│ QUEBEC: THE CITY THAT WOOD BUILT │

CREDITS

Project initiated by the Quebec Forest industry Council (QFIC) Funding Partners: Design: Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec Centre de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Conférence régionale des élus de la Capitale Nationale Guy Lessard, inf.g., M.Sc. (Programme de participation régionale à la mise en valeur des Emmanuelle Boulfroy, M.Sc. forêts) David Poulin, Trainee Quebec Forest Industries Council (QFIC) Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Conseil de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Patrick Blanchet, Managing Director Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Research and writing: Centre de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Guy Lessard, ing.f., M.Sc. Suggested Citation: Emanuelle Boulfroy, M.Sc. David Poulin, Trainee, Forest and Environmental Management Lessard, G.1.1, E. Boulfroy1.2, P. Blanchet1.3 et D. Poulin, Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Patrick Blanchet, Managing Director 2008. Quebec: The City That Wood Built. Centre collégial Cyrille Gélinas, Historian (Scientific Forestry) de transfert de technologie en foresterie de Sainte-Foy Editing: (CERFO) and Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS). Louise Côté, Specialist, History of Quebec City, Parks Canada Quebec, 77 p. Yvon Desloges, Specialist, French Regime, Université Laval Marc Vallières, Specialist, English Regime Conseil de l’industrie forestière du Québec (CIFQ) Florent Boivin, Forestry Advisor Nadia Boutin, B.A. Jacques Gauvin, ing.f., M.B.A. Jean Maltais, Biologist, M.Sc. Denis Rousseau, inf.g., M.Sc. Quebec Forest History Society (QFHS) Mario Marchand, Historian Linguistic Revision: Centre de transfert de technologie en foresterie (CERFO) Claire Roy, Executive Secretary Graphic Design: Corsaire Design Natasha Genest Mélina Patry CERFO Murielle Samuel Illustrations : Alphazulu Lorraine Beaudoin

1.1 CERFO, Guy Lessard : [email protected] 1.2 CERFO, Emmanuelle Boulfroy : [email protected] 1.3 QFHS, Patrick Blanchet : [email protected]

2 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Credits

INTRODUCTION

Since the establishment of a trading post in 1608 at what is now Quebec City, wood and forestry have been closely linked STIRRINGS OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY to the economic growth and development of the city and the region. Whether it was used for domestic purposes or for trade, wood was a key factor in the construction of the city, the development of its economy and the shaping of its collective psyche. The city’s wood-based economy has strongly influenced its urban development as evidenced by examples of the luxurious mansions of the timber merchants of yesteryear, working-class neighbourhoods, distinctive buildings and unusual street names. Over the years, city limits A THRIVING ECONOMY progressively expanded towards the St. Lawrence River with the growth of wood-based economic activities. However, this critical period of history, with its workers, tall-masted ships, commerce and busy port, has faded in our collective memory.

Through the activities and the life of individuals and communities who lived there, you are invited to take a journey of discovery through six periods of Quebec City’s history: TRANSITION AND DIVERSIFICATION

(1) the early days of the wood-based economy under the French regime (17th century); (2) the heyday of squared timber during the English colonial period (1763 to the mid-

19th century); (3) a transition period during which lumber replaced squared timber as the mainstay of trade and the development of the US market (mid-19th century to 1870);

(4) the first major forest industry crisis and the beginning of a RECESSION AND forest conservation movement (end of the 19th century); CONSERVATION (5) the beginnings of the pulp and paper industry and scientific forestry (early 20th century; and (6) the current period, including the development of an apparatus of government, education facilities and research centres, and the development of a secondary manufacturing industry. We hope you enjoy your journey into our past and history.

A NEW BOOM

STILL A CRITICAL SECTOR

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Introduction │ 3

1 FROM THE 17TH CENTURY TO 1763: STIRRINGS OF A WOOD-BASED ECONOMY

In the early days of the French regime, the fur trade was the economic activity that linked the American Indians with the French settlers. In this sense, it was the mainspring of the economy of New France. However, key players among the colony’s leaders saw the use of wood and the timber trade as a more efficient way of shaping the colony’s development. Jean Talon, the first intendant of New France appointed by Louis XIV (1664-1668; 1670-1672), sought to develop this important niche market for France. To this end, he built shipyards along the St. Charles River and promoted the development of allied activities, such as the production of tar and potash.

These early initiatives, however, were subject to demographic and economic constraints and did not last. They were resurrected with greater success a few years later by intendant Gilles Hocquart. An order of ships from the home country for the King’s Navy led to the establishment of the great shipyard directed by René-Nicolas Levasseur, Head of Royal Shipbuilding and Inspector of Woods and Forests. The shipyard was first located in the “du Palais” sector at the mouth of the St. Charles River. It was subsequently moved to the “Cul-de-Sac” sector which could more easily accommodate larger warships. Work was interrupted in the early 1750s. In fact, the home country had deemed that the quality of the wood from the colony did not justify the high construction costs of the day. As a result, construction subsequently focused on smaller vessels for the merchant marine.

Activities related to the shipbuilding industry stimulated the development of the “Palais” sector and of the “Hiché” suburb (which came to became called the St. Roch suburb). Both areas were located INTENDANT JEAN TALON INSPECTING close to the royal shipyard. The area called lower HIS SHIPYARD IN QUEBEC CITY town also included a significant concentration of merchants.

4 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity ▌ THE FOREST PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH [2] Any attempt to describe the region’s forests before the arrival of the French is a risky endeavour because the natural habitats of the time, with the exception of a few delicate cliff-face ecosystems, have almost disappeared in the wake of 400 years of human occupation. However, given the minor climate and soil variations that have occurred over the past 10,000 years, we can fairly accurately describe the plant communities supported by the predominant soils based on a climax concept. Climax refers to a type of steady state capping various stages of natural succession. In this sense, maples would have been established some 5,500 years ago.

Quebec City is located in the maple-basswood domain. On the heights of the city, sugar maple forests were dominant in this period. These forests included basswood, beech and elm. Red maple and peat lands thrived in the more shallow depressions, whereas red oak and white pine were probably plentiful in drier areas. Traces of thermophilic species

such as ironwood and hickory were apparent here and there, most likely on the olitostrome (limestone debris) located on the western part of the city heights. Hawthorne cedar knolls clung to the bluffs of Quebec at the FIGURE 1.1. CEDARS ON THE BLUFFS time, as they do today.

Champlain’s writings report that the headland at Quebec was mainly covered by a hazel stand, the trees of which were felled to build a wooden fort called an “abitation”. In all likelihood, this shade-intolerant species took hold in an old clearing.

Along the St. Charles River and in the surrounding plains, various soil conditions fostered stand diversity. On the eastern shore of the river and at the foot of the headline, balsam fir stands and stands with dominant softwoods with islands of red maple, ash and balsam grew in humid sectors. Red oak and hemlock were present on long-standing sandy deposits. The western shore was populated by beech-sugar maple stands with some black ash, cedar and elm. The river’s estuary included numerous wetlands.

At the northern limits of the city, the Laurentian foothills were probably covered with species typical of sugar maple-yellow birch stands: sugar maple, red maple, yellow birch with some beech and the odd giant white pine. This type of forest exists today in Mont Wright Park located near Stoneham, where one can find an old maple forest with a few yellow birch specimens dating back some 200 years. FIGURE 1.2. OLD-GROWTH FOREST ON MOUNT WRIGHT However, to capture a more accurate picture at that time, the impacts of periodic natural hazards over the years − fire, ice storms and insect epidemics – must be established. When subjected to fire, species with fire-resistant bark such as white pine and red oak resisted well, whereas spruce trees were more resistant to insects and eventually dominated softwood stands. Furthermore, in the 17th century setting, a few pioneer species (grassy prairies, birch or poplar groves) took hold in the wake of these events or of the occupation of the land by sedentary Amerindian peoples such as the Iroquoian.

The analysis of charcoal pieces from the site where Quebec City was established, sketch maps and brief descriptions by Cartier and, subsequently, Champlain, confirm these assumptions. We dropped anchor at Quebec where the Canada River (St. Lawrence) forms a strait some 300 paces wide. On the north shore of this strait is a high ridge sloping on two sides, north and south. The rest of this landscape is lovely and includes good forested lands where oak, jack pine, birch, fir and aspen, as well as native fruit trees and vines, grow. [Translation] FIGURE 1.3. RED OAK, WHITE PINE & MAPLE FOREST (UNIVERSITÉ

LAVAL)

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity │ 5 ▌ TRADITIONAL USE OF THE FOREST BY THE AMERINDIAN PEOPLES [3, 4] When Europeans first set foot in the St. Lawrence River valley, two native communities occupied the vast forested areas and the shores of the St. Lawrence River: Algonquian nomad hunters and Iroquoian agriculturalists. The latter practiced subsistence farming and occupied several villages along the St. Lawrence. The largest upstream village, called Hochelaga, was located on the site of present-day Montreal. Downstream from Hochelaga was another large town of some 500 people: Stadaconé, located within the city limits of present-day Quebec City, close by the mouth of the St. Charles River. This is where Jacques Cartier made his first stop. The Iroquoians of the Quebec City region were more nomadic than those who lived in the Montreal region. In fact, they hunted and fished as far away as the Gaspe peninsula. Cartier also mentioned the existence of a dozen villages along the shores of the St. Lawrence that were occupied during the summer months. Occupants probably included nomad forest peoples. In fact, Cartier mentioned that these villages were not protected by palisades. This was characteristic of short-stay camp sites used by these peoples.

The St. Lawrence Iroquoian tribes grew corn, squash and beans. They also used sugar maple sap. The forest provided meat, furs, and construction materials for “long houses”, palisades and fuel wood. It also provided a rich therapeutic arsenal, including a long list of herbal teas and plant decoctions. An anecdote about a herbal tea made with white pine needles and bark saved the lives of those among Jacques Cartier’s sailors who were afflicted by scurvy has endured over the years. Vitamins C and P helped replenish certain deficiencies linked to a lack of fresh foodstuffs1.3. Several authors have described native peoples’ medicine against fever, spasms, hay fever and so on. Today, white pine is used to treat coughing and bronchitis and as a pulmonary decongestant.

At the beginning of the 17th century, while Champlain explored the St. Lawrence River, the overall situation evolved: the Iroquoian tribes had disappeared and groups of nomadic Algonquian hunters occupied the Quebec City region1.4. The Iroquois, Mohawks for the most part, undertook a few forays on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, but they came up against Algonquian and Innu warriors who controlled the Tadoussac and Quebec regions as far upstream as Trois-Rivières. In the middle of the 17th century, Wendat-Hurons, Iroquoian farmers who came from southwestern Ontario (Huronia), settled on Île d’Orleans and, ultimately, at Lorette (site of the present-day town of Wendake). During the colonial period the forest provided native peoples with furs for the fur trade and game for subsistence hunting.

▌ THE USE OF WOOD ON THE ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH On arriving at Stadaconé, in 1535, Jacques Cartier described the land that he could see as follows: The land is as fertile as the land found in France. It grows lovely trees, such as oak, elm, ash, walnut, vines, hawthorn with fruit as large as damsons, and other species. The land also grows hemp the quality of which rivals the hemp of France, without seeding or plowing. [Translation]

The interest in various natural resources such as wood and furs was high, but the first serious attempt to establish a permanent French colony only occurred a few years later, in 1541 [5]. This was supported by visions of strategic occupation to counter Spanish occupation visions. Jacques Cartier’s third voyage paved the way for Roberval1.5. He landed at the mouth of the Cap-Rouge River to establish a settlement named Charlesbourg-Royal. Two forts were built1.6. The first was built on the lowlands, close to the river. It included at least one building and occupied an area of approximately one acre of seeded land. The second fort was built on the height of land in order to protect the lower fort and the ships in harbour. This fort, built on a clay soil, included at least three wood and clay buildings, several stone structures and was surrounded by palisades. Wood had become a resource for domestic applications and for the construction of buildings, military works and fortifications.

1.3 Additional example: In 1918, the Wendake Hurons successfully resisted the “Spanish flu” with “cow-parsnip“. 1.4 It is assumed that a few years after Cartier’s passing, the growth of the Iroquoian population through a sedentary lifestyle associated with agriculture along the main trade route led to tensions between local native peoples. Wars during the period from 1580 to 1590 are presumed to have caused their disappearance. 1.5 King Francis I, who was determine to establish an upstream colony had appointed Jean-François de la Roque de Roberval to the position of lieutenant general for Canada, in charge of land forces. 1.6 In 2006, news of the discovery of this site was announced in Quebec City. Excavations were conducted during the summer of 2007. The daily logs of work teams are posted on the Web site of the Commission de la capitale nationale.

6 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity In 1542, thinking that he had a wealth of gold and diamond, Cartier returned to France, leaving Roberval and his fleet (more than 200 persons) in charge of rebuilding the destroyed forts (then named France- Roy). But the colony experienced several setbacks (war, scurvy, drownings) and this futile effort ass given up the following year.

When Champlain established the Quebec trading post in 1608 in a second attempt to establish a French colony, the population was small, pressure on the forest was weak and the needs of the colony were limited. However, France experienced “a serious imbalance between normal forest production and actual or estimated harvest volumes.” [6] An inventory shortage, to use a modern term, was in sight. In 1639, Gabriel Platte, a French analyst, described the situation: The large volume of wood imported yearly from Norway and elsewhere clearly highlights our shortage. One can also imagine the sad state of the kingdom one or two centuries from now due to the lack of wood [7]. [Translation]

Whereas the fur trade was widely perceived to be the colony’s main economic activity given the flow of goods to the old continent, it should be noted that wood was the main source of energy and the main construction material. Like petroleum today, wood was the key raw material for many products of everyday life. Round wood was used for heating, charcoal for forges, tar for caulking, lye for laundry, staves FIGURE 1.4. CHAMPLAIN SUPERVISING THE for barrels and, of course, boards for various types of construction. For CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST WOODEN FORT Champlain, an ardent promoter of Canada, the presence of a (AN “ABITATION”) IN 1608. THIS WOODEN FORT diversified forest ensured the prosperity of the colony and, to a certain extent, its influence on the world stage. Whereas exports of (THE SECOND WAS BUILT WITH BLACK STONE lumber and wood by-products from Quebec to France grew during FROM CAP DIAMANT) WAS USED AS A the 1620s, they were nonetheless sporadic and remained so until RESIDENCE, A FORT AND A STORE FOR TRADE the arrival of Jean Talon. GOODS, FOOD AND FURS. THE BUILDING WAS SURROUNDED BY PALISADES OF WOODEN PILES, CANNONS, A MOAT AND A BRIDGE. ▌ THE BIRTH OF A WOOD-BASED ECONOMY In 1633, Canada was a French possession and Quebec City its administrative centre. The development of the colony depended on the demands and the inclinations of the king of France, Louis XIV, and his minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Colbert was one of the most influential figures of Louis XIV’s reign. He is credited with straightening out the finances of the State and implementing one of the most important forest management reforms in France. He held the positions of Comptroller General of Finance, Secretary of State for the Navy and Inspector of Waters and Forests. In 1669, he issued an edict to ensure forest conservation. To this day, this order is still deemed to be the foundation of French forestry legislation. Colbert’s ultimate objective was to build a powerful king’s navy to compete with England and Holland on international markets. At the outset of his mandate, he was faced with an inadequate fleet and a significant shortage of wood. In a letter to Louis XIV, Colbert emphasized that it was “to meet the needs of both his navy and those of subjects that your Majesty has undertaken a global reform of all the forests in your kingdom” [Translation] [6], including the forests in Canada. At the end of his reign, the French fleet was powerful and respected, and the wood supply for its development and maintenance was ensured. To this day, in France, people still talk about the vast stands of oak planted by Colbert.

Jean Talon was Colbert’s and Louis XIV’s right-hand man. He was dispatched to Canada to become “the eye and the hand of the King”. [12] He controlled the major administrative levers, such as justice and the economy. Under his stewardship, many visionary initiatives were implemented. In particular, he promoted the timber trade between France and the colony, built the first of the King’s ships and was the first to order the protection of certain tree species.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity │ 7 In 1667, Jean Talon attempted to evaluate the quality of the timber resource by harvesting trees of various species which he shipped to La Rochelle (French port on the Atlantic coast) where their suitability for building ships for the king’s navy was determined. At the outset of his second mandate (1672), two years following Colbert’s edict1.7, Talon banned the following on the he land grants he awarded: It is forbidden] to cut or harvest oak, ash, yellow birch or other tree species suitable for shipbuilding without their prior examination by the King’s shipwrights.[13] [Translation]

In keeping with Colbert’s wishes, Talon wrote to the King: I will do my best to ensure that over time, these lands will provide your Majesty with the wood that you must now obtain from the kingdoms of the Baltic Sea. [14]. [Translation]

The purpose of ensuring a supply of timber was to provide raw materials for shipbuilding and manufacturing barrel staves. Red pine was included in this edict decades later by a different intendant, Hocquart.

In describing the potential of Quebec City forests, Jean Talon told his superior, Colbert, that: The land is covered with trees which form rich and productive forests. However, he pointed out that shipbuilding will be easier... more specifically when we reach southern lands where trees are better developed and where oak stands are more plentiful than here. [18] [Translation]

In fact, in the forests surrounding Quebec City tall trees were naturally scattered and the pieces sought for shipbuilding rather rare. That was due to the fact that several pieces for shipbuilding were selected on the basis of specific tree characteristics. To this end the king’s shipwright crisscrossed the forest, caliper in hand, to select appropriate specimens. More specifically, he looked for tall, strong and defect-free trees suitable for ship masts. Having identified such specimens, he then marked them with a fleur-de-lys stamping hammer, indicating royal ownership. Thus, the potential of the forests in the St. Lawrence valley to provide pieces for export and shipbuilding was limited. In 1687, intendant Champigny ordered all the shipwrights to survey the forests on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, between Quebec and Ville-Marie [19]. Overall, the shipwrights stamped only 6,500 suitable oak trees. Only later would the mountains surrounding Lake Champlain [20] and the Outaouais, more richly populated, be harvested for exports to France and, subsequently, to England.

Although he wanted to protect the country’s most valuable resources, Talon had to cope with widespread indifference. It seemed that settlers were unable to appreciate the importance of creating reserves in light of the immediate and plentiful supply of wood. This problem has endured throughout our history. As noted by Roderick Nash, a specialist in US environmental history, in this book, Wilderness and the American Mind, Americans of European descent, including the French, had developed a real cultural antipathy towards wilderness. Nash called this “a wilderness hatred” [15]. In the eyes of the general public, the forest was an enemy to be cut down since it provided cover for Indian attacks and represented an obstacle to civilization (agriculture and colonization). Exasperated, Talon asked Colbert for the support of twelve Cossacks, known for their violent behaviour, to enforce the law and to guard against the negligence on the part of people. In a letter to Colbert, Talon wrote: Based on the information I have received from various people, and notwithstanding the ban against the use of timber suitable for shipbuilding, settlers continue to burn and destroy great quantities of wood for timber and land clearing, including scarce and valuable pieces. [16] [Translation]

To date, archival research has not yielded any evidence of repression to enforce this ban.

Despite all this, the untamed countryside was richly populated by merchantable species and would eventually be able to supplement European sources of supply. However, the colony’s capacity to this end was relative. The development of the wood-based economy required an appropriate commercial context. It also needed to be supported by various financial, legal and technological measures.

1.7 Colbert, Louis XIV’s secretary of state for the Navy and responsible for the administration of the colony, authored the most famous royal edict regarding waters and forests. The purpose of this edict was to restore the colony’s forests, which were deemed to be in a pitiful condition, in order to rebuild the French Royal Navy and compete with the English and Dutch fleets. Quebec was thereby included in Colbert’s economic plan.

8 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity ▌ THE BIRTH OF A SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY The shipyard that Jean Talon established at Quebec in 1665 was the keystone of the new colonial economy. Talon funded the construction of a 200-tonne (566 m3)1.8 ship to foster the shipment of goods to the West Indies and France. He organized the timber harvest in the forests along the St. Lawrence and established several shipyards along the St. Charles River at Quebec. For a while, these employed up to 300 workers. His other contributions to the development of the wood-based economy included the construction of the Royal Tar Works at Baie-Saint-Paul. This establishment produced tar for ship caulking using debarked red pine, the roots and branches of which were dried and heated in an oven. He also attempted to build potash works of which remnants have been located in the Voutes du Palais. Potash, produced from wood ash, was used to bleach cloth.

FIGURE 1.5. INTENDANT JEAN TALON INSPECTING A QUEBEC SHIPYARD.

FIGURE 1.6. VIEW OF QUEBEC CITY IN 1700. Note the wooden palisade surrounding part of the city and the rigged vessels in harbour.

1.8 The tonne is a measure that refers to the size of a ship. It is frequently combined with the number of cannons. The tonne is in fact a unit of volume of a ship’s hull. It is an international unit of tonnage equivalent to 199 ft3 or 2.83 m3. Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity │ 9 The departure of Jean Talon in 1672 and the lack of interest of King Louis XIV, who was no longer willing to spend money on Canada, hampered the development of the colony. Given the precarious conditions at the time, important merchants left Quebec for La Rochelle, France [8]. In the late 1680s, while France was at war with England, efforts were made to rebuild the king’s navy. Quebec made a significant contribution to this effort by shipping construction timber to France. But it would take the arrival of a dynamic intendant, Gilles Hocquart, and the know-how of his shipyard manager, René-Nicolas Levasseur, for Quebec City to witness the establishment of the its first king’s navy shipyard.

▌ TWO KING’S NAVY SHIPYARDS AT QUEBEC Gilles Hocquart, who served as intendant in New France from 1729 to 1748, was also a key player in the history of the timber trade at Quebec. Not only did he oversee the inspections in the Quebec region [21] and promote exports of masts and spars1.9 to the king’s shipyards in Rochefort, France , but he was determined to strengthen the shipbuilding infrastructure for the king’s navy. His request to establish royal shipyards at Quebec, which had up to then been exclusively established in France, was a significant gesture.

In 1738, the king of France, Louis XV, was expecting the breakout of war in Europe. Furthermore, the weakness of his navy was a major concern. He commissioned the construction of a 500-tonne ship at Quebec. This resulted in the expansion of a shipyard located at the mouth of the St. Charles River (the Palais or St. Nicholas sectors) used by the king and private shipbuilders in Jean Talon’s time. The riverbed was dredged and rid of large rocks to facilitate the launch of large ships [21].

In order to ensure the effective management of the shipbuilding operations, the king sent an experienced shipbuilder, René-Nicolas Levasseur, to the colony. Levasseur managed the royal shipyards at Quebec from 1738 to 1759.

But the St. Charles River proved to be too shallow and limited for space. Accordingly, in 1748, the royal shipyard was moved to the Cul-de-Sac sector in Quebec’s lower town, on the shore of the St. Lawrence. The new shipyard, named Cul-de-Sac, was located near Chevalier House close to Place Royale. From this location, larger warships could be launched. However, strong currents and the limitation of launching operations only at high tide offset the benefits of the new location to a certain extent. The old du Palais shipyard was subsequently used to provide shelter for ships and space for refit operations.

Given the labour shortage at the time [21], it took two years to build a ship. In all, a dozen warships and several smaller vessels were built in the king’s shipyards at Quebec, The Canada, a 500-tonne flute1.10 (storeship) launched in June 1742, was the first warship built at Quebec. Then, in 1744, a 700-tonne, 45-gun flute, the Caribou, was launched, followed by a 26-gun, three-masted frigate1.11, the Castor. The last ship, a 30-gun frigate named Québec, was never completed1.12 (Figure 1.8). In addition to the two king’s navy shipyards, several others were in operation at Quebec. All in all, from 1722 to 1742, some 115 ships (brigantines, bateaux, schooners, ships and frigates) were built there.

Although Quebec was surrounded by forests, tall trees such as those required to build large ships were scarce. As a result, the Lake Champlain region replaced the St. Lawrence River region as the source of almost all the wood used by the royal shipyards. Oak1.13 was used for ship hulls because of its hardness, resistance and durability. Elm was also a favorite species because of its resistance to rot below the waterline. Pine was used for masts and spruce for curved components [20]. But steadily rising costs slowed down production after 1750, so much so that in 1755, the king decided to withdraw his support to this industry. Several reasons explained this state of affairs at the time, including the decisive impact of a 1749 report entitled Mémoire sur la qualité des bois du Canada [22] by Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau. At the time, Duhamel was the naval Inspector general and the top official responsible for naval construction and wood supply issues for the French empire. His report stated that while the colony’s forest resources were abundant, the quality of its wood did not match that of wood from France and the Baltic countries1.14.

1.9 Trade also extended to the city of Bordeaux and other colonies, such as Newfoundland, Acadia and the West Indies. 1.10 to 1.14 Next page 10 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity However, Duhamel was convinced that, one day, Canadian wood could replace wood from other regions. On the other hand, high wood and construction costs added to the inferior quality of the wood did not justify the sustained operation of the king’s shipyards at Quebec. In this context and given the importance of the role played by Duhamel du Monceau in the development of this industry within the empire, it could be assumed, although without conclusive evidence, that the decrease in production after 1750 and the closing of the king’s shipyards in 1755 were the result of his report. On the other hand, it is clear that despite an abundant resource, the wood-based economy evolved as a result of criteria that are rarely linked to the dominating presence of forests [23, 24].

The royal shipbuilding industry at Quebec, having flourished for a dozen years, collapsed at the end of the French regime. After that, the focus shifted to the construction of smaller vessels equipped with sailing rigs or oars called barks or smacks.

FIGURE 1.7. THE QUEBEC LANDSCAPE SEEN FROM POINTE LEVIS (1761). At the extreme left hand side of the lower town (follow the arrow), at the spot where the Cul-de-Sac royal shipyard used to be, note the hull of the frigate Québec, which was never completed.

1.10 A flute is a warship used to transport materiel and supplies. They were heavily armed in order to protect their cargo. 1.11 A frigate is a two-deck, three-masted warship with a sleek hull carrying not more than 60 guns. 1.12 Other ships built at the Cul-de-Sac shipyard in 1750 or so include the Orignal (72 guns), the Algonquin (72 guns) and the Abénaquise, a 30 gun frigate). 1.13 Quebec oak had a poor reputation in shipbuilding circles. It can be assumed that rafted timber used for shipbuilding without prior drying and conditioning could present premature rot. Reports indicate that ships built of oak were in service for more than 40 years. 1.14 Example of poor wood quality: the Caribou (1744) began to rot less than five years after its launching. In Le Canada est un pays de bois, Delaney suggested that the poor quality of Canadian woods is due to their location in the forests: wood from flat, swampy and accessible terrain is of lesser quality than wood from rough and difficult terrain.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity │ 11

RENÉ-NICOLAS LEVASSEUR, DIRECTOR OF ROYAL SHIPYARDS [25]

René Nicolas Levasseur arrived in Quebec in the spring of 1738. That fall, he was sent by intendant Hocquart on a forest inspection mission: to verify information collected during previous explorations; to determine the quantity and quality of the wood required for shipbuilding; and to identify potential harvesting areas. Subsequently, the shipbuilder carried out additional forest inspections in search of wood suitable for building ships of 500 to

700 tonnes. KNOW?

YOU

DID

Fig. 1.8. Royal warrant charging René-Nicolas Levasseur with a shipbuilding mission in Canada, issued on April 1, 1743 by the King of France

This assignment left Levasseur with hardly any free time. From April to December, he coordinated and supervised the work of all the workers in the royal shipyards. During the winter, he carried out cruising activities in the forest to delineate harvesting areas. Having done this, he returned to Quebec to prepare for the summer season, draw the plans for future ships and supply the shipyard with the requisite shipbuilding materials. He returned to forested areas before the end of the winter to supervise harvesting operations and ensure the availability of all the required timber pieces. Then he had to organize the timber drive from Lake Champlain all the way to Quebec City.

Levasseur was a competent and conscientious individual and shipbuilding operations benefited from his vast experience. He was the expert charged with solving the wood supply problems. He designed timber drive procedures to safely negotiate river rapids and falls. It was he, instead of the king’s engineer, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry, who was tasked with building wharves when the shipyards were moved to the Cul-de-Sac location. On his arrival in Quebec he was an assistant shipbuilder, but he received a royal shipbuilding warrant in 1743. He became chief builder in 1749 and inspector of woods and forests in 1752. In short, his talents and effectiveness were undeniable and he earned the confidence of all of the colony’s administrators.

12 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity ▌ SAWMILLS The history of water mills (flour mills and sawmills) is associated with the history of New France seigneuries. From 1827 to 1863, the Company of One Hundred Associates1.15 used a seigneurial system adapted to the French Regime in order to grant concessions to those who undertook to attract settlers] [26]. This approach was useful in dividing a vast territory into administrative units. The seigneuries were delineated in parallel strips along the St. Lawrence River. Seven seigneuries covered all the territory of the present-day cities of Quebec, Beauport and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures.

Each seigneury had at least one sawmill to provide lumber for building construction. Sawmills used vertical saws powered by water wheels when streams had enough water to turn the wheels. Government employees, merchants, shipbuilders, seigneurs and religious orders operated such sawmills. FIGURE 1.9. MAP OF THE SEIGNEURIES IN THE QUEBEC CITY REGION

Information on the presence of sawmills in the Quebec City region at the time is not available. However, traces of several Legend − Figure 1.9 sawmills have been located: on the St. Pierre or du Moulin rivers (currently the Du Berger River on the site of the old Quebec zoo) and 45 Maur at Cap Rouge. In 1739, the Quebec City region included 11 sawmills 47 Guillaume-Bonhomme 48 Fossambault and a rope factory. [27] 49 Gaudarville 51 Saint-Gabriel Across New France, the year 1720 stands out for the rapid growth of 53 Saint-Ignace the forest industry as a result of the proliferation of sawmills. A network 54 Saint-Joseph-de-Lespinay evolved, thereby preparing the ground for future expansion [28]. 55 Orsainville (Table 1.1) Exploitation of Canadian forests for their wood became a 56 Quebec (fiefdom )/Saint-François profitable activity. Wood was used for building, heating, and furniture 57 Notre-Dame-des-Anges making. In 1759, exports of construction lumber were valued at 58 Beauport $31,000/year [29]. In 1730, as the economic growth associated with 59 Côte de Beaupré the development of a wood products industry took off, the fur trade began to wither.

Flour Mills Sawmills Total Mills Population 1666 9 2 11 4,000 1685 41 11,000 1713 61 10 71 23,000 ? 1730 120 70 190 35,000

TABLE 1.1. WATER MILLS IN NEW FRANCE DURING THE FRENCH REGIME [30]

1.15 This Company, created by Cardinal Richelieu, exercised a monopoly over the fur trade from Florida up to the North Pole in return for the development and support of the colony founded by Champlain. In 1683, Louis XIV replaced this form of administration by a royal government regime (Colbert and Talon). In 1771, London kept the seigneurial regime. It was abolished in 1854 because of its obsolescence. Despite this, the title “seigneur de Lotbinière” was used without interruption from René- Louis Chartier de Lotbinière up to Edmond Joly de Lotbinière. Quebec: the City that Wood Built│ Stirrings of Economic Activity │ 13

CONSTRUCTION: BUILDING ON SPECIES-SPECIFIC QUALITIES [31]

Cedar (thuya), for parts exposed to the elements (beams, basement window frames, etc.) KNOW?

Yellow birch, for porches and stairs Spruce, for framework, roof and floor components Pine, for flooring, framing, doors and cupboards

DID YOU DID Ash, for ceiling beams and window frames

Walnut, for cupboards and high-end doors

▌ THE TIMBER AND LUMBER MARKETS DRIVE THE CITY’S DEVELOPMENT Shipbuilding and the timber trade with France influenced the development of Quebec City. The royal shipyard near the St. Charles River fostered the development of the nearby du Palais sector and the Hiché suburb (now St-Roch). Further- more, a significant concentration of merchants set up shop in the Lower Town sector. The establishment of the Cul-de- Sac shipyard in Lower Town also fostered demographic expansion. The following vignette provides a brief description of the city’s four sectors.

THE CITY OF QUEBEC IN THE MID-18TH CENTURY: A BRIEF DESCRIPTION

At the end of the French regime, the landscape of present-day Quebec City presented a striking, contrast of woods, villages, cultivated fields and pastures. [33] One can paint a portrait of this city of 8,000 people thanks to a census taken in 1744 [32]. At the time, the city included four sectors.

The Upper Town included 45% of the city’s total population. Its functional duality (the military and the church) is KNOW? reflected by two public places: Place d’Armes and Place Notre-Dame (present-day Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville).

Buildings belonging to religious orders (Jesuits, Ursulines, Hospitallers, and Recollects), the Seminary and the YOU bishopric dominated the sector (and still do). Craft and other workers accounted for 40% of the sector’s

DID population while tradesmen and merchants accounted for 26%. Many household servants also lived in the sector. St. Louis Street was the most populated street with 20% of the neighbourhood’s population, followed by St. Jean Street with 16%. The building trades were concentrated along St. Jean Street as well as on the Seminary’s grounds. Houses were mostly single-storey buildings and 30% were built with wood. The trend to two-storey buildings began after 1750.

The Lower Town, close to the future Cul-de-Sac royal shipyard, accounted for 37% of the total population of Quebec City. That is where the greatest concentration of trade and commerce players were to be found (merchants, traders, navigators, transporters, bark captains) who made up 50% of the neighbourhood’s population. The commercial nature of the neighbourhood intensified over time and, in 1742, 80% of the merchants and traders had set up shop in the sector. Competition was fierce, especially between Quebec-based merchants and the large French trading firms. Craftsmen were less inclined to concentrate their activities although many coopers could be found at the Sault-au-Matelot. Half the population of Lower Town lived on the Sault-au-Matelot and Champlain streets. This neighbourhood was isolated from the Intendant’s residence neighbourhood up to 1740, when the Anse de la Canoterie was partially filled in order to build a road. This was a dense neighbourhood where buildings of two-storeys and more were built. Stone replaced wood in construction, especially in the wake of a 1682 fire.

The Intendant’s Palace sector was first populated by a few officers and craftsmen. Its development really took off with the establishment of the royal shipyard at the mouth of the St. Charles River around 1740. It accounted for 8% of the city’s total population. At the time, it was heavily populated by craftsmen who worked in the shipyard and who represented half the sector’s population. The displacement of the royal shipyards from the Palais to the Cul-de-Sac sector in 1748 hardly impacted this sector because of the remaining port-related activities.

The suburbs accounted for only 5% of the total population of the city. Early suburbs were taking shape at the time: St. Louis, St. Jean and Hiché. The latter gave rise to the more densely populated St-Roch suburb, the development of which was supported by the construction of a new compound which kept day labourers, craftsmen and trade workers away.

14 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity In parallel with the birth of the wood-based economy, the population of Census Year Population Quebec posted significant growth [32]. From 1621 to 1740, the 1666 407 population doubled every 20 years or so, due to a high birthrate (average 1681 1085 six children per family) and the influx of migrants drawn by the momentary economic growth of the capital. From a sociological 1716 2285 perspective, it should be noted that from the first half of the 18th century, 1744 5051 60% of the city’s population was made up of tenants. Today, this percentage stands at 70%1.16. TABLE 1.2. DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE DURING THE FRENCH REGIME [2] ▌QUEBEC AND THE NATURAL SCIENCES

In the trails of the many explorers looking for new territories there are often scientists who contribute to the knowledge of wildland forests of the new world. In the 17th century, encouraged by the scientific vitality of the Renaissance, scientists followed in the wake of early explorers of new lands and marked profound breaks with the past in the fields of botany and mineralogy. In fact, botanists played a role in the development of an astounding network of scientists worldwide. They foreshadowed the famous learned academies established by Colbert for the purpose of renewing modern science.

Among the botanists of the day, the Jesuit missionaries played an important role, collecting North American plant samples which they observed, harvested, transplanted in so-called “conservation gardens” until their shipment to France. At the time, a great many of these plants found their way to the Jardin des plantes de Paris (also known as the Jardin des plantes médicinales or Jardin du Roy). It therefore follows that the name of several plants discovered in Canada at the time contains the designation canadensis or canadense.

At Quebec, Louis Hébert [9], considered to be the first farmer in the colony,1.17 played a key role in the development of agriculture1.18. According to internationally renowned botanists, this apothecary was reported to be the first to provide the basic material required for the first systematic study of plants by a Paris physician, Jacques-Philippe Comuty, entitled Canadensium Plantarum, in 1635. This assumption was based on the fact that he was the sole individual in the colony with scientific qualifications. This study marked the birth of American botany. It highlighted the difference between botany focused on medicinal applications and botany focused on environmental science, evidence of which can be found in early scholarly works. Hébert highlighted the diversity and the evolution of man’s relationships with nature [10]. The aforementioned modest study was of great scientific interest as a result of the specimen collection methods, classification structures, plant properties and their medicinal and FIGURE 1.10. LOUIS HÉBERT, FIRST FARMER OF QUÉBEC. This apothecary social uses it listed. would have been the Canadian correspondent of the author who wrote the first book on Canadian flora, providing him with plants specimens . Jean-François Gaultier followed in Hébert’s steps and carried on with his work (see vignette). After his death and the Seven Years War, the plant collections disappeared and publications dropped off, signaling the end of a scientific movement. Indigenous naturalists would have to begin from scratch.

1.16 For the urban territory prior to the recent mergers. 1.17 He was the first settler to ensure his subsistence solely by farming. 1.18 He lived at the “Jardin de la reine Margot” prior to his arrival.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity │ 15

MICHEL SARRAZIN (1659-1734)

Born in Burgundy, France, Michel Sarrazin (1659-1734) [11] first came to Quebec in 1685 as the chief barber-surgeon of the navy. In 1694, he returned to France to pursue medical studies. He spent time at the Jardin royal des Plantes, the future Musée d’Histoire naturelle, where he studied botany under Tournefort. Long sought by the

intendant Champigny, Sarrazin returned to Quebec in 1697 after receiving his medical KNOW? degree at Reims. But Sarrazin no longer wanted to practice medicine exclusively. He

wanted to dedicate himself to the systematic study the country’s flora, fauna and YOU minerals. Despite many difficulties1.19 his collections (herbaria, seeds and living plants)

DID were forwarded to the first physician of France for replanting in the Jardin des plantes. Some were even forwarded to Oxford. His notes were collected by Sébastien Vaillant and published as a Catalogue des plantes du Canada1.20. The Observations de Mr. Sarazzin contained the description of four species of Canadian maples and highlighted the author’s excellent knowledge of these species. Sarrazin is also credited with the description of species included in the 1700 and 1719 editions of Tournefort's Fig. 1.11. Possible portrait of Michel Sarrazin, surgeon-physician and Institutiones rei herbariae. Tournefort dedicated one of the species, Sarracenia botanist who came to New France purpurea, to Sarrazin, Sarrazin is also credited with the identification of ginseng and other spikenards. He also contributed to the publication of several other scientific publications.

Sarazzin was eventually appointed to the position of first physician and surgeon of New France. He is credited with having performed the first mastectomy in Canada, if not North America (1700). Today, the Maison Michel Sarrazin, a palliative care establishment, bears witness to his dedication and his work. JEAN-FRANÇOIS GAULTIER (1708-1756) [92]

Gaultier was born at La Croix-Avranchin (department of Manche), France. During his life, he practiced medicine and other professions: meteorologist, astronomer, botanist, mineralogist and zoologist. A few years after the death of Michel Sarrazin, Gaultier was appointed king’s physician and moved to New France on a permanent basis in 1742.

KNOW? With Governor La Galissonière’s support, he became the key player in the implementation of a timber inventory

and a harvesting program for the colony. Elected as a corresponding member of the Académie royale des YOU Sciences, he worked with Duhamel de Monceau. His contribution to botany was significant. He kept a permanent

DID collection of Canadian plants in the intendant’s garden (the first botanical garden). He was responsible for maintaining the Sarrazin herbarium which reportedly included more than 800 specimens. Carrying on with the work of Louis Hébert, Cormuty and Sarrazin (enshrined in Tournefort’s treatise), he focused mainly on woody plants, several of which are discussed in Duhamel’s Traité des arbres et des arbustes. Gaultier also coordinated the collection of specimens selected in Canada for shipment to Paris. His passion for medical ethnobotany contributed to the popularity of child’s breath, wintergreen (genus Gaultheria, dedicated by Kain)1.21, various herbal teas, spruce beer (effective for the treatment of scurvy), and a treatment for bronchitis. He wrote briefs on maple syrup, pitch and resin, as well as a treatise on four species of pine. He experimented with Canadian woods used to build three ships: Castor, Caribou and Saint-Laurent.

His contribution to science (some 1,500 manuscript pages ) was mainly indirect, through Duhamel de Monceau, Pehr Kalm, Jean-Étienne Guettard and René-Antoine Ferchaut de Réumur. History mentions his special contribution, as a guide, working with the renowned botanist Pehr Kalm (genus Kalmia) who wrote a Flora canadensis based on two months of work on plant collections. This work was lost, however, but not before it was consulted by Carl von Linné (genus Linnea) as he wrote his own Canadian plant guide. Gaultier’s comments on the colony and nature, including his meteorological records, were also valuable.

1.19 Shipment by ship required that sample crates be protected from the elements and that shrubs be watered using scarce drinking water supplies. 1.20 L’ouvrage This study was published between the publication of Cormuty’s Canadensium Plantarum (1635) and Charlevoix’s flora published as an appendix to his Histoire de la Nouvelle-France (1744). Shortly after, incorporating some of Sarrazin’s results, came Jean-François Gaultier’s (1708-1756) flora handwritten before 1750, and Kalm’ flora of Quebec intended for publication as Flora Canadensis, but was never published. 1.21 One of the three sources of wintergreen oil (spearmint) used in pharmaceuticals and sweets. 16 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity

FIGURE 1.12. MAP OF QUEBEC IN 1769

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity │ 17 REFERENCES

▌ ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1.1: Guy Lessard, CERFO, September 2007

Figure 1.2: Guy Lessard, CERFO, Septembeer 2007

Figure 1.3: Guy Lessard, CERFO, September 2007

Figure 1.4: Charles William Jeffery’s. Imperial Oil Collection Series, Library and Archive Canada. Accession 1972-26-760, C-07316

Figure 1.5: Charles William Jeffery’s. Imperial Oil Collection Series, Library and Archive Canada. Accession 1972-26-7786, C-070255

Figure 1.6: Original source unknown. Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1997-476-68, C-004696

Figure 1.7 Richardactif SHort and Pierre Charles Canot. Richard Short Collection. Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1989-286-2, C134474 and C-118259.

Figure 1.8: Fonds René-Nicolas Levasseur. Library and Archives Canada, MG18-H58

Figure 1.9: CERFO. Adapted from A.E.B. Courchesne, 1923. Source: htp://www.memoireduquebec.com/wki/images/3/39/ MdQCarte_des_seigneuries.jpg

Figure 1.10 : http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.civilization.ca/vmnf/popul/seigneurs/images/ h e b e r t 1 . j p g & i m g r e f u r l = h t t p : / / w w w . c i v i l i z a t i o n . c a / v m n f / p o p u l / s e i g n e u r s / 0 2 a fr.htm&h=438&w=650&sz=65&hl=fr&start=3&tbnid=JYwrhXUPE8FrxM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq% 3Dlouis%2Bh%25C3%25A9bert%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Dfr%26sa%3DG

Figure 1.11: http://www2ac-lille.fr/hcfq-avion/SarrazinMichel/MichelSarrazinR35.jpg

Figure 1.12: Map of the City of Quebec, 1759. Scale : 1/2700, 1759, 1 map : b l ack and white, 50,5 cm x 70 cm, Library and Archives Canada. Reference number: H2/340/Quebec/1759. Reproduction number: NMC 20595.

18 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Stirrings of Economic Activity

2 FROM 1763 TO THE MID-20TH CENTURY: A BOOMING FOREST-BASED ECONOMY In the wake of the British Conquest, the London market ignored Canadian timber, deemed to be too expensive and of a lesser quality than timber from competitive Baltic States. However, when France, under Napoleon Bonaparte imposed an embargo on its major source of supply (the Baltic States), England turned to Canada for its timber. When the embargo was lifted, England decided to maintain he competitive edge of timber from its colonies by granting a preferential tariff for timber. Meanwhile, in Canada, the colonial government enacted a law on timber trading the purpose of which was to ensure product quality.

In the following years, timber exports grew significantly. Quebec was considered as one of the five most important ports in the world and the third most important in North America. As many as 1,760 ships pass through Quebec each year. About a hundred timber coves were developed on a 15-kilometer stretch along the St. Lawrence, from Cap Rouge to Montmorency Falls, as well as on the south shore. At times, up to twenty-eight shipyards were in operation. It was the golden age of shipbuilding.

The shipbuilding boom coincided with an unprecedented demographic explosion of the city due to a strong influx of immigrants. The city’s population grew by 700% over a period of 60 years. New population clusters grew on the site of what would become the cities of Limoilou and Sillery. Many merchants built their villas along the bluffs overlooking the St. Lawrence and their respective timber coves. In the shipyards, Irish, Scottish, English and French-speaking workers learned how to work together. A significant floating population (sailors and soldiers) and immigrants benefitted from well- developed groundside infrastructures.

TIMBER DEPOT NEAR QUEBEC (LOOKING TOWARDS CAP DIAMANT), CIRCA 1838 Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 19 ▌ THE DECLINE AT THE END OF THE 17TH CENTURY Following the British Conquest, the timber trade experienced a significant slowdown. As a result, merchants needed to develop a network with a new metropolis: London. They also needed to restore confidence in a product that was frequently compared to wood of better quality from the Baltic States. Finally, they had to create conditions that would foster the growth of the wood-based economy.

In 1787, twenty-five years after the Conquest, only 16 masts were exported to England, despite the fact that the British were the most important shipbuilders in the world. The shipyards on the St. Charles and St. Lawrence rivers were inactive because he British were building their ships in England [34]. But convinced that the timber trade would eventually recover, the colonial government took pains to protect the resource by establishing reserves of rare species, just like the King of France had done years before.

At the end of the 18th century, land-clearing activities intensified. Thousands of citizens and soldiers from the new American Republic who had remained loyal to the British Crown found refuge in Canada. From 1786 to 1809, the colonial government granted them at no charge some 660,000 hectares of the best forests of Western Quebec. These concessions accounted for a large part of Quebec’s private forests which played a key role in the subsequent economic recovery.

▌ THE REVIVAL OF EXPORTS AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY At the beginning of the 19th century, certain timber merchants felt the need to diversify their sources of supply. The onset of the Napoleonic wars bred a set of dangerous alliances that threatened British trade. A few visionaries journeyed to Quebec to open a new market similar to the Baltic States market. They sought to protect themselves from the possibility of an interruption of imports from Baltic countries, mostly of square timber, planks and staves.

In 1806, fear became reality. The French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, imposed a naval blockade on England, thereby cutting off access to timber from the Baltic States. As a result, timber from Finland, Scandinavia, Prussia and Russia could no longer be shipped to the British Isles. At the time, these regions owned the world’ largest boreal forest reserves and the British imported some 300,000 cubic meters of wood a year. This situation was critical: the war was being fought in large part on the water and the need for shipbuilding had never been greater. The British then turned to their colonies, and to North America in particular, thereby reviving timber exports. Quebec became the centre of the wood-based trade. British firms acted as intermediaries between timber merchants and the British Navy. They recruited local agents, including William Price) [35]. Businessmen seized the opportunity to develop a timber transport system (see the vignette on Philemon Wright) and the use of timber (see the vignette on Henry Usborne). From the early years of the 19th century, the port of Quebec experienced a phenomenal expansion.

In 1807, the United States, an ally of France, imposed an embargo on all the products intended for British ports [27] .Three years into the Napoleonic blockade, Russia broke its treaty and resumed imports with England. Canada’s wood-based economy was once again threatened by European exports. However, in an attempt to fill its coffers which had been emptied by the war, to lessen its dependence on the Baltic States and to develop its colonies, England opted for a policy of differentiated prices. It levied higher taxes on timber that did not come from its colonies to which it offered preferential prices. The situation generated a significant spread between the value of timber imported from the Baltic States and timber from the colonies. This policy made it possible to competitively price Canadian timber.

While this was a good deal for Canada, certain British merchants took a dim view of the obligation to pay more for raw materials from the Baltic States, believing that Canadian timber would be inferior in quality. In 1808, to ensure buyer confidence, the colonial government enacted the first law on timber trading in Canada. This law was designed to ensure that colonial merchants met the requirements of the Royal Navy and the British market. Inspectors were posted at Quebec to validate the requisite timber dimensions and quality.

20 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy

PHILEMON WRIGHT: A PIONEEER IN TIMBER TRANSPORTATION FROM THE OUTAOUAIS TO QUEBEC [36,37]

As the timber trade expanded to Lower Canada,

Philemon Wright, a land development agent and wealthy businessman in the Outaouais

region saw an opportunity to further his KNOW? business operations. He personally directed the

first timber drive from the Ottawa Valley. In YOU 1806, he sent men to harvest the white pine,

DID red pine an oak of the Ottawa Valley. Harvested

timber was squared and assembled into rafts of 1,500 to 2,000 pieces, then floated down the

Gatineau River under the direction of dauntless raftsmen, all the way downstream to the

St. Lawrence River [38]. In order to go around the falls and rapids which could damage the

square timber pieces, Wright adopted a

common Northern European practice: the construction of timber slides. Timber rafts finally

reached Quebec where they were taken apart. Their pieces were then loaded onto ships

leaving for England. From 1807 to 1823, Wright alone sent 300 rafts to Quebec [38]. Naturally,

many imitated Wright’s approach and the best

of the Ottawa Valley’s pine forests were soon Fig. 2.1. Illustration of the first squared-timber raft moving down the Ottawa River in the spring invaded by loggers. At that time, the Ottawa of 1806. and St. Lawrence rivers were true highways for the transportation of squared timber.

FIGURE 2.2. RAFT OF SQUARED TIMBER ON THE OTTAWA RIVER IN 1899. This photo shows a typical arrangement for timber transportation. Note the cabins that provided shelter for the raftsmen during the trip to Quebec.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 21 When the war with France ended, England’s trade policy favoured a reduction of its preferential tariffs. At the time, Britain was strongly influenced by the free trade theories of David Ricardo who maintained that protectionist policies harmed the British economy by increasing the price of goods. Accordingly, preferential tariffs were significantly reduced while maintaining the colonies’ competitive edge.

THE BASIS OF STUMPAGE FEES

KNOW?

YOU

DID

▌ QUEBEC: THIRD LARGEST PORT IN NORTH AMERICA AND COMMERCIAL METROPOLIS OF CANADA During the first half of the 19th century, the timber trade grew by leaps and bounds. Entre Between 1810 and 1840, exports from North America grew by 150%. In 1808, the value of timber exports from Quebec stood at $400,000, reaching $8,700,000 in 1861. Ships sailed to London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Dublin and Greenock, Scotland. Each year, some 1,700 ships passed through the port of Quebec despite a navigation season that lasted only six months a year [34]. Quebec was then deemed to be the third largest port in North America and the fifth largest in the world. Timber exports accounted for three quarters of the exports from Quebec.

Tides at Quebec facilitated the work of the stevedores, allowing the floating of timber up to the ships at anchor. Along a 15-km stretch of the St. Lawrence, from Cap Rouge to Montmorency Falls, there were approximately 100 timber coves. A timber cove was a bay where timber was stored prior to its loading on board a ship. Sawmills were established on both shores of the river (see maps in Appendix E). Sillery Croissanceo dwetsh e oxfp oaorkta antiodn spin de cxhpoênret se t de pin stood out with 18 firms: managed by Gilmour, Roche, au port de Québec de 1813 à 18 52 Fitzpatrick, Bogue, Sharples [40], Dobell [41], Timmony, McInenly, O’Connel and Munro. At that time, the vast Chênes

majority of the timber exported from Quebec (mostly Pins squared white pine and, to a lesser extent, red pine and Tonnes oak) came from the Ottawa Valley. The timber was

floated in rafts and stored in the timber coves [42, 43].

YearsAnnées TABLE 2.1. EXPORTS OF OAK AND PINE (1813-1852) [39]

22 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy

FIGURE 2.3. TIMBER DEPOT NEAR QUEBEC (CAP DIAMANT IN THE DISTANCE) IN 1838. Timber rafts arrived at high tide and were broken up for loading the squared timber onto ships. Note the narrow strip of land at the base of the bluffs. Houses were frequently damaged by landslides.

FIGURE 2.4. COVES UPSTREAM FROM QUEBEC IN THE DIRECTION OF SILLERY IN 1840.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 23

HENRY USBORNE: AN ENGLISH VISIONARY IN QUEBEC (1780-1840) [44-46]

At the beginning of the 19th century, Henry Usborne was an important timber merchant in London. He did business in Russia and in the Baltic States. At the time, Britain’s economy and shipbuilding technologies were perfectly suited to the quality and dimensions of the species that grew on these lands. In 1801, Usborne started to worry about an interruption of his Baltic timber supply. Napoleon’s victories on the continent had weakened

Britain’s commercial situation with respect to the port cities controlled by France. Usborne therefore left London KNOW? and sailed to Quebec, convinced that Canadian timber could be substituted for European timber.

YOU Upon his arrival, Usborne bought a vast timber yard at l’Anse-au-Foulon and acquired timber lands and sawmills.

DID In 1802, he dispatched seven ships filled with masts, spars, planks, dowels, bowsprits and squared pine and oak timber. The following year, his exports tripled. His achievements would subsequently be lauded by the Lieutenant -Governor of Lower Canada who pointed out that, since the Conquest, Henry Usborne had singly exported more timber in one season than all Canadian exporters combined. However, problems quickly thwarted his efforts in England as the product quality issue continued to plague Canadian traders. This time, it was the Chatham-based shipbuilders who considered that Canadian oak timber did not meet the British Navy’s quality requirements. Moreover, the navy awarded its contracts to a firm, Scott Idle & Company, that considered Henry Usborne to be a hereditary enemy. Usborne nonetheless succeeded in penetrating the market and, subsequently, obtained Admiralty contracts. The war and Napoleon’s embargo fostered consideration of Canada as a source of timber and Usborne found a way to carve out a larger share of the British market and to refute his detractors.

Trade flourished. In 1809, Usborne passed the helm of his companies to his associate, Peter Patterson, and returned to London to oversee business expansion operations. The Empire had opted for an economic policy that favoured the colonies from which Usborne hoped to benefit. That year, London increased the tariff on timber from Europe. This tariff increased by 240% from 1809 to 1814. As a result, exports of Canadian timber grew exponentially, even exports of masts that had been deemed to be of inferior quality! Usborne was the first to seize the opportunity and benefit from it. However, the entire region was given a boost by the new wood-based economy of the day.

In 1814, Patterson and Usborne bought a sawmill that was

under construction at Montmorency Falls. They turned it into one of the largest in the British Empire. The facilities must

have been gigantic because in 1815, Usborne had secured half the Canadian market for masts, spars and bowsprits. That

year, Patterson acquired Haldimand House (Manoir Haldiman) which he used as his home. The sawmill, operated by his

associate, Usborne, was awarded an exclusive contact by the

British Admiralty. This allowed it to supply a vast market. That is when it could be said that Canadian timber lost its bad reputation. Fig. 2.5. Haldiman House today A visionary and an entrepreneur, Usborne was the forefather of the wood-based economy in Canada and one of the most important pioneers in the economic development of the Quebec City region. No one can fully appreciate the value of his ability to export Canadian timber to the British market. In fact, Usborne was the key driver of the country’s economic development. The specific environment in which he operated, notably the Napoleonic wars, allowed him to succeed where the French had failed.

24 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy ▌ SHIPYARD DEVELOPMENT Massive timber exports to England stimulated the development of shipyards at Quebec. The number of shipyards reached 25 [21], from Cap Blanc and Sillery to Cap Rouge2.1, and along the south shore of the St. Charles River where the greatest concentration (14) of shipyards could be found, including the Jones, Trahan, Cantin, McKay and Warner, and Parke yards. The first shipbuilders included Patrick Beatson, John Blackwood, Louis Dunière and John Mure followed, in 1797, by Francis Badgley and John Munroe and, in 1798, John Munn [21,38] A large number of skilled tradesmen left Scottish shipyards to work for these shipbuilders. In 1825, 69 ships were built at Quebec. This was by far the best year since the early days of this industry at Quebec.

From the end of the 18th century to 1820, the average number of ships built at Quebec trebled. From 1820 to 1860, it increased six fold. [21] The 1850s and the 1860s were considered to be the most productive decades with 28 shipyards built at Quebec during the first decade and 25 during the following one. In 1851, the shipbuilding industry was the city’s largest employer. At the outset of the 1850s, shipyards were still concentrated on both shores at the mouth of the St. Charles River. Other yards were located at Cap Diamant, l’Anse-au-Foulon, Lévis and Île d’Orléans. Major shipbuilders included H.N. Jones, Pierre Valin, Allan Gilmour [47], George Taylor Davie, Thomas Conrad Lee, J.- E. Gingras, Baldwin and Dinning, Hypolite Dubord and Narcisse Rosa.

Nombre maximum de chantiers navals par décennies à Québec et dans les environs

Nombre de chantiers

Décennies

Appendix 2.1 shows the location of all the shipyards during the English regime (1765 to 1867). Appendix 2.2 presents (for the period between 1786 and 1893), a few timber coves, villas and shipyards (that built ships with a tonnage exceeding 20,000 tonnes) owned by some of the principal merchants.

The ships built at Quebec were mainly used to ship timber to England. It is interesting to note, however, that some ships were broken down upon arrival and their components used to build houses in England. [21,48]. The latter practice had become popular because there was no tax on timber used in a ship’s structure. During that period, ships scheduled to return to Quebec transported immigrants, British for the most part, although Irish families largely dominated the immigrant passenger lists as of the 1830s [49].

Shipbuilding involved many construction trades. These include pitsawyers (lengthwise sawing for planking or sheathing ), carpenters (making templates, slipways and keels (frequently made of elm), frames, pairing templates and curved wood pieces, etc.); planking installers2.2 (frame sheathing on the outside of hulls and on the bridge); caulkers (fitting oakum between planks and pitch coats); joiners (planing and mouldings); sculptors (figureheads); blacksmiths (making nails, dowels and ironwork such as shackles, tiller gudgeons, etc.); painters, guilders and glaziers; pulley makers (assembly of pulleys with lignum vitae sheaves); mast and spar makers; pump makers (pumps made from 20-foot to 30–foot long elm, birch and larch wood to cope with frequent leaking problems); rope makers (in very long buildings called roperies which used tarred Russian or local hemp or even Manila hemp from the Philippines), sail makers (sail lofts were frequently set up in the lofts of St. Pierre and St. Paul streets); and riggers [38].

2.1 Also on the south shore, at Lauzon, and Île d’Orléans. The largest sailing vessels ships ever built came out of the the Anse-au-Fort shipyard on Île d’Orléans in 1824: the Columbus (3,3700 tonnes) and the Baron Renfrew (309 feet long and 5,888 tonnes). 2.2 The external wooden covering of hull frames was called planking. Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 25

TYPES OF SHIPS OF THE ERA

At the time, sailing ships fell into two main types: square-rigged and fore-and-aft rigged (Figures 2.6 and 2.7). Squared-rigged ships, (96% of the sailing vessels built at Quebec in the 19th century) include at least one large sail2.3 tied to a yard. Fore-and-aft rigs include sails with sheets2.4 [38]. Note, in figures 2.6 and 2.7, that the number of masts influences ship terminology.

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Three-master Barque Three-masted schooner

Brick Brigantine Snow

Fig. 2.6. Square-rigged ships [50]

Schooner Three-masted schooner Sloop

Figure 2.7. Fore-and-aft rigged ships [50]

2.3 Yard: a cylindrical spar tapering to each end slung across a mast for a sail to hang from. 2.4 Sheet: rope attached to the lower corner of a sail to control it. 26 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy

FIGURE 2.8. CAPE COVE SHIPYARD IN 1865. In the distance, Cap Blanc and the Anse-des-Mères shipyard. Tied up to deep-water jetties, ships wait to be loaded with their wood cargo.

▌ SAWMILLS From 1800 to 1830, the boom in lumber demand for shipbuilding and housing construction (especially in the suburbs) triggered an increase in the number of sawmills. Sixty were built between 1820 and 1831 [28]. Existing sawmills were expanded (Hill and Plamondon, on the old site of the zoo) and new ones were built along the nearby rivers2.5. In several cases, sawmills were built in timber coves, a practice that reduced wood transportation costs. That was the case at the Cap Rouge, Gilmour, Wolfe, Black and Munn yards. The Patterson-Hall sawmill (see the vignette on Henry Usborne) was the largest one around, followed by the Caldwell sawmill on the Etchemin River [51].

It is interesting to note that the Goudie sawmill [89] boasted a steam engine, an innovation that could power four frame or gang saws featuring 22 vertical saws and 8 circular saws to manufacture shingles and laths. Each day, the sawmill could process 200 logs from Upper Canada and from communities between Montreal and Quebec2.6. The information on the development of the sawmilling industry at the beginning of the century is not well documented, but a non-exhaustive list of sawmills at various timber coves is presented in Table 2.3.

2.5 In the Quebec City region, sawmills sprouted up along the Chaudière, Etchemin and Jacques-Cartier rivers. 2.6 The army promptly opted to do business with Goudie. Shipyard sawyers, however, viewed the Goudie mill as a threat and, on May 10, 1819, they succeeded in causing a fire that destroyed the mill. Despite losses of some £10,000, Goudie was not intimidated. The next year, he built an even larger sawmill to which he added a nail factory in 1821.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 27

Rivers or Coves Sawmills St. Charles River Jones and Richard mills Yellow River Luc Pelletier mill Beauport River Mill near the St. Joseph range Creek near the Baron Rouge restau- Mill rant du Moulin Creek Molehill Cabin [33] Montmorency River Patterson (Patterson-Hall) sawmill Montmorency River Ste. Brigitte-de-Laval mill Yellow River Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides mill du Berger River Joseph Plamondon sawmill and match factory (1806) St. Lawrence River, Wolfe Cove John Roche mill purchased from A. Gilmour

Cap Rouge River Young mill Mouth of the St. Charles River Goudie mill

TABLE 2.3. MILLS ASSOCIATED WITH RIVERS AND COVES (1822 MAP BY RUDDELL) ▌ EXPANSION OF THE CITY: WORKING-CLASS NEIGHBOURHOODS The economic vitality of the day resulted in a demographic explosion of the city, the population of which increased from 8,000 inhabitant at the beginning of the 19th century to 59,700 in 1871. That year, 40,890 inhabitants were of French ancestry, 12,345 of Irish ancestry (21%, representing 1/3 of all workers), 3, 874 of English ancestry (6.5%) and 1,861 of Scottish ancestry. In 1854, nearly 5,000 workers were employed in the shipyards. When their families are taken into account, these workers represented close to half the population of the Greater Quebec area, including Lévis. Across the region, thousands of French-Canadian workers were employed by merchants of English and Scottish ancestry. The working classes moved away from Upper Town which the elite gradually occupied.

Certain neighbourhoods, such as Saint-Roch grew[52]. Other urban areas stemmed from Limoilou [53-55], founded in 1893 as a result of the timber trade and shipbuilding. [33] These include Hedleyville, New- Waterford, Parkeville and Smithville. In Lower Town, workers at the Henry Dining, William Lampson, William Baldwin and John Gilmour shipyards settled along the Champlain and Petit-Champlain streets, at Cap Blanc and at Près-de-Ville. The Irish predominated in the Cap Blanc and Près-de-Ville neighbourhoods2.7. The St. Colomb-de-Sillery parish [53, 56] ((today the St. Michel-de-Sillery parish) was also established in those days. Labourers settled along chemin du Foulon2.8. From 1835 to 1845, three major owners (Sheppard, McInenly and Nowlan), due to unfortunate circumstances or not, rented out lots to workers. This FIGURE 2.9. LIMOILOU, CIRCA 1860 DELINEATED ON A CURRENT MAP. . resulted in the development of three suburbs: Note the four communities of the original Limoilou district.

2.7 The third neighbourhood inhabited by the Irish was the St. Jean suburb. 2.8 A “foulon” or fulling mill was a mill where wool was fulled to produce cloth for protection aagainst the cold. In 1770, the priests of the Séminaire de Québec built their own fulling mill which used water from the Saint-Denis brook that flowed into a cove (Anse-au-Foulon). The road was named chemin du Foulon along which were booms, sawmills and shipyards belonging to major timber exporters and shipbuilders, interspersed with small working-class houses. The last shipyard, Sharples, closed in 1913 and peace and quiet returned. Lebel, J .M. Les chroniques historiques: Le Chemin du Foulon, mémoire du grand fleuve. 2007 [cited. Avalable at http:// capitale. gouv.qc.ca/souvenir/chroniques/archives/chroniques_001.html.

28 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy Côte-de-l’Église, Côtè-à-Gignac (Nolansville) and Sheppardville (frenchified as Bergerville). The latter is on the bluffs and major streets are named after the members of the Sheppard family

A few working-class houses in these neighbourhoods are a part of the current urban landscape. They are architecturally similar except those in a part of the Cap Blanc neighbourhood, which have brick walls. Houses are built on very small lots, right on the street. They have two-sided low gable roofs, with dormers hat rest directly on masonry walls. Cap Blanc and chemin du Foulon houses, however, reflect a trend stemming from the small size of the lots: the presence of a third storey.

FIGURE 2.10. PRESENT-DAY VIEWS OF LIMOILOU (HEDLEYVILLE, STADACONA), ST. ROCH, ST. SAUVEUR AND MONTMORENCY, ABOVE AND BELOW THE FALLS.

A) HEDLEYVILLE (East of the boulevard des Capucins). B) STADACONA, Papineau Street (near Lairet) Last remnant of the neighbourhood.

C) ST-SAUVEUR D) ST-ROCH E) ST-ROCH

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 29

F) MONTMORENCY (Above the falls) G) MONTMORENCY (Below the falls)

FIGURE 2.11. PRESENET-DAY VIEW OF THE MAJOR SILLERY NEIGHBOURHOOD OF YESTERYEAR

A) CAP-BLANC (WEST) B) CAP-BLANC (EAST)

C) NOLANSVILLE D) BERGERVILLE

E) CHEMIN DU FOULON F) CÔTE-DE-L’ÉGLISE

30 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy ▌ THE VILLAS OF THE MERCHANTS AND BUILDERS Working-class areas characterized by narrow streets and modest wood houses stood in stark contrast with the areas occupied by rich merchants who commissioned spacious villas reflecting their financial success. In 1850, there were approximately twenty villas in Quebec’s Upper Town, in particular along the Grande-Allée, St. Foy and St. Louis streets. In many cases, villas overlooked the coves where the merchants carried out their activities, with the notable exceptions of Sillery House and Dobell House. The merchant elites also settled along the Canardière, Lorette (St. Vallier West) and Charlesbourg (1st Avenue) roads on sites with great views of the St. Lawrence River, the Ste. Charles River or the Laurentians. Most of these estates were developed in accordance with English trends and practices. The residence was not the central element as in the French way; it was rather nestled in a green setting including lush vegetation. Hothouses, music halls and drawing rooms were necessities at the time. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, the middle class wanted to live in a healthy environment at a time when cholera was rife.

The residence of builders usually included their business office. In the case of shipbuilders (Alexander Munn and Patrick Beatson at the foot of Cap Diamant, John Munn in Sainte-Foy and Parke near the Anderson shipyards), villa size and proximity to the yards bore witness to well-established businesses. [58] Figure 2.12 presents several major villas. The history of Henry Atkinson and his successive Redcliff and Spencer Wood residences is summarized in a vignette.

As a result of massive appropriations of large properties by religious orders after the departure of British businessmen, certain estates remained intact and a few villas were preserved from encroaching urbanization. Certain estates have been turned into parks or cemeteries, such as Spencer Wood (Bois de Coulonge), Bagatelle, Redcliff, Cataraqui and Woodfield, whereas others have become completely assimilated into the urban fabric (Marchmont, Wolfefield) or isolated in an estate that has completely been subdivided into lots (Spencer Grange, Kilnarmock, Ringfield).

A few of the villas still exist and their splendor of yesteryear is still evident (Cataraqui, Gore House). Others are isolated in subdivisions (Ringfield and Kilmarnock) in more or less variable condition or have been hemmed in by new institutional establishments (Beauvoir). Of the villas built before 1850, only five remain (see the Ringfield footnote below. Of those built between 1850 and 1875, nine remain: Cataraqui (see the section on the 20th century) [59, 60], Ssns-bruit (1850), Sous-les-bois, Spencer Grange (1848), Broad green (1860), Elm grove (1863), Beauvoir and Bijou (1874) [58].

A B FIGURE 2.12. A FEW VILLAS (OR REMNANTS) THAT BELONGED TO TIMBER MERCHANTS (C TO H ON THE NEXT PAGE) A) Marchmont. Surrounded by a forest of ash, maple and pine offering protection from chemin Saint-Louis, “with a view of our noble estuary.” Today, the Jardins Mérici condominiums stand on these grounds. B) Woodfield. William Sheppard redesigned ornamental gardens that gained a widespread reputation. He also built hothouses and a conservatory. The residence was built on a sunken piece of ground featuring ancient oak and pine. In 1842, fire destroyed the residence and its imposing library which contained many valuable works on natural history. Thomas Gibb purchased the property and exchanged it for Bellevue which belonged to his brother James. It was said that the decor and furnishings were simply enchanting. Today, the grounds include St. Patrick’s cemetery, a reception building and a superb stone outbuilding (1835).

Quebec: the City that Wood Built│ A Thriving Economy │ 31

C D

F

E

G H FIGURE 2.12. A FEW VILLAS (OR REMNANTS) THAT BELONGED TO TIMBER MERCHANTS (CONT’D) C) Dobell House. Built during the French regime. Note the asymmetric front. Stone walls are nearly one metre thick at their base and are covered with parging and lime to prevent the development of rot in supporting beams. The absence of a basement gives the house squat look. This house was classified as a historical monument in 1972. [26] D) Wolfefield. A magnificent villa with a large porch. The estate and villa no longer exist. A subdivision (Mont St-Louis) occupies the estate grounds. E) Kilmarnock. A large part of the estate has been subdivided, but the magnificent Georgian manor remains. This private residence is the oldest villa in Sillery. F) Ringfield [58, 66]. The estate name refers to the circular traces left over from the circular fort of Montcalm’s army. The window layout is symmetrical in a neoclassical style with a triangular pediment recalling Grecian architecture. The pyramid roof is typically British. Access to the villa is along a long row of trees. This is one of the five pre-1850 villas that still exist today, along with Kilmarnock (1813), Westfield (1828), Benmore (1834) and Henri-Stuart (1849). Hemmed in by urban development, the villa, reminiscent of Wolfefield, is the last trace of Parkeville. G) Beauvoir. English-style residence with a magnificent wooded area and natural terraces. It is said that the lushness of its lawns exceeded that of the neighbouring villas. Interior furnishings reflected opulent good taste with its woodwork, paintings, oriental rugs, organ, credenzas and furniture. [56] The St. Michel creek, running in the western part of the estate was foil of trout. Today, the residence is embedded in a building of the Marist Fathers seminary. H) Gore House. A large sober residence dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, located on a large lot in the old Beauport Seigneurie and combining French and English architectural styles. In addition to a row of windows and a row of dormer windows, the house included two small dormer windows looking out from the attic. In the front, a triangular pediment overhangs the entrance.[67]

32 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy

HENRY ATKINSON: LIFE ON THE MANOR [61, 62]

Henry Henry Atkinson was one of the four Atkinson brothers who profited from the development of the timber trade. In 1823, he built a grand villa, Redclliff, on the plateau overlooking the mouth of the Cap Rouge River, where he established his timber business. His brother, Edward, worked in the Atkinson

shipyards. Brother Anthony, a London KNOW? merchant, supplied the family firm. Shortly

before undertaking a long voyage, Henry YOU transferred ownership of Redcliff to his brother

DID William, who carried on with the family business, particularly in the squared timber trade. William also landscaped the estate with paths, gardens and flower beds [33]. Redcliff also included a few outbuildings (a lookout, stables and barns) a magnificent English

garden and a suspended pavilion overlooking Fig. 2.13. Redcliff the cape. Construction of a viaduct resulted in

the destruction of that part of the estate located on the rail right of way. The city of Cap Rouge purchased the land in 1997 and established the Cartier-Roberval public park on the site (bird-watching and archeological site).

At the end of his voyage during which he collected plants and seeds, Atkinson purchased Spencer Wood (today Bois de Coulonge). As an amateur scientific horticulturist, he designed Spencer Wood and, with the help of his gardeners, Melville and Lowe, created gardens worthy of the great Fig. 2.14. Spencer Wood (Bois de-Coulonge) British, French and Italian estates. In a way, he perpetuated the contribution of the previous owner, Anne-Mary Perceval, a herbalist whose specimens are kept at the Philadelphia Natural Sciences Academy and the New York Botanical Gardens. His residence was considered to be one of the most richly appointed in the country. In 1842, he hosted the famous naturalist, John James Audubon.

In 1844, on the same estate, Atkinson built a second residence, Spencer Grange. In a 100-foot long hothouse, his Scottish gardener, Peter Lowe, grew orange, peach, almond, and fig trees, and even a banana tree. In 1848, he also built Spencer Cottage or Bagatelle in a Neo-Gothic style with an English garden. Atkinson left Spencer Wood for Spencer Grange when the Governor-General rented Spencer Wood with a promise to purchase.

Spencer Wood burned down in 1860 and was rebuilt in

1863. Twenty-one governor-generals stayed there until 1963, when the building burned down a second time. Fig. 2.15. Spencer Grange Lieutenant-Governor Paul Comtois perished in that fire. The estate is now a public park named Bois-de-Coulonge in honour of the lord of the manor who lived there in 1657.2.9

2.9 Spencer Grange was the home of Sir James MacPherson LeMoine, a historian and naturalist who organized the first edition of the Festival of the Vine which ran from 1866 to 1896 . He also published an interesting description of the villas of Quebec City. Like Spencer Grange, Bagatelle continues to exist today. Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 33

CATARAQUI: THE LAST EXAMPLE OF AN OPULENT PERIOD [59] [63]

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Fig. 2.16. Cataraqui estate 2008

In 18312.10, James Bell Forsyth [86] acquired a property that used to belong to the Jesuits. The Cataraqui estate, probably named after his home town on the Iroquoian lands known as Katarokwen. In 1850, Cataraqui ownership was transferred to Henri Burstall, a Fortyth relative and timber merchant. The villa he built melded with the landscape and the estate design was grounded in the Picturesque movement. Burstall added a hothouse in 1856. Landscaping was carried out by the famous Peter Low (see Spencer Wood).

In 1860, after the Spencer Wood fire, Cataraqui became the

residence of the Lieutenant-Governor. Subsequently, Charles Fig. 2.17. Benmore Villa 1008 E. Levey, a timber merchant and first president of the Union Bank of Lower Canada, acquired the 9.7 ha estate.

The estate was joined with the neighbouring estate, Benmore, by the Rhodes family. Godfrey W. Rhodes, a gentleman-farmer, acquired it in 1905. His daughter, Catherine, was born there and lived in the villa until her death in 1972.

During this period, at Catherine’s urging, Cataraqui experienced its most prosperous period. All forms of art were encouraged. The estate was acquired by the Quebec government in 1976, thereby preventing its subdivision into housing lost, but it remained unused up to 1994. That year, the Bagatelle Foundation offered to manage the estate as an exhibition centre, a heritage interpretation centre and a public garden. In 1906, it was classified as an official Quebec government facility.

2.10 There is some uncertainty as to the date. It could be 1836. 34 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy

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▌ FLOATING POPULATION OF THE QUÉBEC PORT [49] During the 19tth century, as a result of the activities associated with the timber trade, Quebec City had all the attributes of a major port and garrison town. Sailors spent their layovers there (50 to 150 ships could tie up at the docks at the same time), hundreds of raftsmen floated down the St. Lawrence and several regiments were billeted in garrisons. Sailor layovers lasted from 10 to 30 days while ships were unloaded or loaded. In 1820, some 8,000 sailors stopped over. Their number grew to 12,000 in 1830, to 20,000 in 1840 and remained high up to 1870. Comparing this floating population to the population of Quebec, which had reached 59,700 in 1871, its importance can be fully appreciated. Quebec had become an international and cosmopolitan crossroads.

However, the situation led to a significant increase in the number of bars, taverns and night clubs. In 1852, there were 37 night clubs on Champlain Street alone. [31] The numbers of prostitutes and hostesses also increased. In 1860, there were 20 brothels and14 “houses of assignation” (Figure 26).

Ships sometimes lacked crew. In order to provide ships with the requisite number of sailors and other crew, individuals known as crimps used coercive techniques to impress sailors who would then be bought or sold. Some 200 to 300 crimps operated in Quebec City. They would slip aboard ships at night, subdue sailors (beating or stabbing those who refused to follow them) FIGURE 2.18. HOUSES OF ILL REPUTE, on Deligny and and sell them to the highest bidders. Deserters would be jailed or Lavigeur streets were denounced in a petition signed by fined. After a night of boozing, some would wake up on board an the residents of the Saint-Jean suburb in 1857. [1] unknown ship, headed for an unknown destination under a captain who was also unknown. During the winter, crimps would move to southern ports and return to Quebec City, a good source of bodies, in the spring. This practice was legal up to 1845 when a law made it illegal. Stories are told about a certain crimp who controlled a large part of the business.

Quebec also welcomed important numbers of immigrants who passed through the port on their way to Montreal and the northern regions of the continent (Ontario and the United States). These immigrants provided income for ship owners sailing back to Quebec after unloading their timber cargo in England. Between 1830 and 1865, it is reported that 1,084,765 immigrants from Great Britain passed through Quebec (in 1831, 51,729 immigrants arrived in 960 ships and, in 1847, 90,000 Irish immigrants came across as a result of food shortages in Ireland, with thousands dying of typhus.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 35 ▌ APPENDIX 2.1 MAP SHOWING ALL THE SHIPYARDS AT QUEBEC BETWEEN 1765 AND 1893

Shipyard Village

36 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy ▌ APPENDIX 2.2 : COMPOSITE MAP SHOWING A FEW TIMBER COVES BELONGING TO THE MAJOR TIMBER MERCHANTS, THEIR VILLAS AND THE MAIN SHIPYARDS (THO

Shipyard Timber Merchant house Sawm

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 37 ▌ APPENDIX 2.3. VARIOUS TIMBER COVES AT QUEBEC AND THEIR OWNERS

Cove Owner Henry Atkinson (timber merchant and shipbuilder) Dalhousie Cove (Plage Jacques Cartier Est) M.I. Wilson Henry Atkinson (timber merchant and shipbuilder) Cap-Rouge Atkinson Cove Pier and Wharf Co. Alexandria Cove J. B. Forsyth Victoria Cove James Hackett heirs

Charles Ross (timber merchant) Bridgewater Cove John Sharples (timber merchant and shipbuilder)

Ringsend Cove Timmony Jackson & sons John Roche (timber merchant and shipbuilder) New London Cove Munroe Heirs Union Cove Stevenson & Co Richard Reid Dobell (timber merchant) Dobell Cove Mrs Frances Lemesurier (timber merchant) Bowers Cove J. Bourn & H. Fry Sillery Cove John Sharples & co (timber merchant and shipbuilder) William Sheppard (timber merchant and shipbuilder) Woodfield Cove Thomas Gibb (timber merchant) Spencer Cove Henry Atkinson (timber merchant and shipbuilder) Patrick Beatson (shipbuilder) Wolfe Cove (Anse du Foulon) John Gilmour (Allan Gilmour co) (timber merchant and at the foot of Gilmour’s Hill shipbuilder) (the largest in Sillery) Thomas Beckett (timber merchant) John Roche (timber merchant and shipbuilder) Des Mères Cove (Anse des Mères) John Munn (shipbuilder) Booms on the north shore of the St. Charles Anderson et Paradis, timber merchants. River, Hedley, New Waterford, Smith.

38 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy ▌ APPENDIX 2.4. VARIOUS VILLAS AND THEIR OWNERS RELATED TO WOOD INDUSTRY

Villa Owner Current State Current State (Construction date) (Year of purchase) (Estate) (Villa)

Cataraqui James Bell Forsyth, merchant (1831) (1836 or 1831) Henry Burstall, merchant (1850) Cataraqui estate Villa preserved Charles E. Levey, merchant (1866) Spencer Wood Patrick Beatson, shipbuilder (1797) Bois-de-Coulonge park Burned down in 1860 (Powell Place) (1790) Henry Atkinson, merchant (1833) and in 1968 Spencer Grange (1848) Villa St-Joseph and Henry Atkinson, merchant (1849) Parc Lemoyne (seniors’ home) Spencer Cottage (1849) Sir James MacPherson Lemoyne, historian (1860) subdivision Villa Bagatelle Sir Thomas Hill Marchmont Jardins Mérici John Stewart (1836) Torn down in 1971 (1810 to 1819) John Gilmour, shipbuilder (1847) condominiums Thomas Beckett (1882) Henry Caldwell, owner, Etchemin sawmill Wolfefield David Munro (1818) Mont St. Denis estate Burned down (1810 to 1818) William Price (1828 up to 1867) Old Price estate Price estate (1867) Woodfield William Sheppard, timber merchant (1816) East: St. Patrick Cemetery (1879) Burned down in 1842 (1816, rebuilt in 1842) Thomas Gibb, merchant (1847) West: Augustine Fathers Assumption 2 stone outbuildings James Gibb, merchant estate Remain

Beauvoir (1849) John Stewart cf Marchmont Marist Fathers estate Integrated in a Marist (West of the old Frances and Henry LeMesurier, merchant (1921) St.Denis lands) Richard Reid Dobell, merchant (1871) Fathers building

Ringfield (1840) Georges Holmes Parke, shipyard owner (1840) Subdivision Community, recreational (Smithville) [58]30] (1909) and cultural centre (2002)

Fairview 1951 Georges Holmes Parke, shipyard owner Subdivision ? (north of Smithville) «Villa Munn» John Munn, shipbuilder Subdivision Disappeared Grant Street, St. Roch

Woodlands South:Mount Hermon cemetary (1848) Burned down, end of (prior to 1865) Séminaire de Québec North: St. Michael’s church (1854) 19th century East : Saint-Joan-of-Arc Sisters (1917) Burned down Clermont (1850) Thomas Beckett (1872) Boisé des Augustines Centre de l’ouïe et de la parole Holland House (1840) n/a Samuel Holland Park Le Samuel Holland James McNider, merechant, shipbuilder and Kilmarnock (1785) Seigneur de Métis (1815) Subdivision, 1977 Private home Charles William Ross for 17 houses Sillery House, John Sharples, merchant (father and son) Subdivision Private homes Cliff Cottage (exception: built at the foot of the bluffs) Henry Atkinson, merchant (1811) Redcliff (1823) [61] William. Atkinson Cartier-Roberval Park Torn down 1906 and James Bell Forsyth City of Cap-Rouge 1911 (railway) Joseph Bell Forsyth (James’ son) Peter Paterson (1822), John Richardson (1824) Jesuits’ House Richard and William Jeffreys (1836) n/a Museum Beckett, timber merchant (1857) Richard Reed Dobell (1896-1925) Dobell House Henry LeMesurier (rented since1839, bought 1853) Subdivision Private home (end of 20th)[26] Richard Reed Dobell and family 1860-1946) Cité Bellevue and Rosewood Villa James Lawson Gibb, merchant, seigneur and president of Torn down in1960 the Banque de Québec St. Stanislas College Park Collège St-Stanislas Belmont property Herri Caldwell, owner, Etchemin sawmill Belmont Cemetery Villa turned into a centre for alcoholics Peter Patterson, Beauport seigneur, timber merchant and Gore House owner of Patterson-Hall Private estate Private home and George Benson Hall (son-in-law), 1851). historical monument Peter Paterson (1811) Montmorency Manor Georges Benson Hall, owner of the Patterson- Estate converted into a tourist site Burned down in 1992 (1780) Hall sawmill Manor rebuilt

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy │ 39 REFERENCES

▌ ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 2.1: William Jefferys, Imperial Oil Collection series, Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1972-26-792, C-073702.

Figure 2.2: William James Topley, John William Woolsey and Family Fonds. Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1978-092 NPC, item 2, PA-144140.

Figure 2.3: William Henry Blett. Temporary record for orphaned ICON records, Library and Archives Canada, C-016549.

Figure 2.4: Millicent Mary Chaplin, Millicent Mary Chaplin Fonds, Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1956-62- 71, C-000868.

Figure 2.5: Guy Lessard. CERFO, June 2007.

Figure 2.6: Source : Marcil, C. Histoire de la foresterie. [cited 2007, June 21]. Available from: http://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/kiosqueforet/page3foret.html

Figure 2.7: Source : Marcil, C. Histoire de la foresterie. [cited 2007, June 21]. Available from: http://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/kiosqueforet/page3foret.html

Figure 2.8: London Stereoscopic Co, Edward McCann collection, Library and Archives Canada. Acession 1975- 295 NPC, item 128, PA-03102.

Figure 2.9: Ville de Québec. Limoilou, à l'heure de la planification urbaine. 1987: Les quartiers de Québec.

Figure 2.10: A) to G) Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 007.

Figure 2.11: A) to F) Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 2.12: A) James Pattison Cockburn, Watercolours and Prints Collection, Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1988-10-1, C-131924 – recto. B) and C) Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007. D) Charles Ramusca Forrest, Peter Winkworth. Collection of Canadiana at the National Archives of Canada, Library and Archives Canada. Accession 00233, R9266. E) Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007. F) http://www.ccjgd.ca/a_propos/pdf/depliant_villa2007.pdf G) et H) Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 2.13: Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 2.14: Photography collection of Jules-Ernest Livernois. Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1963-157 NPC, PA-023535.

Figure 2.15: Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 2.16: Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007

Figure 2.17: Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007

Figure 2.18: Guy Lessard. CERFO, July 2007

Appendix 2.1: CERFO 2007.

Appendix 2.2: CERFO 2007.

40 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A Thriving Economy

FROM THE MID-19TH CENTURY TO THE 1870S: 3 NEW MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION

Although preferential tariffs applied by England on timber from Canada had decreased progressively over time, Canadian timber could not compete with timber from the Baltic States and exports to Europe began to drop. However, the decline of the timber trade only lasted a decade. In 1849, exports to the United States increased as a result of a 1854 free trade agreement between England and the United States. This agreement was terminated ten years later, but trade with our southern neighbours continued to grow as a result of an increase in residential construction. In 1867, the union of the British North America provinces into a federation created a vast internal market for wood products.

The development of this new market saw a shift away from squared timber to lumber. The Patterson sawmill, at the foot of Montmorency Falls, one of the largest in the region, bet on the resulting product diversification. The sawmill operated throughout the 19th century, despite the global economic crisis of the 1870s.

During this period, the timber trade shifted from Quebec City to Montreal due to the influence of Montreal merchants. Their influence was due, on the one hand, to the opening of St. Peter’s Canal, which allowed ships to reach Montreal (1853) and, on the other hand, to the delay in linking the city of Quebec to the railway network (1879 vs. 1854 for Lévis). Quebec City maintained a certain level of activity based on a few important sawmills and shipbuilding, but Montreal became Canada’s wood hub.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF GILMOUR AND COMPANY’S LOG LOADING FACITILITIES AT L’ANSE-AU-FOULON, 1860 THE PATTERSON SAWMILL AT THE FOOT OF MONTMORENCY FALLS OPERATED THROUGHOUT THE 19TH CENTURY

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Transition and Diversification│ 41 ▌ THE DECLINE OF TRADE WITH ENGLAND England progressively lowered the preferential tariffs it had granted to Canada. The decision to abandon its protectionist policy in favour of a free trade economy was consistent with the rise of neo-liberalism inspired by the writings of economist David Ricardo (1772-1823). In 1814, preferential tariffs on timber from the colonies were five times lower than those on timber from the Baltic States, whereas, in 1851, the price of timber from the Baltic States fell below the price of timber from the colonies (Table 3.1). This coincided with the repeal of the protectionist Corn Laws that England had applied to grain imports from 1815 to 1846. As timber from Quebec became less competitive, exports to England began to fall. In fact, the number of ships leaving Quebec with timber cargos, which exceeded 1000 in 1860, dropped by half from 1860 to 1880.

▌ MONTREAL’S GROWTH AT QUEBEC’S EXPENSE For various reasons, Quebec City’s economic decline coincided with a gradual shift of the timber trade to Montreal. In 1853, the opening of the channel in Lac St-Pierre allowed ships to navigate straight through to Montreal without stopping in Quebec City. But, in that city, railway construction lagged behind Lévis, on the south shore. In fact, the link between the shores was established only in 1879 whereas the link between Lévis and the United States had been established as early as 1854. Furthermore, under the influence of Montreal merchants, timber from the Outaouais was being shipped to the United States by train or via canals, thereby completely by-passing Quebec City.

Colony Baltic States (Canada) 1814 10 55 1842 10 25

1846 10 20 FIGURE 3.1. BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF GILMOUR AND 1848 10 15 COMPANY’S LOG LOADING FACITILITIES AT L’ANSE-AU- 1851 10 7 FOULON, 1860. Note the narrow shoreline and the nearby cliff face. TABLE 3.1. EVOLUTION OF PREFERENTIAL TARIFFS ON WOOD, PER PROVENANCE (shillings per load).

FIGURE 3.2. RAFTS OF SQUARED WHITE PINE A THE SHARPLES AND DOBEL COVES, 1901.

42 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Transition and Diversification

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▌ LUMBER: GROWING MARKET DEMAND IN THE UNITED STATES While the Quebec timber trade declined in the wake of lower exports to England following the end of preferential tariffs on timber from the colonies, it should be noted that this was a temporary decline. The year 1845 marked a massive resumption of exports to the United States. Strong population growth and industrialization south of the border brought about a pressing need for lumber. From 1850 to 1890, in California alone, the population grew from 100,000 to 1,200,000. The construction of the railway increased overall demand for lumber that the western and eastern States could no longer meet. This brought American investors to Canada, which led to the expansion of sawmill size and capacity [8] to meet demand. Quebec merchants shifted their activities to this booming market. Gradually, the trade in squared timbers and staves was replaced by the 2x4 lumber trade. Exports of lumber products to the United States peaked during the 1850s as a result of a reciprocity treaty signed by the two countries, which remained in effect until 1855. In 1861, the value of lumber exports reached $8,693,638 by comparison to $400,000 in 1808 [21]. Sawmills shot up everywhere, as did harvesting operations.

Early in the 1800s, Peter Patterson’s sawmill (at Montmorency Falls) and Henry Caldwell’s (on the Etchemin River) were considered to be the largest and best equipped in the world. [28]. The Patterson sawmill, which operated mainly in the early 1800s, produced squared timber, plank lumber, staves and ship components used in shipyards. Production diversification after 1851, however, saw the sawmill produce buckets, matches, lathes, broom handles, shingles, venetian blinds, boards, and other products.

▌ TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS CRITICAL TO THE LUMBER BOOM At the beginning of the 19th century, the economic policy that favoured preferential tariffs opened the lumber trade in Canada, with Quebec City as its metropolis. In the middle of the century, as U.S. demand exploded, innovation and technological development sustained the wood-based economy in the province of Quebec. Quebec City, however, was no longer the major player it had been a few decades before.

At that time, two technological developments profoundly affected the forest economy. The first one involved an American who invented and marketed an industrial nail manufacturing machine. Prior to this development, nails had been made by hand. On the other hand, George Washing Snow (1797-1870), a Chicago timber merchant and real estate agent, capitalized on the potential of ordinary nails and developed a new type of light wood-frame structure called balloon framing, which triggered the switch from log-home construction, using large-dimension logs or squared timbers, to nailed 2x4 and 2x6 assemblies.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Transition and Diversification│ 43 This development allowed settlers to build houses all by themselves using smaller-dimension lumber. Nailed boards sparked a far-reaching revolution. It allowed processing of smaller-diameter trees, thereby contributing to the opening of new forest lands. The use of 2x4 and 2x6 lumber also launched the standardization of building materials. Canada adapted to this innovation, both for exports to the American West and for settlements within Quebec.

Several other innovations influenced the size and yield of sawmills in the 19th century [33] Turbines, invented by Fourneyron, a Frenchman, were generating more energy with a lesser volume of water than the larger bucket wheels. Steam, like the turbine, extended the operating season and accelerated production. And the combined use of circular saws and 5-, 10- or 20-blade gang saws resulted in unprecedented productivity gains. Some mills employed up to 500 men who worked from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. [68].

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PATTERSON-HALL SAWMILL [69]

From the early years of the 19th century up to the 1880s, the Patterson sawmill included several serially located sawmills at the foot of Montmorency Falls. The sawmills ran on hydraulic power generated by water channelled

from the top of the falls. In addition to these sawmills, the company operated port facilities including log basins, wharfs, booms, timber yards, etc.

KNOW? Many thought that these sawmills represented the largest

facility of its type in the British Empire. In 1860, their daily YOU production capacity stood at 800,000 fbm (foot board measure)

DID and could have matched the production capacity of the most productive sawmills of the 1940s [69]. It should be noted that one of sawmill’s flagship products was the 3 x 11 plank. George Benson Hall, son-in-law of Peter Patterson, who founded the sawmill, took over the family business following Patterson’s death. At the end of his life, he was deemed to be one of the richest timber merchants in Canada.

Wood supplies came mainly from the upper reaches of the Ottawa, the Mauricie and the St. François River basin (central

Quebec) or, in other terms, from an area of 3,370 square miles Fig. 3.3. The Patterson sawmill operating at the foot of Montmorency Falls in 1872. By comparison, Price Brothers, another family during the entire 19th century. business at the time, owned 3,993 square miles of forest lands.

At the peak of its activity, the Patterson sawmill and sales of its lumber supported some 800 families (labourers, stevedores, clerks, etc.). The majority of sawmill workers lived the Sault (Falls) area (present-day the Villeneuve, Courville and Montmorency districts), but many lived as far away as the Sainte-Thérèse and Saint-Joseph districts.

Despite its success, the Patterson sawmill did not escape the difficult economic times of the 1880s. At the beginning of the 1880s, the heirs of G.B. Hall decided not to invest to modernize the sawmills, which had become obsolete. As of 1884, the Hall family gradually sold off it assets and, in 1889, the sawmill was replaced by the Whitehead cotton mill.

44 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Transition and Diversification

FIGURE 3.4. IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THE PATTERSON SAWMILL WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST SAWMILLS IN THE WORLD

FIGRE 3.5. VIEW OF PLANK PILES FOR EXPORT AT THE FOOT OF MONTMORENCY FALLS

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Transition and Diversification│ 45 REFERENCES

▌ ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 3.1: William Notman, Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1983-130 NPC, item 509, PA-149-93.

Figure 3.2: John Thomson, Library and Archives Canada. Accession 1969-001 NPC

Figure 3.3: Beauport Municipal Archives

Figure 3.4: Beauport Municipal Archives

Figure 3.5: Beauport Municipal Archives

46 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Transition and Diversification

FROM THE 1870S TO THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY: 4 RECESSION AND THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CONSERVATION MOVEMENT From the beginning of the 1870s, the timber trade between Canada and the United States declined with the onset of a global economic crisis. Shipbuilding experienced a decline with the arrival of steel-hulled steamships. The dire economic conditions of the day affected Quebec City, which experienced a decline in population. However, furniture manufacturing was one wood-based economic activity that held its own. At the time, this industrial sector stood fourth in terms of the provision of jobs in the city on the outskirts of which several sawmills remained in operation.

However, with the advent of Confederation (in 1867), the wood-based economy would henceforth evolve with the public interest in mind, e.g., major forest policy decisions would be taken in Quebec.

The end of the 19th century also coincided with the first efforts to promote forest conservation. This movement involved parliamentarians, academics and industry leaders in fostering the conservation of forest resources endangered by indiscriminate land clearing in the wake of colonization initiatives. Henri Gustave Joly de Lotbinière was an influential advocate for this movement. The Abbot Provancher also played a key role at the time.

In Europe and North America, the expansion of cities due to a population explosion led to the reintroduction of green spaces in urban areas. In Quebec City, one example of this trend was the establishment of the Plains of Abraham Battlefields Park.

THE BATTLEFIELDS PARK AND THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM: THE LUNGS OF THE CITY

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation │ 47 ▌ DECLINE OF LUMBER EXPORTS AND SHIPBUILDING At the end of the 1860s and for several years thereafter, several factors negatively affected the lumber trade in the Quebec City region. The number of ships carrying lumber from Quebec fell from 1000 in 1860 to 370 in 1885, 170 in 1896 and 28 in 1900 [61]. Furthermore, the lumber trade with the United States declined with the expiry of the free-trade agreement with the United States in 1866 and the global recession in the 1870s.

This decade coincided with a generalized decline in shipbuilding4.1 at Quebec city. This resulted in the closing of most of the Quebec City shipyards, in 18804.2. Specialized workers then moved to other yards in the Montreal or Great Lakes regions. Several reasons account for this decline, notably the arrival of steel-hulled steamships4.3. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 also contributed to the decline. It shortened distances and rendered sailing ships obsolete which, it should be pointed out, are fuel-independent on long voyages [52]. Sales of wood-hulled ships to French clients helped to delay the inevitable for a few years. During the last decades of the century, a Quebec City merchant, James Gibb Ross, was bent on ensuring the viability of this industry through his connections with the British. After 1880, a few remnants of shipbuilding facilities endured, notably two or three shipyards dedicated to ship repairs, like the one belonging to F.X Drolet (see vignette). Eventually, only one major shipyard remained in the region. It was located in Lauzon, across from Quebec City, on the south shore. The reason for its survival was its conversion to steel hulls in 1989. The Davie shipyards are still in operation on the site.

THE F.X. DROLET SHIPYARD: THE TRADITION ENDURES [71]

In 1908, François-Xavier Drolet built a small shipyard on the shore of the St. Charles River, near the Dorchester Bridge. This popular location had attracted others from the beginning of the 19th century. A slipway allowed pulling ships into a dry dock where workers could make the requisite repairs to ship hulls. Heavy machinery was

brought into the factory for repairs or tuning in wheeled carts that moved along a set of rails. One of the L-shaped KNOW? sections of the factory housed the mechanical shop; the other, a foundry and a forge. Its final closing during the

YOU Second World War brought an end to the shipbuilding tradition on the St. Charles River.

DID This old mill, with its large bow windows, simple ornamentation, ventilation in the central hall and natural lighting, is a one of the rare remaining examples of industrial architecture in the beginning of the 20th century. Restoration of the outside walls of the building was carried out in 1993 and 1996 by the City of Quebec. (Source: http://www.drolet.ca/construction-navale.aspx)

FIGURE 4.1. SHIPYARD BEHIND THE FACTORY FIGURE 4.2. PERIOD VIEW OF THE FIGURE 4.3. PRESENT-DAY MUNICIPAL F.X. DROLET SHIPYARD FRONTAGE BUILDING

4.1 In 1851, shipbuilding accounted for 47% of the manufacturing labour pool. This dropped to 13% in 1871. 4.2 This crisis triggered a lively debate: merchants accused the government of not supporting them and unions of exaggerating their demands. The government replied that shipbuilders had not reinvested their profits to convert their production to steel hulls. The truth probably lay in between. It should be noted, however that government support would have been inadequate and that attrition was inevitable. 4.3 The first one arrived in 1833. The iron-hulled ships arrived in 1843 and the steel-hulled ships in 1879. Quebec City. Saint-Roch, un quartier en constante mutation. 1987: Les quartiers de Québec.

48 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation

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▌ SURVIVAL OF THE LUMBER INDUSTRY During these difficult years, the lumber industry survived thanks to a few sawmills. At the end of the 19th century, each parish had one or two mills that produced flour and staves, carded wool and sawed logs for lumber. Most of these mills were located at the foot of cascades and waterfalls, and near river bends. These mills were frequently the industrial centre of a parish, especially when they were designed for producing commodity products such as lumber and flour, and for carding wool, like in Cap Rouge. One example was the Smith paper mill (later Reid) built near the Kabir Kouba Falls, the Peters sawmill on the St. Charles River (employing in excess of 100 men [27]), the turbine-powered Édouard Vachon mill 2 km north of the Montmorency Falls [70], and the Patterson sawmill that operated throughout the19th century4.4. On the Du Berger River, the site of the old Jardin zoologique de Québec, not less than five mills took advantage of the many river bends and slopes suitable for their establishment. These mills produced various consumer products: tobacco, lumber, matches, flour, carded tissue, boot soles, staves and so on. This became one of the most important pre-industrial FIGURE 4.4 SMITH PAPER MILL, 1863-1870, KABIR KOUBA centres of the Quebec City region, reflecting the development FALLS of the first family and small business in the area. The Bédard family first occupied the land in 1780, but ownership passed to an important merchant and snuff and chewing tobacco producer in the Quebec region, John Samuel Hill.

The industrial boom began with the mechanical manufacturing of footwear in 1864. In 1871, this sector was Quebec City’s most important employer, replacing shipbuilding which dominated in 1851. At the time (1871), wood processing, including furniture manufacturing, was the fourth largest employer and a thriving sector in the city [2]. Among other important sectors were ready-to-wear clothing (Dominion Corset), tobacco manufacturing (Roch City Tobacco Ltd, 1899), metallurgy and steel-making, printing, and binding.

4.4 On the south shore, two family businesses prospered: the Breaky and the Atkinson sawmills.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation │ 49 ▌ IMPRINT ON THE URBAN LANDSCAPE During this period, thousands of residents left Quebec City. In 1865, hundreds of civil servants and politicians moved to Ottawa, the new capital of a United Canada. In 1871, the British garrison (3,000 soldiers, clerks and dependents) also left, as did many Irish labourers and stevedores, especially after a fire that destroyed some 150 houses in the Près-de-Ville district, between Place-Royale and Cap Blanc. Representing 40% of the urban population in 1861, the number of Anglophones dropped to 15% in 19014.5. The economic decline also prompted leading merchants to leave Quebec City. In many cases, these merchants moved to Montreal. From 1860 to 1900, the population of Quebec City increased by only 12,000.

The impact of the wood-based economy on the city’s development diminished somewhat as a result of the sector’s recession. However, the establishment of new sawmills on the outskirts of the city contributed to an increase in population close to these facilities. The birth of the village of Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides reflects this trend.

The spectacular development, circa 1890, of the footwear, corsetry, furniture, farming machinery, and agro-food industries, along with a revival of the marine transportation of grains from the port of Quebec City [2], resulted in new expansion of the city along the St. Charles River and into the St. Roch and St. Sauveur districts. Working-class families could build a home quickly and more cheaply. In 1889, the St. Sauveur district was annexed by Quebec City. The city also annexed Victoria Park in 1896 and a small Sillery district in1901.

▌ BEGINNINGS OF FOREST CONSERVATION From the mid-19th century up to the beginning of the 20th, Quebec City became a important centre for forest conservation advocates. This movement gave rise to the 1869 Comité sur la protection des forêts, to the first Loi sur la protection des forêts contre le feu, to the work of the American Forestry Congress and to the establishment of permanent forest reserves and the Commission de la colonisation du Québec.

Comité sur la protection des forêts (1869) The number of individuals who were concerned about forest renewal grew significantly in the second half of the 19th century. These included English timber merchants, liberal politicians and natural resources specialists. At that time, the best agricultural lands in the St. Lawrence plain were occupied [75]. This increased pressure for extending colonization initiatives inland, especially in the boreal forest. The resulting threat posed by uncontrolled land clearing efforts for colonization purposes quickly became a major problem in the eyes of forest conservation advocates. Furthermore, settlers considered the forest as an enemy to be cut down and as a threat to civilization’s mores rather than a source of prosperity. Many were conscious of risks, notably of forest fires, which became a major concern. Others worried about the deforestation of thousands of hectares of forest lands unsuitable for agricultural purposes at the expense of precious raw materials for the timber economy. This was the background of a meeting, in 1869 at which various experts, industrialists and politicians gathered in Quebec City to form the Comité sur la protection des forêts. The Comité’s mandate was to address fire protection, deforestation and reforestation issues [76].

FIGURE 4.5. TITLE PAGE OF THE 1869

COMMITTEE REPORT

4.5 According to Blair’s chart (2005), the Anglophones, mainly of Irish descent, represent only 2.5% of the current population of Quebec City.

50 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation Father François Pilote, founder of the École d’agriculture at Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and an advocate of modern agriculture, summarized the settler’s attitude towards the forest for the benefit of Comité members: The settler, subjected to an on-going need to clear land in order to live, views the forest as his most formidable enemy, to the point where he can no longer stand the sight of a tree, not even on rocky terrain unsuitable for cultivation. [...] There are exceptions, of course, but they are few and far between. [...] The time has come to protect ourselves from indiscriminate land clearing. [76] [Translation]

In their final report, Comité experts concluded that, each year, those who set forest fires destroyed more forest products than the overall demand for such products. The Conservative MLA for l’Assomption, Etienne Mathieu (1804-1872) estimated that since 1850, one third of the pine forests of the St. Maurice River basin had been destroyed by fire [76]. Aware of this reality, Sydney Robert Bellingham (1808-1900), who was in charge of the development and sale of lands in Argenteuil County, wrote the following in his memoirs: [...] In a few short years, Canada’s pine forests will no longer exist and [...] this important source of revenue will be lost to the country unless the Executive Council, vested with extraordinary powers, takes more rigorous steps to arrest and punish those who, deliberately or by ignorance, cause fires that destroy our forests. [Translation]

At the time, and for several years thereafter, the colonization movement systematically associated all conservation measures and all initiatives to exclude forest lands from settlement clearing as anti-patriotic and for the benefit or rich English merchants. A lengthy battle of ideas was just beginning.

Quebec adopts the first forest protection act (1870) Against this background, forest conservation advocates attempted to explain that, despite the illusion of a vast and unlimited resource, forests were in fact a limited resource, in economic terms, given their remoteness, the high cost of infrastructure construction and the competiveness of international markets. For all practical purposes, the debate gradually focused on the important role of the two lobby groups involved—the settlers and the lumber merchants—on their interdependence and complementarily with respect to land use, and, from the settler’s point of view, on the importance of settling on fertile land to ensure the sustainability of his efforts. Accordingly, the first advocates for the rational use of the forest called for both control and education efforts. In February 1870, they achieved their first major success when the first forest fire protection act was passed into law. This law was intended to counter the fear of seeing vast forest regions destroyed by fire and to ensure the protection of nearby populations. Given their initial pessimism, forest conservation advocates never expected to see their vision so quickly come to pass. In fact, only a few months following the adoption of this act, in May 1870, a large forest fire killed seven persons, destroyed the property of 550 families in the Lac-Saint-Jean region and burned down an unbelievable volume of standing timber. In the wake of this catastrophe, it was easy to understand the anger of the first forest protection advocates, as expressed in the Quebec Morning Chronicle: “... the origin of this fire is attributable of the stupidity of certain farmers who had set fire to the woods.” [77]

The American Forestry Conference (1882) and its repercussions Promotion of the forest conservation movement [73] received unprecedented support with the foundation of the American Forestry Association in 1875. The Association held its first official meeting, The American Forestry Congress, in Montreal. Timber merchant William Little organized the event that was chaired by Henri-Gustave Joly, a politician from the Quebec City region and leader of the opposition. Attendees included representatives of Quebec, Premier Joseph-Alfred Mousseau (1837-1886), the Commissioner of Crown Lands, William Warren Lynch (1845-1916), his assistant, Eugène-Étienne Taché, and several Crown land agents. Industry leaders had also been invited to defend the interests of forest companies. These included John Rudolphus Booth, William C. Edward and George Bryson. In addition, various scientists attended the event to discuss their work and their views.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation │ 51 The Conference addressed a wide range of topics, but attendees were particularly interested in the forest fire issue, the major cause of the widespread timber supply destruction. To fix this problem, attendees submitted the following recommendations: Remove regions unsuitable for farming and agriculture from colonization plans and create forest reserves in order to protect pine and spruce forests; Prolong the restriction period for slash burning; Create a new organization to develop and implement forest fire detection and firefighting programs; hire fire wardens reporting to the appropriate authorities. This organization should be funded by industry and government (and, as needed, through a small levy on limit holders).

The impact of the American Forestry Congress was significant across Quebec. In September, Henri-Gustave Joly- de-Lotbinière founded the Canadian Forestry Association of Quebec and implemented measures to protect the forests and increase government and public awareness of the negative impact of indiscriminate deforestation [74]. A few months later, the government passed a law officially creating the National Tree Day. In 1883, Jean-Charles Chapais published the first silvicultural guide based on Quebec forests, entitled Le sylviculteur canadien. Moreover, Commissioner Lynch tabled two forest fire protection laws before the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and established, through the Timber Act Reserve, the first forest reserve in the Outaouais.

In 1886, the powerful colonization lobby was instrumental in electing the government of Honoré Mercier who immediately abolished the first forest reserves. The forest fire threat was ever present but, given the importance of the wood-based economy, Mercier compromised and established regions called “fire districts”. These were subject to a stricter legislative framework regarding the use of fire and were patrolled by fire wardens paid jointly by the Quebec government and the forest industry. This first program for the protection of forests against fire was the first active forest industry involvement in effective forest protection programs in the Outaouais and the Mauricie regions. Unfortunately, this did not prevent deforestation by land clearing. More importantly, it delayed the establishment of forest reserves.

52 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation

FIGURE 4.6. TITLE PAGE OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION

The American Forestry Association Conference (1890) In 1890, the city of Quebec hosted the ninth annual meeting of the American Forestry Association. The meeting was held in the Quebec Legislative Assembly. Some of the most important players on the North American forestry scene at the time were in attendance, including Bernard Fermow, the German-born forester who was the first professional to work for the American federal government and who was, at the time, Chief of the Forestry Division of the United States Department of Agriculture. Femow founded the first university-level forestry establishment in 1907, the Faculty of Forestry, at the University of Toronto. At the AFA meeting, Fermow made a presentation entitled The Forest as a National Resource. The next speaker on the program was Quebec’s Deputy Minister Eugène-Étienne Taché, who outlined his government’s forest policy

The Laurentides National Park (1895) The influence of the forest conservation movement was such that, in 18954.6, a new Conservative government established the first permanent forest reserve north of Quebec City: the Laurentides National Park. Its first director and founder, W.C.J. Hall (son of George Benson Hall) was tasked with developing forest fire prevention and suppression programs and a fish and wildlife protection program. The main goal was to protect the province’s richest and most accessible forest lands. Furthermore, according to Hall, “... the extra forest protection measures within park limits will, we hope, help to interest timber merchants to buy limits.”4.7 [Translation] The Laurentides National Park was and remains, in some way, a laboratory for the development of modern forest conservation methods. Harvesting operations were not to be excluded, but carefully supervised. More importantly, settlers were banned. It should be noted that the current park area (now called Réserve faunique des Laurentides) represents the only uninhabited lands between Quebec City and the Lac-Saint-Jean region.

4.6 Act to establish the Laurentides National Park, QS Chap. 22 4.7 Quebec. Rapport du commissaire des Terres de la Couronne pour les douze mois expirés le 30 juin 1896, appendice no 39. Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation │ 53 Creation of a Colonization Commission (1901) The on-going debate on which lands should be designated for forestry and for agriculture led to the establishment of the Colonization Commission. Commission hearings, held in Quebec City, lasted from 1901 to 1904 and involved the two main pressure groups that had been convened to resolve the land allocation issue. The Commission was established by Napoléon Parent, a Liberal premier who was elected in 1897 after some 30 years of Conservative rule. Mr. Parent was a strong advocate of industrialization and forest conservation. In order to ensure the development of the forest industry and natural resources, he served as prime minister and as commissioner of lands, forests, mines, and fisheries.

At the outset, the Commission was chaired by Mgr. J.C.K. Laflamme (1840-1910), Université Laval rector and a well- known conservation advocate. In 1902, because he was seen as being too closely identified with this cause, he resigned and was replaced by Senator J.H. Legris, a colonization advocate. Prime Minister Parent appointed his right-hand man, Jean Chrysostome Langelier to the position of Commission Secretary4.8. Parent’s objective was to ensure that colonization advocates would find the Commission to be a strong negotiator that could not easily be influenced4.9. Langelier, who had served in the Crown Lands Department since the 1880s, was appointed Superintendent of Woods and Forests in 1901. In this position, he supervised the forest operations royalties program. These royalties were the province’s main source of revenue. He was also in charge of the forest rangers and lumber scalers. Moreover, he served as an advisor to various commissioners and ministers of Crown Lands. He gave the impression of being a staunch advocate of conservation and a faithful servant of the province4.10.

After three years of work, the Commission’s findings led to a clear consensus to the satisfaction of the two parties [90] .For more than 30 years, the industry and the Crown Lands Department had tried to convince the government and colonization advocates that certain lands were unsuitable for farming. The Commission’s work led to an understanding of this reality and a willingness to remove forest lands unsuitable for farming from settlements, thereby ensuring exhaustive forest development wherever appropriate. Protected lands could no longer be deforested by speculators called “bogus settlers”. Colonization advocates, on the other hand, were promised that they would be consulted in the land classification process. They now had a say in the establishment of forest reserves. In order to prevent criticism, a representative of the colonization movement was appointed by the deputy minister to oversee the work done by the department’s agent. However, despite significant progress, the colonization advocates began to fight among themselves within the party4.11. Conspirators also accused Parent of corruption and poor forest management4.12 [78]. Even though these allegations were never proven, they nonetheless had their intended effect: Parent’s departure.

▌ THE TREND TO LARGE URBAN PARKS In Europe and North America, population explosions resulted in an exponential growth and expansion of cities. Urban reformers were proposing the reintroduction of nature into urban areas. City dwellers wanted places to relax in enchanting surroundings. The trend to large urban parks originated in London and Paris. At the end of the 19th century, it had spread worldwide [73]. This could be seen in New York (Central Park, 1858) and Montreal (Sainte-Helen’s Island, 1870). In Quebec City, Victoria Park was created in 1897 and the Plains of Abraham in 1908. However, large areas were greatly coveted and were threatened by urban expansion4.13.

4.8 Information on Langelier in: ANQ E21, 1960-01 038, “correspondance générale”, example, S.N. Parent. Sa nomination à la charge de Surintendant des gardes forestiers, lettre reçue le 26 octobre 1897, ANQ E21, 1960-01-038406. Correspondance générale, lettre 12657. 4.9 According to historian Robert Rumilly, Parent could not have hoped for more. In fact, it was the settlers and their promoter who became the victims of a merciless adversary, “[...] a friendly giant whose deliberate surly air intimidated witnesses.” 4.10 Robert Rumilly. Histoire de la province de Québec. Vol. XI. S.N. Parent, Montreal. Éditions Bernard Valiquete: 1930, p. 114-117. 4.11 Liberal Senator J.H. Legris, probably frustrated at being simply a signatory to a report written by Langelier, joined with Senator Choquette in an attempt to remove Parent from the party, along with a ministerial threesome including Lomer Gouin, Adélard Turgeon and William Alexander Weir. 4.12 Adélard Turgeon. Considérations générales. Rapport du commissaire des Terres et Forêts pour les douze mois expierés le 30 juin, 1905, 2 décembre 1905, Québec. 4.13 Vast areas vacated by the British garrison in 1871 were coveted by many interested parties. The government negotiated with the Ursuline Sisters to exchange their property (present-day Quebec Museum and the Mérici Convent for the Marchmount property). Having consolidated all these properties, the federal government created the National Battlefields Commission in 1908. The Commission was assigned responsibility for tercentenary activities and for the management and development of the Plains (Montcalm and St-Sacrement).

54 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation Creation of the National Battlefields Park (1908) In tune with the Romantic Movement of the day, the National Battlefields Park Commission asked landscape architect Frederic G. Todd to transform the battlefields into a national park to ensure their restoration and their conservation over time, but without altering their beauty or historical aspect.

Todd’s approach involved respecting the site’s history and natural beauty. The site was divided into five large zones that were subjected to different treatments consistent with their respective nature and history. He used a formal landscaping treatment based on rigorous planimetric development, but his overall approach was inspired by British gardens. He kept uneven terrain and imitated nature, historical “witnesses” were brought to life (e.g., glorification of Conquest heroes). “The trend in these gardens go back to the 18th century, a period in which England was fascinated by the Italian landscapes reproduced by the great painters of the 16th century.” [1] [Translation]

More clearly concerned with respecting historical features than with the glorification of Conquest heroes, the National Battlefields Park (official name) includes the Plains of Abraham (site of the September 13, 1759 battle) and the Des Braves Park (site of the April 28, 1760 battle won by the French). Symbolically, it was hoped that this site would unite the two peoples involved.

Work on the development of the park went on up to the second half of the 20th century because of the lengthy negotiations required to proceed with the demolition of several major buildings on the site (the Scott armament factory witch occupied space from 1902 to 1930), the Quebec Skating Ring, the Arsenal, military huts and an observatory. For its part, the Association of Retail Merchants of Canada, which considered the park to be an important tourist attraction, protested in 1923 against the suspension of park development work. During this work, a large underground water reservoir was built.

FIGURE 4.7 . THE BATTLEFIEDS PARK (PLAINS OF ABRAHAM): A LUNG FOR THE CITY

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation │ 55 REFERENCES

▌ ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 4.1: Source - Lieu historique national du Canada du chantier A.C. Davie: Petite histoire d’un grand chantier [cited July 2006, 2007]

Figure 4.2: Source - Lieu historique national du Canada du chantier A.C. Davie: Petite histoire d’un grand chantier [cited July 2006, 2007]

Figure 4.3: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007

Figure 4.4: Source – Dumont, J.P. Une rivière dans la ville; l’usage urbain de la rivière Saint-Charles : Origines et perspectives, 1998, Université Laval, p. 89.

Figure 4.5: Quebec Forest History Society

Figure 4.6: Quebec Forest History Society

Figure 4.7: Courtesy of the National Battlefields Commission

56 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Recession and Conservation

5 THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY: A NEW BOOM AND THE BIRTH OF SCIENCE-BASED FORESTRY In the beginning of the 20th century, Quebec City was one of the major industrial cities in North America and had gained prominence as a regional industrial centre. At the time, 225 factories and workshops employed some 10,000 workers, mainly in the footwear, leather, and furniture-making sectors.

In the wake of a newsprint sector boom, several paper mills were built in the province of Quebec, including the Anglo Pulp and Paper mill in Quebec City. This mill, built in 1928, is today called White Birch Papers – Stadacona Division. The mill was a major employer and a key economic driver for the city; it was located in the Limoilou district which, as a result, experienced a rapid development that included the establishment of several parishes nearby.

The beginning of the 20th century also saw the birth of science-based forestry. Quebec’s first two foresters, Gustave Piché and Avila Bédard, set out to implement a knowledge-based forest management system. Three of the concrete achievements of the science-based forestry movement included: 1) a soil classification system to determine the agricultural or forestry potential of various soils; 2) the replacement of the men called “grand walkers” (men who used to estimate timber volume by walking through forests) by systematic forest inventories; and 3) the development of the science of silviculture. This period was also marked by the establishment, at Université Laval, of a forestry school that would later become the Faculté de foresterie et de géomatique. This period also saw the development of the Forest Protection Service, the Berthierville nursery and the first township reserves which served to mitigate the negative impacts of colonization initiatives.

THE ANGLO PULP AND PAPER MILL BUILT IN 1928 IN THE MIDDLE OF QUEBEC CITY

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom │ 57 ▌ A REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL CENTRE In the beginning of the 20th century, Quebec City was one of the major industrial cities in North America and had gained prominence as a regional industrial centre. At the time, 225 factories and workshops employed some 10,000 workers. Key sectors of the city’s economy included not only the footwear industry, corsetry, tobacco products, and armaments sectors (during the two world wars), but also furniture making.

▌ PULP AND PAPER At the end of the 19th century, the development of the new pulp and paper industry paved the way for using a new source of abundant wood fibre in the province of Quebec: black spruce5.1 [80]. Stem quality, and especially tree dimensions, were no longer important selection criteria; quantity now trumped quality. A new fibre abundance cycle based on black spruce emerged while that of white pine (squared timber and lumber) declined. New harvesting areas were established and these gradually shifted eastward on the North Shore and from south to north in western and central Quebec. The impact of this industry on economic development was unprecedented. As a result, public forests were subjected to enormous pressure.

Thus, early in the 20th century, many pulp and paper mills were built in the province of Quebec. They were built along major rivers, close to the resources the industry needed: wood supply, transportation infrastructures, and hydroelectric power5.2. The City of Quebec welcomed the industry. For example, the Daily Mirror Newspaper of London, England, built the Anglo Canadian Pulp & Paper mill, at Limoilou, in 1927-1928. The mill was built at a cost of $25,000,000, a tremendous amount of money at the time (see Table 5.1).

In 1928, this mill employed 500 labourers, managers, and engineers. It was the largest employer in the city and Limoilou. In 1935, the mill had 700 employees. Their number increased to 1,000 in 1945 and 1,050 in 1985. Indeed, in 1985, the mill was the largest private sector employer in Quebec City, but recent attritions have reduced the number of workers to 700. It has been estimated that the mill’s presence generated 2,000 indirect jobs in the community.

The mill has had several owners since 1926. Built by Anglo Canadian Pulp & Paper Mills, it became a subsidiary of Reed Paper International in 1960, adopting the name Reed Paper Ltd. in 1975. Following its acquisition by Daishowa (Japan) in 1988, it added a thermo-mechanical pulp mill and, in 1992, a deinking mill. The mill was bought by the Enron Group in 2001 under the name Stadacona Ltd. The Stadacona S.E.C. mill was acquired by White Birch Paper in 2004. White Birch Paper is the third largest newsprint producer in North America. At Quebec City, White Birch Paper supplies the daily newspaper Le Soleil, Publisac (locally-distributed advertising fliers), and cardboard for a wide range of packaging products.

Number of Employees: 700 Payroll: $65 million Average hourly rate: $30.50 Production: Newsprint: 410,000 metric tonnes Directory paper: 95,000 metric tonnes Recycled cardboard: 45,000 metric tonnes

TABLE 5.1 MISCELLANEOUS DATA FOR 2007 Source: Le Soleil, Aug. 24, 2007

5.1. J. C. Langelier In 1905, J.C. Langelier predicted that, on the basis of the allowable cut of the day, the pulp industry could count on a wood supply for the next 350 years. 5.2. Personal communication, Marc Vallières.

58 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom

A PARTICULARLY STRATEGIC POSITION FOR ANGLO CANADIAN PAPER MILLS [81]

The location of the paper mill at the confluence of two navigable waterways (the St. Charles River and the St. Lawrence River) and the proximity of deep-water port facilities was ideal. The mill could receive floating wood

and provide docking space for schooners and other ships transporting logs. The railway to the Saguenay and Charlevoix regions was close by. Water, an essential input for a paper mill, was constantly available and electrical

power generated by the Isle Maligne hydro-electric station at Alma, was cheap. A 200 km transmission line was KNOW? built to link the station and the mill.

YOU However, building the mill at this particularly strategic location required large-scale work to consolidate shore-

DID lines, raise the ground level of 96 ha of flood lands and build a 415 m breakwater/wharf. Two million cubic meters of sand were transported to the site and 7,000 concrete pillars were set into the ground in order to stabilize the mill and its outbuildings and to avoid landslides. For a whole year, one thousand men worked on this impressive construction site.

FIGURE 5.1. PHOTO OF THE PAPER MILL LOCATED IN THE CENTRE OF QUEBEC CITY. Note the fill-in zone built between 1928 and 2001 (Courtesy of Michel Rivard)

The paper manufacturer quickly became a major player in the development of the Limoilou district (1927)5.3 [53-55]. Hundreds of workers and their families moved to Limoilou as a result of the paper mill construction project. This district had schools for the boys who would form the future generations of Census Year Population workers. Université Laval and the École technique, located on Langelier Boulevard, trained candidates to meet the need for a more specialized 1896 1,236 workforce. The population of Limoilou increased sevenfold from 1909 to 1920 9,279 1929 (see Table 5.2). By comparison, population growth in other districts, such as the Montcalm district, only doubled5.4. As a result of 1931 26,082 the rapid population growth in the Limoilou district, it became necessary TABLE 5.2. LIMOILOU POPULATION GROWTH to establish a new direct link between the mill and centre-town. In 1930, the construction of the Samson Bridge near the railway met this need. Limoilou had been annexed into Quebec City in 1929.

5.3. It is interesting to note that the perpendicular street and avenue layout is like Manhattan’s. According to Limoilou, à l’heure de la planification urbaine, published by the City of Quebec, Limoilou Park is to Greater Quebec what Central Park is to New York. The author also says that Limoilou is also a reflection of New York with respect to the layout of the streets and the use of numbers rather than names to designate streets. 5.4. Several parishes were established in this district over the years: Saint-Fidèle (1927), Saint-Esprit (1930), Saint-Albert-le-Grand (1946), Sainte-Claire d’Assise (1950), Saint-Paul-Apôtre (1965), Saint-Pie-X (1956) and Sainte-Cécile (1951).

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom │ 59 In 1929-1930, the Price Brothers company, a major paper producer in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, decided to build its head office in Quebec City. This decision gave rise to the first skyscraper in the city and Canada, and reflected the company’s financial strength. The final cost of the building amounted to one million dollars. The Beaux-Arts style building rises up 16 storeys with several recesses on the way to the top. The building is covered with limestone from the St-Marc-des-Carrières quarry (light beige patina) and Queenstown (Ontario) stone (buffy browish patina) and topped with a copper roof [82]. At the time, its construction was the subject of a lively debate that ended in 1937, with the adoption of a municipal regulation prohibiting the construction of any building higher than 65 ft. (approx. 20 m) above ground in the City of Quebec5.5.

In 1929, Canada is the world’s second largest producer of pulp wood with 4,519 thousands of tonnes (2000 lbs.), second only to the United States and ahead of Sweden and Germany [14].

FIGURE 5.2. THE PRICE BUILDING IN QUÉBEC CITY

THE PRICES: A LONG LINE OF MERCHANTS, BUSINESSMEN AND POLITICIANS [35, 83-85]

William Price pursued an interest in exporting pine timber, then in wood processing. In the 1840s, he built sawmills all along the Saguenay and the St. Lawrence rivers. With Peter MacLeod, he founded the city of

Chicoutimi in 1842. William Evan Price (1827-1880) was an industrialist and a Quebec politician. He and his father shared the

management of William Price and Sons from 1855 to 1867. He subsequently founded the Price Brothers KNOW? company. In 1872, he was elected to the House of Commons and, later, to the Quebec Legislative

Assembly. He lived in a neo-Tudor style villa on Grande Allée East. The Price family also owned an estate YOU in Sillery.

DID His nephew, William Price, was appointed company president in 1899 and decided to refocus the company’s operations on pulp and paper. He bankrupted Price Brothers in order to form Price Brothers Ltd. John H. Price took over in 1924. He built the Price Building, but teetered near bankruptcy in 1932. The company was reorganized in 1937 and carried on with its activities. Price Brothers and Company merged with Abitibi-Price in 1974, then with Consolidated Bathurst, to become Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. in 1997. The new company then acquired Donohue, another major player in Quebec’s wood products industry. The most recent merger with Bowater in 2007 resulted in the formation of Abitibi-Bowater, currently the largest newsprint producer in the world.

5.5. The only other highrise building was the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital. 60 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom ▌ THE SAWMILLS The 1929 market crash hit all industries hard. Several sawmills and pulp and paper mills had to scale back their activities. Some even had to shut down [48]. In 1937, only four or five sawmills in operation in the province could produce more than 10,000,000 fbm of lumber a year or 50,000 fbm daily [14]. The three major sawmills were those of Cie Price Bros. in Rimouski, Price and Matane. Sawmilling was the second most important sector after pulp and paper. In 1838, many small sawmills (2,092) produced lumber with a value of $11.7M while providing employment for 17,491 wage earners. A few operated in Quebec County (see Table 5.3 for other data).

County Number of sawmills Nunber of mills with a capacity of 1 to 999 thousand fbm Québec 30 29 Portneuf 70 66 Charlevoix 42 42

TABLE 5.3. DISTRIBUTION OF SAWMILLS IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTIES

In those days, a significant number of sawmills opened and closed each year. Product quality and machining was uneven. As a result, the reputation of our lumber suffered by comparison with Swedish, Norwegian and Russian products processed with multiple-blade saws to produce products that appealed to consumers [14]. Finally, wood did not compare favourably with steel or aluminium and did not benefit from technology in the areas of lumber drying, machining, blue stain prevention, and so on.

▌ 1905: THE FIRST MAJOR FOREST POLICY FOR QUEBEC The growth of the pulp and paper industry was very capital intensive. Although the supply of spruce, the species of choice for wood pulp, was plentiful, the forest industry wanted timber supply guarantees. Caution was of the essence, especially with respect to the protection of standing timber, in light of the supply problems that the sawmilling industry had experienced during the last quarter of the 19th century. The constant threat of colonization initiatives, which gobbled up productive forest lands, required the clear separation of colonization and forestry areas. The pulp and paper industry brought suffici en t pressure to bear, enough to impose major change in forest practices province- wide. FIGURE 5.3. THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY AROUND 1900

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom │ 61 The resignation of the Premier and the Commissioner of Lands, Forests and Fisheries, Simon-Napoléon Parent, in 1905 appears to be another factor in the development of a new forest policy for Quebec. The Parent regime (1897-1905) coincided with a context of exceptional circumstances which transformed the economic conditions of the country and triggered a period of growth that the Premier himself referred to as unheard-of and even abnormal5.6. At that time, the Government was becoming more interventionist and its structure more complex. The forest management program needed a major overhaul to meet the increasing societal demand on the province’s natural resources. Despite favourable circumstances, Parent, like his predecessors, was accused of having poorly managed the public domain and was forced into retirement. Regularly accused of corruption and favouritism in favour of Anglo-Saxon timber merchants, the Department of Lands, Forests and Fisheries needed to review its management approaches in order to become more than a simple tax collector. It also needed to adopt new and more progressive form of natural resources management. In fact, the conflict between colonization advocates and timber merchants required that departmental decisions be the least controversial from the colonization movement’s perspective. Scientific forestry thus appeared to be a sound footing on which to erect a new public domain management system.

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▌ THE BIRTH OF SCIENTIFIC FORESTRY The first step: two French-Canadians sent to Yale At the turn of the 20th century, the City of Quebec became the centre of scientific forestry. The first steps in this direction were taken during the regime of Lomer Gouin who, in response to a request by Mgr. J.C.K. Laflamme, rector of Université Laval at the time and an ardent advocate of forest conservation. Laflamme had recommended sending two French-Canadians to Yale to study forest science. It was decided to fund the training of two students, Avila Bédard, a student at the Séminaire de Québec and a friend of Laflamme’s, and Gustave Clodomir Piché, a graduate of the Polytechnique and a friend of Ferdinand Van Bruyssel5.8. The Yale University School of Forestry in New Haven, Connecticut, was selected for this initiative. The School, founded by the Pinchot family, was considered to be one of the best of the day. The science built into its curriculum originated in Germany and France in the middle of the 18th century and flowed from a long tradition of European silviculture. Needless to say, the curriculum was adapted to North American conditions. Gilbert Pinchot, one of the founders of the school, was an American born of French parents and trained at Université de Nancy, in France.

5.6. Quebec. Département des Terres, des Forêts et Pêcheries. Rapport […] pour les douze mois expirés le 30 juin 1902. Quebec: Charles Pageau, 1903, p.VII. 5.7. Statutes of Quebec, 1867 5.8 Bruyssel, a Belgian diplomat, was the founder of the Belgo Canadian wood pulp company. He was a strong advocate of forest conservation. He was also a regular advisor to the various Lands and Forests ministers.

62 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom

GUSTAVE CLODOMIR PICHÉ (1879-1956)

Gustave Clodomir Piché’s achievements are legion. His first achievement was the establishment of the Berthierville nursery upon his return from

Yale, where he obtained a degree in forestry. He had been tasked with setting up a scientific forest management program from scratch. The

nursery became the starting point for his program. That is where he KNOW? trained his assistants, designed his first experimental research projects

and produced plants for educational purposes. His ultimate objective was YOU to share his great love of trees with his fellow citizens.

DID In 1910, he founded the École forestière at Université Laval and served as

its first director. He also founded the École des gardes-forestiers at Berthier, the École de papeterie at Trois-Rivières and the Ordre des

ingénieurs forestiers du Québec. He also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Forestry Association, was a member of the Society of

American Foresters, honorary life member of the Société forestière de Belgique and member of the Société forestière de Franche-Comté et Fig. 5.4. Gustave C. Piché Belfort, and of many other organizations. He was awarded the Mérite Agricole de France for his reforestation efforts in countries devastated by the First World War. In 1920, he received a Master of Arts degree from Université Laval, and a honorary doctorate in 1937. Finally, in 1937, he was appointed professor emeritus at the École forestière he had founded at Université Laval in 1910.

AVILA BÉDARD (1884- 1960) [88]

Avila Bédard studied at the Séminaire de Québec from 1896 to 1905,

graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. During his studies, he came

to the attention of the University rector, Mgr. J.C.K. Laflamme, who was also a professor of natural sciences.

KNOW? Upon his return from Yale, Bédard, quiet and unassuming, served as Piché’s

assistant. In 1918, he became director of the École forestière. He held this YOU position until 1954 when he became Dean of the Faculté d’arpentage et de

DID génie forestier. Founder of the forestry program, he also served as a professor of silviculture, forest management, dendrology, forest mensuration, and history of silviculture.

It should be noted that this intellectual used his excellent writing skills to defend his most treasured projects. Recognized as a poet, an historian and an

economist, he was first and foremost an educator and an environmentalist. In 1921, he published the first French-language periodical in North America: La Fig. 5.5. Avila Bédard vie forestière et rurale. Throughout his life, he worked to popularize and teach the values of forest conservation and protection. During the 1920s, his activities led him to a position on the board of directors of the Canadian Forestry Association. He was one of the founding members of the Association forestière québécoise (1943) of which he became the president. In 1944, he coordinated the writing and publishing of a volume entitled La forêt for a collection called Notre milieu edited by Esdras Manville. This was an extensive work if one goes by the bibliography prepared by a University Laval student in 1958 and which included 206 pages of notices and notes. By all accounts, he was a prolific writer and among the thousands of articles he wrote, a significant number addressed the issue of forest fires in Quebec.

This learned and expert forester was appointed to the position of deputy-minister of Lands and Forests at the age of 52. He held this position until his death. In 1943, Bédard was awarded the British Empire Imperial Service Order medal for his exceptional contribution to public service. Université Laval, the University of Toronto and the University of Fredericton awarded him an honorary doctorate, and France named him commander du Mérite agricole.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom │ 63 The new Minister of Lands and Forests, Adélard Turgeon, declared that the objective was to increase the awareness of students not only of silvicultural theory and practice, but also of forestry economics, a science the name of which more accurately reflected the needs of the day5.9. The objective was also to promote this new science within the French-Canadian community, to train a new Francophone and Catholic elite capable of taking over and directing the management of public forests, and to actively participate in the development of the new pulp industry.

Implementation of a new forest management system Piché and Bédard returned to Quebec City in 1907, each with a Master of Science degree in Forestry. They joined the Department of Lands and Forests, FIGURE 5.6. CREST OF THE ORDRE DES where they worked on the implementation of a new forest management INGÉNIEURS FORESTIERS DU QUÉBEC system based on scientific knowledge (see the vignette on their actions). The Laval forestry school (1910) and the Association des ingénieurs forestiers (1916) were established in this tradition. This association eventually changed its mission and was called Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec, a professional regulatory body that was officially incorporated in 1921. Gustave Clodomir Piché, a well-known Liberal, worked for the Department until 1936. He was forced into premature retirement following the arrival on the political scene of Maurice Duplessis, a populist Conservative politician who was a strong promoter of colonization. As for Avila Bédard, he became Deputy Minister and retired in 1960. Piché and Bédard both lived in Quebec City throughout their careers and are buried side by side, so to speak, in the Belmont Cemetery located in Sainte-Foy.

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Implementation of scientific forestry The Department of Lands and Forest is given the mandate of establishing a soil classification. To that end, the officials take a spectacular action: they set aside a large portion of forests (19 reserves, 45 million hectares), a decision contested by the colonization movement. The real issue, however, remains local, near cities and villages. The arrival at the government of these two recently promoted forest engineers will allow the application, for the first time, of scientific forestry procedures.

5.9 RMTF, 30th June 1905, p. XV 5.10 Université Laval was the third university to create a faculty of forestry, after the University of Toronto (1907) and the University of New-Brunswick (1906), but before the University of British Columbia (1918). The push for the establishment of such facilities came from the first bilateral conference of the American Forestry Congress, held in Cincinnati and Montreal in 1882 and from intensive awareness raising efforts by the Canadian Forestry Association in 1900. The establishment of forestry schools was delayed because of a lack of scientific expertise.

64 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom

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Fig. 5.7. Forest engineer of the Société de conservation de la Gaspésie mandated for destroying a colonization village by the Department of Lands and Forests

This was the background against which a huge undertaking to determine the agricultural potential of the forested lands of certain townships was launched. Piché determined that this mandate was a key issue for foresters who were tasked with on-going work and provided with opportunities for training through this project. Essential data on the types of forest stands and their rate of growth, as well as ecological data required for the management of forest operations, were gathered. Piché established a soil classification bureau headed up by Rosaire Valin, a forester with expertise in forest economics. Valin wanted to define a sustainable vision of colonization and sought to eliminate lands that would be unsuitable for farming. This approach, however, did not defuse the debate which became polarized.

The second phase of the scientific forestry movement stemmed from the realization that modern science required more than visual inventories. The time had come to develop systematic inventory methods in order to demonstrate, with actual figures, that harvesting proposals were more profitable, not only financially, but mostly from the perspective of regeneration after felling. This change in culture marked the end of approximations on the basis of the observations of a few “forest explorers” called “cruisers” or “grands walkers”, in French.

Another scientific forestry milestone was the development of silviculture as a science. Towards the end of the 19th century, lawmakers included in the legislation governing Crown lands management the requirement to fell merchantable trees of specific diameters, depending on the species (e.g., 13 in. for pine, 11 in. for white spruce). Diameter measurement was a simple task that did not require specialized workers. Members of the scientific forestry community quickly questioned the relevance of this approach. Given the requirement to establish an inventory, foresters could go beyond the diameter limit rule and justify harvesting methods based on species, harvesting sites and desired products. Foresters could also call for exception felling, similar to clear-cuts which involve felling all trees with a diameter greater than 5-6 in., as long as it could be shown, with actual figures, that this was the most appropriate treatment. Thus, according to the new forestry science, an old-growth or decadent forest required clear-cutting, as defined at the time, something that the diameter limit rule did not allow. In other situations, diameter limit felling would have left too many frail stems. More intensive logging would be required provided that an inventory of regrowth would show that young stems would be sufficient.

Thus, the dawning of scientific forestry allowed for the protection of forest lands from unscrupulous timber limit holders and speculators. This new science forced limit holders to adopt more appropriate practices. It also eliminated speculators by leading to a tightening of the law and surveillance.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom │ 65 REFERENCES

▌ ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 5.1: Daishowa calendar 2001

Figure 5.2: http://www.ogesco.com/fr/realisations.asp

Figure 5.3: Quebec Forest History Society

Figure 5.4: Division des Archives de l’Université Laval, U571/92/2, 9109 (BU-N-052)

Figure 5.5: Division des Archives de l’Université Laval, U519/92/2, 7320 (BU-P-99)

Figure 5.6: Quebec Forest History Society

Figure 5.7: Quebec Forest History Society

66 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ A New Boom

THE FOREST SECTOR: STILL CRITICAL 6Today, the forest sector continues to play a critical role in the city’s life and activities. Several government departments with links to the forest sector are headquartered in the city and employ more than 1,500 persons.

In the area of research and teaching, Quebec City includes the largest number of forest-related research centres in the province and these account for more than 50% of the provincial complement of researchers. As well, several teaching establishments offer forestry programs. These include the only university in the province of Quebec offering programs designed to train forest engineers. Forest genetics and engineered wood are only two of the areas of excellence in which research and development work is carried out.

From an economic perspective, employment statistics for 2004 indicated that the region numbered more than 8,000 jobs in the primary, secondary and tertiary wood processing sectors, in papermaking, printing or allied activities and in the woods. (More recent data are unavailable at this time.) In 2004, the region included 17 sawmills and seven pulp, paper, and board mills. Furthermore, maple syrup production and apple-growing activities are widespread across the region.

Recreation and tourist activities are also popular in the region. In fact, the proximity of city and nature, combined with the specific historical charm of Quebec City, are driving the expansion of this sector.

Finally, in the services sector, some 20 forestry-related associations and organizations are based in Quebec City.

Whilst the activities, the history and the built heritage of Quebec City continue to bear witness to the wood-based economy of yesteryear, it should be noted that the old economic paradigm has evolved into a new one based on all the forest-related resources, benefits and services. This Conference provides a great opportunity to recall the place of wood and the forest in the city’s history through a wide range of activities and writings.

MINISTÈRE DES RESSOURCES FORINTEK-CANADA (WOOD PROCESSING NATURELLES DU QUÉBEC RESEARCH CENTRE)

FACULTÉ DE FORESTERIE DE L’UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Still a Critical Sector │ 67 Whilst the forest sector as such is no longer a major driver of Quebec City’s economy, it nonetheless remains the focus of a wide range of forest-related services and forest management activities.

▌ TEACHING AND RESEARCH The Quebec City Region is unquestionably the provincial leader in forestry research and education. The region has the largest number of secondary, collegiate and university establishments offering forestry programs. The Faculté de foresterie et de géomatique at Université Laval is the only establishment in the province offering a forest engineering degree program. The faculty also offers M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in forestry. The Cégep de Sainte- Foy (a college) offers training in forestry technology and forest products processing. Other establishments offer technical or occupational programs related to the forest sector through, for example, forest recreation and woodworking programs. FIGURE 6.1. FACULTÉ DE FORESTERIE ET GÉOMATIQUE (UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL)

FIGURE 6.2. ÉCOLE DE FORESTERIE ET DE TECHNOLOGIE DU BOIS DE DUCHESNAY

FIGURE 6.3. CÉGEP DE SAINTE-FOY

68 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Still a Critical Sector Quebec City also includes the largest number of forest- related research centres in the province. These include Université Laval, the Laurentian Forestry Centre (Canadian Forest Service)6.1, the provincial government’s Direction de la recherche forestière6.2, the Centre d’enseignement et de recherche en foresterie de Sainte-Foy (CERFO), FPInnovations (eastern Canada laboratory), the Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec – Secteur bois (CRIQ), the Centre québécois de valorisation des biotechnologies (CQVB), the Institut national de recherche scientifique (INRS – Eau, Terre et FIGURE 6.4. FPINNOVATIONS-FORINTEK: EASTERN Environnement), etc. Nearly 50% of the researchers and CANADA LABORATORY research assistants in the province are concentrated in Quebec City. They conduct research in a wide range of fields, including forest economics, forest pathology, forest management, silviculture, wood technology and many others.

If Quebec City shines in such advanced fields as optics, brain research, pharmaceuticals, the forest sector is busily involved in developing engineered wood products6.3. The most recent establishment focusing in this area, the Centre de transformation

sur le bois ouvré at Université Laval, includes facilities for basic and applied research on the FIGURE 6.5. LAURENTIAN FOREST CENTRE development of value-added wood products. Target sectors include commercial wood buildings and the prefab market in a context of sustainable development criteria. Three major projects in the Quebec City region showcase Canadian wood products: the École forestière de Duchesnay, FPInnovations and the Centre de transformation sur le bois ouvré at Université Laval.

▌ GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE The City of Quebec is unique in the province in that it is the home of the National FIGURE 6.6. CENTRE DE TRANS- Assembly where forest legislation is drafted and enacted. Elements of the FORMATION SUR LE BOIS OUVRÉ government infrastructure headquartered in the city include the ministère des (UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL) Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, which oversees the sustainable management of Quebec forests; the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs, which protects the environment and natural ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations; and the ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation which, among other things, provides support for businesses.

6.1. The Laurentian Forest Centre was first located in Université Laval premises, but moved to its own location, on route du Vallon, in 1960. It is the Canadian Forestry Service’s main facility in the province of Quebec. 6.2. In 1970, the Government of Quebec inaugurated a scientific complex which housed laboratories that had, until then, been scattered across the province. At the outset, the nucleus was formed of six departments, including laboratories of the departments of Natural Resources and, subsequently Lands and Forests. This objective was to stimulate R&D and complement basic research conducted at universities. 6.3. Engineered wood components are used as prefabricated structural elements (struts and joists). Such components are now products of choice in house construction. Wood struts are used in most of the new houses built across North America. Prefabricated joists allow the design of large spaces without columns or support. Laminated engineered wood includes glulam beams, parallel strand lumber and laminated veneer lumber. On a weight-for-weight basis, these products are stronger than substitute steel products and can bridge longer spans without supporting beams. Engineered wood panels include plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), particleboard and medium density fibreboard. Plywood has been manufactured in Canada for more than 100 years and OSB is quickly becoming the standard product for supporting walls, floors and roofs in single-family homes.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Still a Critical Sector │ 69 Finally, several Quebec offices of Natural Resources Canada (Canadian Forestry Service) are also located in the City of Quebec. This high concentration of departmental offices and the critical mass of employees who work there (approximately 1,500 permanent and occasional employees and students) gives the region a special status in the forest sector at both the provincial and federal levels.

▌ ASSOCIATIONS Quebec City is also home to some 20 associations or organizations with a link to the forest sector. Some, such as the Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec and the Quebec Forest 6.7. MINISTÈRE DES RESSOURCES NATURELLES ET Industry Council, are provincial in scope whereas others, such as DE LA FAUNE (880, chemin Sainte-Foy) the Association forestière du Québec métropolitain (AFQM) and the Agence des forêts privées de la région de Québec 03 (afpq-03), are more regional in scope.

The City of Quebec includes more associations with a link to the forest sector than any other city in the province. Some 30 associations are headquartered in the city. Some even have an international mandate. This critical mass of forest sector representatives significantly enhances the region’s reputation for expertise in a wide range of forestry matters.

Certain associations represent various forestry stakeholders. These include the Quebec Forest Industries Council (QFIC), with more than 300 members, and the Rassemblement des sociétés d’aménagement (RÉSAM). These two organizations are national in scope. The Agence des forêts privées de la région de Québec and the Syndicat des producteurs forestiers de la région de Québec, on FIGURE 6.8. QUEBEC FOREST INDUSTRY COUNCIL the other hand, are more regional in scope.

Others focus on forest protection. They promote sound resource management and work to preserve the biodiversity and ecological processes of the province’s forest. Nature Québec and the Fondation de la faune du Québec (FFQ) are two examples of organizations that are national in scope, whereas the Association forestière du Québec métropolitain (AFQM) works within the greater Quebec City area.

▌ FOREST INDUSTRY Although the forest industry is not as important as it was under the English regime, it nonetheless holds a special place in the Quebec City region. Indeed, in 2004, the industry provided some 8,000 jobs in the fields of wood processing, printing and allied activities. The region also includes 13 forest-based companies which have signed a TSFMA (timber supply and forest management agreement), 17 sawmills and 7 pulp, paper and board mills. The major ones include the Abitibi Consolidated paper mills at Beaupré and Clermont, the Bowater Produits Forestiers paper mill at Donnacona, and Stadacona S.E.C. at Quebec.

Finally, other organizations promote the recreational potential of forest areas to the public as well as commercial and governmental stakeholders. These include the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SEPAC) which manages, develops and opens up provincial parks, game reserves and tourist resorts all across the province. Another example is the Quebec Outfitters Federation (QOF) which represents 11 regional associations, including the Charlevoix Outfitters Association headquartered in the Quebec City region.

70 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Still a Critical Sector ▌ REVIVAL OF THE URBAN FOREST Over the past twenty years, a new trend has been gaining headway. Mentalities are changing and a new relationship with nature is growing stronger6.4. In the past, trees were meant to be cut down. Land-clearing was common, probably carried over in the wake of past settlement practices. Today, builders take care to preserve standing trees before building. Citizens plant trees. Cities also plant trees and maintain them along municipal rights-of-way. The Commisssion de la capitale nationale du Québec has taken on the mission of facilitating access to the St. Lawrence River (via the Champlain riverfront promenade). Parks are planned before construction begins in new housing developments (e.g., Mont-Bélair). New trail networks are developed.

The rehabilitation of the St. Charles River and its shorelines stands out as a striking symbol of these changes. The river had long been used as a dumping ground into which city sewers flowed. A first rehabilitation initiative, designed to clean-up the river and make it attractive once again, was undertaken in the 1970s under Mayor Gilles Lamontagne. To this end, a long concrete elevated walkway was built on each shore of the river. The rat population disappeared, but so did the natural environment. A second initiative, in the 1990s, did not succeed, leaving behind tonnes of fill. Under citizen pressure, especially the “Living River” movement, sedimentation basins were installed, FIGURE 6.9. REHABILITATION OF THE ST. CHARLES RIVER AND ITS sewers flowing directly into the river were eliminated, and the shores were rehabilitated and replanted over a SHORELINES four-mile long stretch. The river is alive once again and has become an attraction. Several luxury condominiums overlooking the river have been built nearby and make up a posh living environment. In fact, a 32-km footpath extends along the river from the Old Port sector to Lac-Saint-Charles. According to M. Beaulieu [91], a revitalized St. Charles River will be a counterpart of the Plains of Abraham and confer on Quebec’s Lower Town the noble character that Champlain had imagined it could achieve.

The links between the neighbourhoods having been re-established, green spaces are being developed to enhance quality of life. During the period extending from the 1950s to the 1980s people would leave the city for the suburbs, the countryside or the forest for clean air and contact with nature. Today, however, citizens now seek to improve the urban environment. This has given birth to a new urban forest economy. Evidence of the benefits of urban trees and forested areas can be seen in a wide range of on-going landscaping projects, the added value of properties with wooded areas, numerous plantations, the impact of greenery on people’s health and comfort provided by green canopies in the urban landscape, future carbon credits, etc.6.5.

6.4 Réjean Lemoine, Urban Issues columnist and historian, evening lecture entitled “De quel bois est fait Québec?” 6.5 Please refer to the Web site to view a document on the roles of trees in the city. Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Still a Critical Sector │ 71 ▌ CONCLUSION Since the foundation of Quebec City in 1608, the growth and development of the city has repeatedly been tied to wood-based and forestry initiatives. The shipbuilding, timber, lumber and the pulp and paper sectors successively played a critical role in the city’s economic, social and environmental development. In the 21st century6.6, government services, teaching, research and interest groups highlight the city’s involvement with forestry. Although harvesting and processing activities no longer represent one of the main economic drivers of the city, their importance is still significant in the capital’s Administrative Region 03 (which extends from Portneuf to Charlevoix).

Thus, the wood-based economy made a huge contribution to Quebec City’s growth and reputation throughout its history. Even now, albeit in a different way, the wood-based economy continues to support the capital’s growth. In fact, the forest economy, which involves the sum of the forest’s resources, its benefits and allied services, has gradually replaced the wood-based economy of yesteryear.

Over the centuries, the wood-based economy has left behind a rich legacy: working-class neighbourhoods, remnants of luxurious homes that belonged to rich timber merchants, street names harking back to the old timber coves, expansion of the city’s urban area in the direction of the river and, in particular, its magnificent urban parks. Today, Quebec City is surrounded by a green belt and remains an urban territory bordered by nature. The city’s forest cover is constantly being enhanced through various landscaping initiatives (Champlain Boulevard, Charest Boulevard, St. Charles River, etc.). This revival of the urban forest and the exceptional access to nature on its outskirts represent a significant tourism development potential based on nature. These gems have always been targeted by developers, but popular resistance is growing to preserve green spaces that represent the city’s most valuable asset for the future, both for the real estate and tourism sectors6.7.

Even though certain chapters of its history are little-known, this conference presents a great opportunity to review the exceptional contribution o f wood and the forest in the growth of Quebec City’s economy and urban development. A wide range of writings and activities can only encourage all interested parties to pursue their exploration of its historic past6.8.

6.6 For a better understanding of the importance of the forest sector to the economy of the Quebec City region, please refer to the socio-economic portal to the forest sector which is also presented on this Web site. 6.7 The Coalition pour l’arrondissement historique de Sillery (CAHDS) is rallying to preserve 6 historic estates (Fédération des Augustines, Domaine Benmore, Collège Jésus-Marie, Sœurs de Sainte-Jeanne d’Arc, Pères assomptionnistes and Cimetière St. Patrick) 6.8 These include sources mentioned in this booklet, museums such as the federal government’s new maritime museum, activities promoted by the Sillery, Cap-Rouge and Charlesbourg historical societies, as well as a wide range of books on Quebec City

72 │ Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Still a Critical Sector REFERENCES

▌ ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 6.1: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 6.2: Frank Grenon, CERFO, August 2007.

Figure 6.3: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 6.4: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 6.5: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 6.6: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 6.7: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 6.8: Guy Lessard, CERFO, July 2007.

Figure 6.9: Guy Lessard, CERFO, June 2008.

Quebec: the City that Wood Built │ Still a Critical Sector │ 73 REFERENCES

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