his wife, Andrée Aubut, a retired teacher, who personifies Lotbinière's wife, Louise-Magdeleine Chaussegros de Léry, the daughter of Canada's chief engineer.

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