Arts, Faculty of
History, Department of
DSpace
UBCV
Stewart, John Ray
Master of Arts - MA
University of British Columbia
This thesis begins with a review of early French Canadian activity in the Pacific Northwest and undertakes principally to discover what motives attracted thousands of French-Canadians to British Columbia from Quebec or other areas east of the Rockies, It arose from the writer’s curiosity about the relation between the development of lumbering in British Columbia in the early twentieth century and the influx of French-Canadians, famous as lumberjacks. In the course of his Investigations the writer discovered a definite relation between the lumber industry and French Canadian immigration but found also that many Canadiens came in connection with mining and other Industrial activity. Because written source material on the French-Canadian in the British Columbia of the past is almost entirely lacking he hopes that his gleanings will in some measure supply a need, the thesis attempts also to survey the pattern of recent French-Canadian settlement. It indicates the problems endangering the survival of French-Canadian culture and describes current efforts being made to preserve French-Canadian nationalism.
FRENCH CANADIAN SETTLEMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA by John Ray Stewart A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF TBI REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n the Department of History l e accept t h i s thesis as conforming to the standard required from candidates f o r the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Members of the Department of History THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA A p r i l , 1956 ABSTKACf This thesis begins with a review of early French* Canadian act iv i ty i n the Paci f ic Horthwest and undertakes pr inc ipal ly to discover what taotlves attracted thousands of French-Canadians to B r i t i s h Columbia from Quebec or other areas east of the Rockies, It arose from the writer*s curiosity about the relat ion between the development of lumbering i n Br i t i sh Columbia in the early twentieth century and the influx of French-Canadians, famous as lumberjacks. In the course of his Investigations the writer discovered a definite relat ion between the lumber industry and ?rench*Canadlan Immigration but found also that many Canadiens cawe i n connection with mining and other Industrial ac t iv i ty . Because written source material on the French-Canadian in the Br i t i sh Columbia of the past i s almost entirely lacking he hopes that his gleanings w i l l i n some measure supply a need, fhe thesis attempts also to survey the pattern of recent French-Canadian settlement. It indicates the problems endangering the survival o f French-Canadian culture and describes current efforts being made to preserve French-Canadian nationalism. PREFACE The writing of a h i s t o r y of French-Canadian s e t t l e -ment In B r i t i s h Columbia grows i n part from a boyhood acquaintance with French-Canadian families who came t© B r i t i s h Columbia from t h e i r native province of Quebec some f o r t y - f i v e years ago i n response to the demand f o r lumber workers. I t was the inter e s t i n g experience of the writer to enter school with the sons of pioneer French families l i k e the La Fleurs, the Pares, the Bouthots and a score of others and to observe the problems and s o c i a l environment of these s e t t l e r s through most of the period since t h e i r a r r i v a l . Thus e u n i v e r s i t y summer course from Mason Wade, the author of two famous books now on the French-Canadian people, was the only stimulus necessary to i n c i t e the work of searching through dozens of books and newspapers and quigzing numerous men and women about the coming of the French to B r i t i s h Columbia. St the present time not over three percent of the people of B r i t i s h Columbia acknowledge French r a c i a l o r i g i n . With the passing of t i d e and the rapid growth of the P a c i f i c province this French-Canadian minority tends increasingly to become absorbed by the majority which i s Anglo-Canadian In culture. The r e l e n t l e s s pressure of American c u l t u r a l influence on Canadians, I I the decline in the use of the French language, the problem of mixed marriages (with non-French or non-Catholic partners) and the Inclination to conceal both / French ancestry and knowledge of French as a ©other ' tongue a l l contribute t o the trend of assimilat ion. ' ^ St the same time there are many among the French-Canadians who are suff ic iently proud of the French tradit ion t o res is t the tide of the times and fight earnestly to preserve a dist inct 'culture canadienne' • even within the province of B . C . The role ©f the French-Canadian i n the history o f the province has been a significant one. To a degree I not appreciated by roost Canadians sen and women of j French ancestry have been responsible for the opening ' and developing ©f Canada*s west coast, not to speak of the American states of Washington and Oregon. It i s from the real izat ion of this h is tor ic background that the French-Canadian who does fight to maintain his language and fa i th obtains the strongest reinforce-ment for his convictions. By the same token the Anglo-Canadian.jsay In the l ight of this evidence b© led to give more sympathetic consideration to the 'rights* o f the French-Canadian minority afloat on an English se®. The writer has known from the outset that his B r i t i s h and Protestant background might well lend a bias to this study. i I l l For this reason he approached the task with some misgivings. Only the knowledge that he has always dis l iked r a c i a l and rel igious antagonism and that he possessed a basic respect for the views of French-Canadians and Catholics enabled him to proceed with a good con-science. Fairness has been the constant aspiration. Whether this has been achieved others may better judge. The writer must express his sincere appreciation to the clergy i n the French-Canadian parishes who have been extremely co-operative i n supplying valuable information. Many others also whose names appear on the pages following have furnished data which no printed sources could ever provide. Mr. Willard Ireland, Provincial Librarian and Archivist and Miss Amy Hutchinson, Librarian of the New Westminster Public Library and their staffs have been Kost gracious i n making available to me their newspaper f i l e s . Especially does the writer wish to acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. Margaret A. Orrosby of the Department of History at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia for her Invaluable assistance. CONTENTS Chapter I The Background and Beginnings of Freneh-Canadian Settlement 1 Exploration and the Fur Trad® 11 Missionary Endeavour i l l Late Nineteenth Century Settlement II French-Canadian Settlement in Relation to the Lumber Industry III Hecent French-Canadian Settlements, the Development of French-Canadian Parishes and the Battle to Maintain a Distinct Culture 17 The French-Canadian in British Columbia Today - The Statistical Picture and Its Implications V French-Canadians In British Columbia and the Separate School Question 71 Conclusion Appendices I MeLOughlln on the Inefficiency of Canadian Recruits for the Fur Trade II The French-Canadian Settlement in the Willamette Valley III French-Canadians Mentioned by Br* John McLoughlln in Connection with the Thompson Hiver Post or Other Interior Establishments IV Two of Simpson^ Personnel Beports on Company Establishments V Sloopson and the Roman Catholic Missions VI List of Contributors from the Personnel of the Northern Posts (under Super-intendent Peter Skene Ogden) to the Mission of Blanchet and Defers, November, 1841 VII Lists of French-Canadian Names Appearing under the Headings Deroche and Mlcones In Henderson's Gazetteer and Directory 133 f i l l Lists of French Naues Appearing under "Hatsic" or "Burleu" In the Henderson's Gazetteers and Directories, 1901, 1904, 1910, 1911 134 IX Name, Place of Origin, Approximate Time of A r r i v a l , Length of Stay and Other Particulars Regarding Early Durieu Residents 136 X Some Other Names of French-Sanadish Lumbermen In Early Directories 139 XI Mai l lardv l l l e Voting in the Provincial Elections 140 III Mai l lardv l l l e Voting in Federal Elections 143 Bibliography 145" I l lustrations Maps Durieu and Deroch© 33 A The Okanagan Valley 27 A Quebec, Sources of Lumber Workers 61 A Mai l lardvl l l e 75* A Present Settlements i n Southwestern Br i t i sh Columbia 91 A Photographs The old Catholie Church at Deroche 35 A An old canoe belonging to the Deroche family 35 A A sett ler's cabin at Deroche 35 A The present Catholic Church at Durieu 35 A The or ig inal church of Notre Daae d© kourdes, f l a i l l ardv l l l e , 1909 48 The home of w e ^ Bol leau and family 50 French-Canadian lumbermen on the docks at Fraser M i l l s 51 The Freneh-Ganadian Band (1913) 52 Tel l ler*s Store (1910) 62 A A Sunday Sleighride (1911) 62 A ^r-e»y- Bolleau and a company wood wagon 62 B il French-Canadian p i c n i c on Booth *s farm (about 1920) 62 B fiev* Edmond Hal l iard 0«M*-I..« founder of the f i r s t l a i l l a r d v l l l e parish (1909) 67 A An early Corpus Chr i s t ! proeession (about 1920) 6? A Father De Lestre, the teaching sisters and pupils of the parish school (about 1922) 67 B The P i t t Elver Road (Mai l lardvi l l e , 1924) 67 B The second Lourdes church 67 B The parish high school, fTotre Dame de Lourdes, Mal l lardv i l l e (1956) 119 A The parish elementary school, ffotre Dame de Fatlma, S a l l l a r d v l l l e (19$6) 119 A CHAPTER I TO BACKGROUND AND BEGINNINGS OP FRENCH-CANADIAN SETTLEMENT With the collapse of French resistance above the c l i f f s of Quebec i n September 1759, the t i t l e to the vast terr i tory vaguely called Canada passed soon into B r i t i s h hands. As Br i t i sh merchants moved into Montreal and assumed control of the commercial system le f t by the French they found themselves to an incredible degree dependent upon the Canadians they had conquered. In the development of their economic empire through the next century the Br i t i sh found the hardy French were to provide the bulk of the personnel, f i r s t i n the fur trade and later In a timber Industry which was to share with agriculture and the mineral Industries i n deposing the beaver as monarch of the Canadian economy. P o l i t i c a l and economic usanagement were Indeed surrendered to the B r i t i s h but as Crelghton has aptly expressed It "the Plerres and the Antolnes s t i l l kept their old, their key positions as canoeaen, ;• n . . J interpreters and guides." In the great drive toward the west i n the next 1 Crelghton, D . G . , The Commercial Empire of the St . Lawrence. Toronto, Byerson Press, 1937* P» 33. 2 several decades, i n the exploration of the seemingly endless array of mountains, lakes and r ivers and i n the establishment of trading posts, there was scarcely an enterprise In which most of the personnel were not French Canadians or their half-breed descendants bearing French names. Writers who have M a d e a special study of the role of the voyageur point out that the f i r s t three Important explorers of the West after t h e Conquest, Jonathan Carver, Alexander Henry a n d Peter Pond, a l l made use of French Canadians. The f i r s t of a t r i o of great overland explorers to have a great effect upon B r i t i s h Columbia history was Alexander Mackenzie. His f i r s t attempt ( 1 ? 8 9 ) to discover the great Western Sea brought him to the shores of the Arct i c . His companions were four Canadiens, Francois Sarrleau, Charles Ducette, Joseph Landry and Pierre Delorraej the Indian wives of two of these and a Gerstan, John Stelnbruch. It would seem also that Mackenzie's arduous voyage on this occasion was rendered more easy by the construction i n 1786 of a trading post on Great Slave Lake by Laurent Leroux and Fort fermllion i n the Peace River by Charles ©oyer In 1787* Laurent Leroux went with •• See, Sute, Grace L . The Voyageup. Hew York, Appleton, 1 9 3 1 , p» 25"8, and Broui l le t te , Benoit La Penetration du Continent Ataerlcaln par leg Canadiens Franeais. Montreal* Libralr ieGranger Fre^es t 1939 , p. 123» 3 Mackenzie as far as his post on Great Slave Lake on the f i r s t voyaged In the unflagging pace (coining 3000 miles in 102 days) set by the resolute Mackenzie the Indians grumbled constantly but to their honour the French-Canadian crew stood by him gallantly^* It was three years later when Mackenzie prepared to cross the Rockies* fifter spending the winter of 1792-93 on the upper reaches of the Peace six miles from the south of the Smokey Elver* he set out with a crew consisting of a Scot, Alexander tfaekay; six Canadiens, Charles Ducette and Joseph Landry from his or ig inal party and Francois Beaulleu, Baptiste Bisson, Francois Courtois, Jacques Beauehamp, as well as two Indians acting i n the capacity of hunters and Interpreters.5 Occasionally Mackenzie had to resort to r id icu le or an appeal to r a c i a l pride with one of his crewmen but in relating the account of his voyage the explorer paid tribute to the fa i th fu l voyageurs who would not ^ Broul l le t te , Benoit, La Penetration du Continent Americaln par les Canadiens Francais. Montreal* L i b r a i r i e Granger Freres, 1939. * Mackenzie*s Journal cited by Burpee, L . G . , The Search for the Western Sea. Toronto, MacMillan, 1935t p. 435. Lanctot, Qustave. Les Canadians Francais et Leurs Volslns du Sud. Montreal, Editions ^aliquette' 1941 (ch. 4 par Benoit Broull lette) p. 165*: 4 turn back when given freedoiB to do so, who endured | short rations, braved constant dangers and cheerfully/ built a new canoe to replace a wrecked one .6 > Another partner of the Horth West Company whose explorations were even ©ore extensive than MackenzieIs, though less significant, was Daniel William Harmon, a Hew Baglander by birth who joined the company in 1800 and the same year left for the west « for Grand Portage and Fort Charlotte, thence to Rainy Lake. For ten years thereafter Harmon explored the Asslniboine and Swan River Country, ©ovlng about from fort to fort trading with the Indians, hunting buffalo and studying the country side. Then he went on to explore the western reaches of the South Saskatchewan as well as the Athabaska district. During these aiid later voyages Harmon made frequent reference to the 1Canadiens1. He refers to his eanoeffien and Interpreters like 7 Baptiste Lafleur, or Baptiste Bouche (Boucher). He mentions also Joseph La Roque coming with two of John Stuart's mn to his station at Stuart Lake.0 ^ Mackenzie, Sir Alexander* Voyages frogs Montreal through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans. Toronto. Courier Press. I911« Vol. II pp. 122-23, 168, 194. 7 Harmon* B.WV, A Journal of the Voyages and Travels in the Inter!orltf North America. Toronto. Courier Pressj 1911 > pp. 147, 165V 8 Ibid., p. 199-5 Harmon's summation of th© voyageur's character is- on the whole cynical and unflattering yet he says they are rarely subject to depression of spirits, of long continuance, even when in circumstances the most adverse .......when necessity compels them to it* they subiait to great privation and hardship, not only without complaining hut even with cheerfulness and gaiety. David Thompson, th© geographer, was another ©f the great explorers of the Pacific coast who aeknow<* ledged his constant dependeae© upon the Canadien in th© course of his journeys* Before he came to th© territory which Is now British Columbia he mad©, is 1?97, a faaous voyage to th© Missouri river accompanied by "seven french Canadians,: a fine, hardy good humoured sett (sic) of ©en fond of ful l feeding, willing to hunt for i t , but more willing to en^ oy it....eating full eight pounds of fresh meat per day,w i^ The next year when exploring the sources of the Mississippi h© was 11 accompanied by the Canadians and an Indian guide.** In June, 1807, Thompson for the first time crossed th© Bockies and founded Kootenay House on 9 HaresoEij D.W., A Journal of the Voyages aqd Travels in the Interior or North America. Toronto, Courier Press, 1911, pi.235. 2 "J" • Tyrrell, J .B. , Davld_ Thompson's Narratives. Lanetot, pi 167* 6 Kootenay Lake. In the spring he was her© with Canadiens Mousseau, Lussier, Beaulieu and La Coabla (probably Laeombe). For some time after this thoapson traversed the Rockies twice yearly. Accompanying him were voyageurs D'Eau, Cote, Lussier, L'Amoureux, Vallade, Sattoche, P a r e i l , Du Hord, V i l l l a r d , Vaudette and two Indians as guides or interpreters. The account of every journey of Thompson included the xmmm of numerous French-Canadians whom he depended upon as boatmen and packers, Thompson, l ike most other leaders of exploration parties who kept journals of their voyages, took time to evaluate the voyageur. l i s appraisal , l ike Harmon's, was not an unmixed compliment. /the fact i s lean B a p t i s t © w i l l not think, he i s not paid for i t j when he has a minute's respite he smokes his pipe, his constant companion, and a l l goes well; he w i l l go through hardships, but requires a be l ly fu l at least once a day, good tobacco to smokej a warm blanket and a kind master who w i l l take his share of hard times and be the f i r s t (In danger. Naval and mil i tary men" are not f i t to command them i n distant countriesj neither do they place confidence xn one of themselves as a leader; they always prefer an Englishman but they ought always to be kept i n constant employment however l ight i t may be.1** Thompson's Narratives^ p. 107. Thompson*s famous contemporary Simon Fraser repeatedly acknowledged i n his journals his dependence upon the voyageurs. In his f i r s t journal te l l ing of his explorations i n 1B06 he na©ed son© twenty Canadiens.*3 After a year of exploring, with John Stuart, the upper reaches of the r iver now named after him and establishing two trading posts (later known as Fort St . James and Fort, Fraser) Fraser was met by Jules Maurice Quesnel and Hugh Paries with instructions from the Jforthwest company to explore the great r iver (believed to be the Columbia) that he had recently seen. After Fraser and Stuart had established a trading post and base at the confluence of the Fraser and Hechako Rivers they were ready for the epic journey down the most treacherous r iver and over the worst terrain they had yet encountered. From their new base. Fort George, Fraser, Stuart and Quesnel with two Indian guides and nineteen voyageurs embarked on May 28, 1808 with the Western Sea as their o b j e c t i v e , 1 4 The suffering, 13 Broul l le t te , p. 133. According to the Rev. A.G. Eorlce , The History of the northern Interior of B r i t i s h Columbia. Toronto. Brlggs. 1904. p. 55 three of Fraser*s Canadians led by La Malice were the very f i r s t resident Br i t i sh Columbians. They were stationed at Fort MacLeod upon i t s establishment i n 1805. 1 4 Simon Fraser*s Journal of a Voyage from the Rockies to the Pacif ic Coast, 1808 i n Masson, L.R S , Les Bourgeois de la .Compagnle du Word-Quest. Quebec, 1889, V o l . I , pp., 157-221. ' 8 hardships and per i l s endured by the party during the next two months seem almost incredible to the modern reader who is accustomed to enjoying the beauty of the Fraser Canyon from a modern highway* Trudging over endless portages, scaling almost perpendicular c l i f f s with ninety pound packs, gambling their l ives through suic idal rapids, the voyageurs did not turn back u n t i l they were only a few miles from th© Sea. Then Praser ? short of provisions^ instructed his men to return to Fort George. The foregoing pages have indicated the role of the voyageur i n the exploration of the area now composing B r i t i s h Columbia. It must not be overlooked other contemporary expeditions west of the Miss iss ippi or Great lakes were manned largely by French Canadians or French Canadian half-breeds bearing French names. Lewis and Clark depended largely ion French Canadians engaged at St . Louis or St . Charles and Clark praised the s k i l l of two excellent hunters lablche and Broui l lard who kept him supplied with ducks or other wild game.1^ S i r John Franklin i n his journey to th© Arctic 1819-22 made use of fifteen voyageurs^ Without them his ^ Broui l le t te , p. 168. 16 Hute, G . L . , The yoyageur,. New York, Appieton, 1931, P* 242. 9 journey would have been impossible* A voyage of quite a different kind was mad© along Fraser*s route some twenty years later by the dynamic l i t t le governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, George Simpson. Leaving York Factory on Hudson*s Bay on July 12th to make a thorough inspection of the far-flung domain of his company Simpson'$ travelling party embarked to the tune of Highland bagpipes, a bugle and the loud singing of eighteen Canadiens enjoying one of their voyageur airs.*? Simpson's Journals are replete with the names Of French-Canadian effiployees of the Hudson's Bay Company - middlemen, -j interpreters and occasionally clerks in trading, j iBore often listed as steersmen, bowsisen or simply as J voyageurs. The biographical appendix in the Athabaska Journal and the personnel lists given in the appendix y of "Simpson's 1828 Journey to the Columbia" throw much light on the occupations and personalities of the French-Canadian employees of the company. In the long and bitter' struggle between the fur empires of the Bay and the St. Lawrence the North West Company operating from the latter base suffered almost every natural disadvantage. The success in and even • ,. Ill' •. I . • I I. I I " . . . I . ' - I • - - . • - ^ s. • j - - - - — , * 7 Riesfa, Simpson's 1828 Journey to the Columbia. Toronto. Champlain Society, 19*7, Introduction 10 dominance of the fur trade which th© ffor* testers cam© to assume was du© almost entirely to the wise u t i l i z a t i o n of th© voyageur. In contrast with the Hudson^Bay Company's unenterprising practice of waiting for the furs to be brought each spring to th© Bay, th© Montreal merchants established scattered poats along the intr icate mag© of waterways extending to the .Arctic*, the Pac i f i c , the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico* The fur kingdom of the St . Lawrence prospered In defiance of geography u n t i l Selkirk established settlements athwart th© l ines of the Nor'westers and Col in Hobertson inspired th© Hudson's Bay Company to fight th© North West Company by their own reethods and upon their own terr i tory in athsbaska* Robertson's chief complaint was the want of suitable men i n the employ Of the Company. In a le t ter to th© directors dated 1812 Robertson argued that most of the men, l i k e Orkneymen, engaged for the trad© were untrained i n the knowledge and s k i l l s of th© west* Robertson wrote to the company directors, "I would warmly recommend to your notice the Canadians, . . . I t i s from those active j subordinate men that the N 0 rth West Company der iv©s j their greatest p r o f i t . " x o Th© Hudson's Bay Company *® Cited i n H.A. Innls, The Fur Trad© i n Canada. lew Haven, ta le University Press, 1 9 3 0 , p. 165. the term 'Canadian' used i n the correspondence of the fur trade almost invariably denoted French-Canadians. u completed more successfully with the Montreal merchants after 1815 when they implemented some of the changes in personnel policy recommended by Robertson. It is , interesting to notice the American Fur Company of John Jacob A3tor founded in New York (1800) employed voyageurs in much the same manner as the Northwest Company. One of the best evidences of the hearing given to Robertson's suggestion about the use of 'Canadians' in the employ of the company is the large number of Freneh names appearing in the journals or correspondence of Governor Simpson. Beside ©any references to 'Canadians' as groups of employees, over fifty names of individual French-Canadians appear in the Athabaska Reports and over thirty in the narrative of Simpson's 1828 Journey to the Columbia.^ Sometimes reports on the personnel of trading posts showed large numbers of voyageurs listed* Fort Saint Mary's in the Peace River employed twenty French-Canadians out of a total Oft of forty sen employed. Fort Wedderbura reported thirty-three voyageurs and a Canadian blacksmith out of a total of sixty-eight. At smaller establishments * 7 Rich, E.E. Simpson's Athabaska Reports. Toronto, ChaiBplaln Society, 1938 Simpson's 1828 Journey to the Columbia. Toronto, Chafisplain Society, 1947. 20 Athabaska Reports, p. 385. ® x xhia». p. 365. 12 like Harrison's House or Berens House over half the employees were French-Canadians.2^ Sometimes Simpson reported on the conduct and character of these workers along with that of others and he often advised his subordinates in their dealings with them.. In the fa l l of 1820 he told Duncan Finlayaon to re-engage the best voyageurs for on©, two or three year contracts with 'no advance on th© wages of this year' or oven #a considerable reduction' since the voyageurs were aware that 'Mr. McDonald brings one hundred men from Canada this year.*23 The voyageurs, mindful of their Importance, sought th© highest wages the traffic could bear from the recruiting agencies at Montreal and later at Lachine. On one occasion Simpson advised Duncan Flnlayson in the Peace River district, "You will bear in sind it is Canadians you now have to deal with, not cool phlegmatic Orkney men.i' He described Baptist* Bisson, a hunter employed by the company as the 'best man in the north*. La MaljLiee, who was a valuable man but difficult to manage, he s&id, should be handled •with tact' and Flnlayson should remember 'flattery is a cheap commodity'. He should try 'asking' stubborn Athabaska Reports, p. 365. 2 ^ Athabaskg Reports 29 Sept. 1820, p. 63. See appendices III and IV for examples of Simpson's personnel reports. 13 Grignon instead of 'ordering' hi© and ask Bouche i n ' c i v i l and pol i te terms' to do th© necessary tasks Sometimes the company agents at Montreal obtained a poor quality of voyageur and Slapson complained several tiaios i n this regard. On th© St . Mary's establishment he reported The generality of them are rea l ly such wretched creatures that th© Indians can scarcely believe they are the genuine race of Canadian voyageurs? indeed the striking contrast between thena and the servants of our opponent could lead on© to suppose that want of phis ica l (sic) strength and infirmity wer© essential requisites in the Company servants. g5 Although the Company was not always fortunate In i t s selection of French Canadian engages, Simpson's reports often showed these to be ©xtretaely valuable men who contributed a great deal to the success of the Company. Throughout th© Northwest they became an accepted part of th© fur trade and every fort or trading post had i t s complement of voyageurs. In tines- of stress these servants of the Company sometimes demonstrated strong loyalty to their employers. In 1843 near Fort Vancouver at the mouth of the Columbia 0 • Athabasks Reports* pp. 63-64, 83. 2 ^ I b i d . , p. 382.,».McLoughlin also complained about the quality of Canadians the company reeruiting agents were hiring toward the end of the company's reign in Oregon. See appendix I . 14 Rlver ; French-Canadians, former eiaployees of the Company* who had becoirie jsore or less independent and had settled i n the Willamette Valley* refused to co-operate with American settlers i n forcing a provisional government. Not u n t i l the inflow of American settlers had become overwhelming, and Governor McLoughlin had withdrawn his opposition, did the French-Canadians join the association. At the time of the f i r s t vote on the proposal f i f t y of the f i f t y -26 two dissentients were French-Canadians. Records of the personnel employed i n the Hudsonls Bay Company establishments i n the terr i tory which now comprises B. C. are very incomplete. Nevertheless from the letters of Br. John McLaughlin we can obtain some appreciation of the large numbers of French-Canadians employed i n the posts north of ,Puget Sound. In one eol lect lon of his letters covering the period i 8 2 9 - 3 2 some seventy names of French-Canadian employees appear In November 1824, a party was sent from Fort George (Astoria) by Br. McLoughlin to explore Puget Sound and the banks of the Fraser. Headed by James McMillan 2 6 See appendix I I . 2 ? Letters of Dr. John McLoughlin./ B .B. Barker editor, Portland, Oregon, His tor ica l Society, 1947. the party included beside three clerks and an in t e r * preter twenty French-Canadians;2® One of them was Jean Baptiste Proveau who had been one of Simon Fraser ' s voyageurs i n the epic journey down the Fraser, Then i n July 1827, another group again headed by McMillan came f r o » the new headquarters of the Columbia d i s t r i c t , Fort Vancouver, to the Fraser River to select a site and establish a trading Post to be called Fort Lahgiey. Sixteen of this group were Canadiens.^ McLoughlin's letters to Fort Langley sometimes mentioned the French Canadian employees by name (though often misspelled). In a l e t t e r of June 17, 1829 McLoughlin mentioned Pierre Charles^ Francois Annanee* Aimable firquoette, Joseph Pin, Pierre Thervien, Francois Carpentler and Louis Boisvert as being assigned to the Langley post,Sometimes names were given of men Intending to retire*31 Through the correspondence of McLoughlin with the forts i t is possible to trace the movement of the personnel frora one post to another. In addition to some who became y farmers upon retirement (as i n the Willamette) there 2 8 Nelson* Behys, Fort Langley 1827*1927. Fort Langley, 1927* P» «» 2 9 fold., p. 9. 3 0 McLoufghlln Letters (Barker) p. 12. Pierre Charles was a half-breed. 3 1 Ibid., p. 182. were some who t i l l e d the s o i l for company purposes. Etienn© Pepin who became the far© overseer at Fort Langley i s said to have been the f i r s t on© to plow th© s o i l at Langley P r a i r i e . Mentioned with hlra were ,—< B a s i l Brosseau, Dairyman^ ants fisreisse Falardeau. Fort Langley entered agriculture on a large scale after February 1839 when an agreement with the Hussian? American company called for payment i n fara produce In exchange for the lease of the Alaska Pan Handle.^ 2 As the company grew and the needs of i t s trade became d ivers i f i ed , the French Canadians f u l f i l l e d a variety of tasks u n t i l i t could be said of thers as Robertson had said of those employed by the forth West Co&pany -from 'these active, subordinate isen* the company derived • i t ' s greatest p r o f i t ' . ^ But the coming of the Freneh Canadians i n parties of exploration and for the maintenance of the vast economic enterprise which was the Hudson's Bay Company caused another for® of pene*> trat lon of the Pacif ic area. The existence of groups of unattended settlements of French-Canadians on the Pacif ic coast led to the cosing of Catholic missionaries, again 3 2 Denys Kelson, Fort Langley^ p. 15* also^age, W.If., S i r James Bougies and B r i t i s h Columbia. Toronto university Press, 1930, p. 93-33 gifgpson•' s Athabaska Reports« ed* £•.£. Blch, Toronto, Champlain Society, 1938, cited i n Introduction, page XXXII. 17 French-Canadian, who were t© play their role i n the development of Canada's west coast* The establishment of organi2ed missionary ac t iv i ty i n the Pacif ic Northwest dates from the a r r i v a l at Fort Vancouver in November, 1838, of Fathers JJorbert F.j Blanchet and Modeste Pernors after a six month journey ! from Bed Hiver. Both teen, Quebec-born, distinguished themselves by their careers of missionary effort on the Paci f ic Coast. Dr. John McLoughiin, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company i n the Columbia department, suggested as early as 1834 that the Catholic sett lers , mostly French-Canadlen, In the Willamette region should seek a resident priest to minister to them. The f i r s t appeal to the closest Canadian bishop, Joseph Norbert Provencher, at Bed River, brought no response. A second pet i t ion caused Bishop Provencher, who had no priest , to bring the matter to the attention of Joseph Slgnay, bishop of Quebec. Thus began the process which culminated i n the f i n a l commissioning of Father Blanchet to the Oregon coast. The petitions of the settlers seem to have had the approval of Hudson's Bay Company o f f i c ia l s at Fort J Vancouver who urged that the Canadian priests be sent speedily. They offered free transportation under company protection as well as a supply of their needs 18 u n t i l the mission had becoee established.3* the governor and London committee Of the company were not enthusiastic about the proposed missionary enterprise since i t was to be south of the Columbia i n terr i tory that the company feared would become American. At f i r s t the company refused to approve the plan and then gave permission providing that the s ite be moved further north. Only in Bareh, 1838, did Governor George Simpson indicate that the London authorities had given consent to the p r o p o s a l . ^ At the same titee It i s necessary to point out that i t was the general policy of the Company to assist Canadian missionaries. James Doaglas spoke later of theoa as having always "pursued their ca l l ing under the Company's protection, a boon which they repaid by the roost earnest devotion to our c a u s e . . . , . , " ^ Francis Norbert Blanchet the f i r s t missionary to be appointed, was born at St , Pierre, Riviere du Sud, Quebec, i n 1785. He was ordained to the pr ies t -hood In July, 1819 after training at the minor seminary 3* Edmund Mallet, Memoirs of Archbishop F . f l . Blanchet M.S. (unpublished) cited in Lyons, Sister L .M. Francis Norbert Blanchet. Washington, Catholic University of America, 1940 p. 1. Hereinafter referred to as Lyons. 3 * I b i d . . p. 2, & Letter from James Douglas to S ir George Siispson ?th March, 1845, cited in McLonghlln's Letters. 3rd series (1844-46) Toronto, Champlain Society, 1944, p.. 185*; 19 of Quebec and completing with dis t inct ion his theo-log ica l course at the Sulpieian major seminary i n that c i ty . Following his ordination. Father Blanchet was stationed for several months at the Cathedral of Quebec. Then came a seven year period of service i n the back-woods of Hew Brunswick aiaong the Acadians and Mlcmac ^ Indians. Here he was schooled for his la ter experiences i n the w i l d s « o f Oregon. The next nine years he spent at the parish of the Cedars i n the d i s t r i c t of Montreal. While he was here he was chosen for th© Oregon assign-Kent. Although The Cedars;: was a rendezvous for travellers and voyageurs from a l l across the continent there Is no evidence to suggest that Blanchet was aroused to any missionary interest by these frontiersmen. Blanchet, a humble man, received the suggestion from Bishop Signay of his appointment to the Columbia country with soise concern. He doubted his "divine vocation" for such a trying task. F i n a l l y he l e f t the matter In the hands of his immediate superior, the Bishop of Montreal* who indicated to Bishop Provencher at Bed River that Blanchet would be released for the Columbia only i f the Bishop of Quebec replaced him by a ©an of equal capacity. Blanchet accepted the Bishop's attitude as guidance for his own decision and signif ied his acceptance of the' new appointment.3? L v o n s , p. 6. 20 Father Blanchet set out in March, 1§38, for his new post via the Red River settlement, ht Red River he met Dr. John McLoughlin who gave him information about the people of Willamette. Here, also, he met Father Modeste Demers, a missionary oi so£§e experience who was to be his co-worker i n Oregon. The priests arrived at Fort Vancouver on November 24* and began their work at once. They under-took their task with optimism. Pernors worked arduously to master the Chinook jargon i n order to fac i l i t a t e missionary work among the Indians. Both missionaries were pleased with the co-operativeness of the French-Canadian farmers who had prepared a church before their coming. Within a short time after their a r r i v a l the Catholic missionaries encountered Protestant com-pet i t ion led by a Methodist missionary Reverend David tee. Eager to extend Catholic enterprise among the Indians before Protestant influence should Increase Blanchet besought further help from Bishop Signay i n Quebec. The slow process of obtaining the approval of the Hudson's Bay Company o f f i c ia l s before more help could be brought via Red River was very frustrating to the two Catholic missionaries. Both were pleased when a Belgian Jesuit pr iest , Father de Smet arrived 21 In the area via St . Louis i n 1840.3 s Although Governor Simpson did authorize the entry of more priests the f i r s t two to cose made their journey without the help of the Hudson's lay Company. Two young priests , Anthony Langlols and John B a p t i s t s char^Bolduc, whom Bishop Signay selected, took passage on a ship from Boston i n September, 1841 and arrived at Fort Vancouver a year later via Cape Horn and the Sandwich Islands. Both were to remain In the Columbia d i s t r i c t for a number of years before they returned to Canada. Blanchet and Demers had come to the Oregon country f i l l e d with zeal for the conversion of the native inhabitants i n the Columbia River Valley, the Puget Sound region and Hew Caledonia, Only a lack of assistance seems to have hindered the success of their work among the Indians who generally welcomed the missionaries and received their teaching readi ly . The interest of Father Demers i n the Indians 38 in t n Q n e x f c few decades, Father de Stset was to become the best known of the missionaries of the Northwest. He came i n answer to an appeal from the Flathead Indians for a missionary to labour among them. Besides carrying on a successful programme of evangelisation among the Indians, de Smet travelled to St . Louis a number of tlmes^ seeking and obtaining further help. His presence was a great encouragement to Blanchet and Demers* 22 to the north of the Golu&bia brought hi© io September* 1841 j to the lower Fraser. Sere at Fort Langley on ^ September 3» ae baptised ai&ety-i&in© children and 263 j other persons in th© next three days.39 Th© meetings with the Indians and the personnel were held on the cleared prairie near th© fort. Defers estimated that on some occasions as many as 3000 cam© to listen to him. Many Indians came from far afield and the priest hoped to be able to Christianise even th© most hostile of the native groups. On this trip Bemers baptised in a l l about 765 people - an encouraging record for his forty-four day absence from Fort Vancouver.4** Father Berne*? initiated an energetic programme of evangelism in New Caledonia around centres like ^ Fort St. James, Fort Alexandria and Williams lake which was carried on extensively later by other missionaries. While he was on his way back to Fort Vancouver f ram his missionary Journey of 1042 Father Bolduc, mentioned earlier, was accompanying Chief Factor James Douglas in the establishment of a new ^ kyons. PP» ll6-117f Soway* F*f • and SehoHleld, S.O.S.j Br1tish Columbia. Vancouver, S.J, Clarke, 1914 Vol. II f p. 607. 4 0 Howav and Scholefleld. Vol, II, p. 608 and Sforice, A . G . , T^ he History of the Catholic Church Western Canada. Toronto, ausaon. 1910. Vol* II. p. 292• 23 company base on Vancouver Island, Fort V i c t o r i a , later to replace Fort Vancouver as company headquarters. During the next few years much evangelizing work among the Indians was done by one of Father De Smet's Jesuit assistants, Father John Bfobili. Assisted by a young lay brother, Jfobl l l worked extensively i n the v i c i n i t y of Fort George and Fort S t . James and vis i ted the €hi ieot in t r ibe . At the cam© time Father De Smet was working among the Hbotenays i n the region of the sources of the Columbia. Among the Indians here he was pleased to find that a French Canadian trader, Bdwa#d-Borland had done much i n the f ive years since the f i r s t missionary v i s i t to maintain Christ ian bel ief and conduct among the Indians.** One of the great forward steps i n Roman Catholic enterprise on the northwest Pacif ic coast came with the elevation of Father Blanchet in February, 1844, to the rank of archbishop of the newly-created See of Oregon City and Father Demer's appointment as Bishop J of Vancouver Island. Humble about his own a b i l i t i e s , and mindful of the vastness of his diocese comprising Vancouver Island and the d i s tr i c t s of Princess Charlotte 4 * jforice, History of the Catholic Church i n Western Canada. Vo l . II , pp. 294-295* .,1, <&«* \ ' Island and New Caledonia, Bishop Demers faced his new assignment with anything but enthusiasm, The greatest of his problems was lack of missionaries. XV The solution to the bishop's problem of personnel for the ministrations of his diocese was to come at last i n the assistance of- Oblate: missionaries j from France. Demers had noted the quality of the four Oblate fathers who had come to the Walla walls, d i s t r i c t i n 1847 and had asked the Bishop of Marseilles for some of the same order in his diocese. The f i r s t Oblate station under Demers* jurisdict ion was bui l t at Ksqulmalt in 1857-58 and was under the direct ion of 1 Rev. J . L. D*EerbomeE* From this post D'Heroomee J directed the Oblate establishments already existing i n what was then called Oregon as well as those on Vancouver Island and the mainland of what i s now B, C . It was the concern which D'Berbomez shared with Bishop Demers for the Indians of the interior that caused him to despatch Fathers Charles tf. Pandosy and Pierre Richard to found an establishment beyond the Hope Mountains. Thus was founded the Mission of the Immaculate Conception on the eastern shores of Lake Okanagan on October 8, 1859. Okanagan Mission, as i t came to be known, was to provide a key centre of j Catholic and to some extent French«-Canadian, ac t iv i ty for several deeades. During this period, as the 1 Catholic missions to the Indians extended their efforts,there was to be e predominance of French names < among the priests who journeyed t i re less ly among the ( tribes throughout the province. Pandosy, Richard, Durieu, Fouquet, Cherouse, Jayol, Grandldier, Le Jeune were names that became everywhere respected, even by Protestant r iva ls of the Oblates. But the priests i n j j / almost every case were "Franpais de France" not "Franca i s de Canada"• Nevertheless the ' tra i l -b laz ing* / had been done by the Quebec priest , Father Bemers, i n / co-operation with Father Blanchet and under the ' direct ion of Bishop Slgnay of Quebec. It was the l i t t l e clusters of French-Canadian employees of the Hudson's Bay Company who had been the chief loca l supporters of the missionary programme.^ It was only the patronage of the diocese of Quebec that had per-mitted the establishment of the Oregon missions and had nurtured the struggling church through the days of i t s infancy. j^ With the groundwork done by the French-Canadian voyageurs, fur traders and missionaries the land of B r i t i s h Columbia was prepared for settlement not only by other French-Canadians but many thousands of immigrants from across the seas. The power of th© gold discoveries i n such areas See appendix VI . 26 as Caledonia and later th© Klondyke to attract Immigrants is a familiar story* One of the fascinating aspects of each mining community that mushroomed into being was its polyglot composition* Almost no race ' or social level: could boast immunity to the lure of gold which brought fortune-hunters swarming Into the' area from every corner of the world. Reports of th© -\ time and the Gallic names of numerous mining claims or • temporary settlements suggest that F r e n c h or French- j Canadian miners had a considerable share in the quest | for gold.4^ Some of the best known French-Canadian pioneers of British Columbia were attracted by gold discoveries in the southern interior of the Province. One of these was Joseph Christian who had worked with pick and shovel on the Cariboo Road after coming from St. Anieet, Quebec*44 Christian took part in the promising but short-lived mining boom at Rock Creekjni 1861* When the enterprise there failed, he settled at Mission Creek near Okanagan Lake with an immigrant E l i Lequim© ^ 43 Many of the miners were from France and had participated in the California Gold Rush. (See Ireland, W.E., "The French in British Columbia", British. Columbia Historical Quarterly* April, 1949, Vol. XIII, pp. 67-89). ^ 4 4 Stelson, Denys, "The Story of August Gillard", pkanasan Historical Society. 1st Report, 1926, p. 18. J 27 tpom France, who later became well-known in the Okanagan as a trader and stockraiser.45 Joseph us^- r Christian journeyed to his native Quebec village ^ J / * * * ) * in 1869 and returned with a bride. In the next few years other immigrants from the same area joined the settlement. ' Another pioneer of the Okanagan who came in quest of mineral wealth was LucJJirouard, a native of v Nicolet County, Quebec Born in 1821, Girouard spent two years of his youth on a Boston whaler, some time In the United States army serving under General John C. Fremont and six years gold-mining in California before he came to British Columbia by way of Fort Colville. Girouard became one of the promoters of the Cherry Creek Silver Mining Company, a venture which gave great promise but produced meager results. He pre-empted 160 acres of land at the site of the present city of Vernon, then the "Priests* Valley" Post Office was opened in 1884 Girouard received an appointment as Post If aster which he held until 1891. He was ) credited with planting the first orchard in the d i s tr ic t . w / 45 Okanagan Historical Society. 4th Report, 1931 . 12-13, 6th Report, 1935* P- 57. 45 o: PP 46 Okanagan Historical Society. 2nd Report, "The Cherry Creek Silver Mining Company", 1927» p. 41, 43th Report, 1949, pp. 90-92. THE OKANAGAN "VALLEY Awn B.APT,Y ^ T T T M ^ s a The famous Ofcanagah Mission became a focal ^ centre for French Canadian settlement in the Okanagan valley after Father Pandosy, an Oblate priest, revived misTsilonary enterprise in the Okanagan in 1862* He brought with him from Hope, August Oillard, Jules Blondeau and Francis Ourtoland to settle in the country around the mission he established at Anse au Sable. Other French Canadians who took up land in the district were Cyprian Laurence, Theodore Laurence and William Plon.4? Gillard and Blondeau staked out 600 acres where, the city of Kelowna now is. The interests of various French-Canadians who played a part in settling the Okanagan seem to have been linked In a fascinating manner. William Plon is said to have brought Father Pandosy into the Okanagan and also built the first house in the Valley. Joseph Christian met Father Pandosy in Victoria and was drawn to the Okanagan by the priest's Information.4^ Christian, in his turn, Is credited with bringing other settlers from Quebec who began farming in the neighborhood of the Mission. Some who came went north to the mines at Cherry Creek and then later moved to the fertile Lumby area. The , 7 4 ? Qrmsby, M.A., A History of the Okanagan Valley, a graduating essay* the University of British Columbia, April, 1929, pp. 81, 86. J 4 8 Ormsby, M.A., A Study of the Okanagan Valley of B. C , a Master's thesis, the University of British Columbia, April 1931* p* 26. 29 Provincial Voter's l i s t of 1876 for the Okanagan poll ing div is ion l i s ted fourteen French Canadian farmers at Okanagan MissjLon. 4^ By the turn of the century the French-Canadian settlement at j^B&y ^ar outnumbered I that at the Mission but a sol id core of the original} farming settlement remained, The two founders of the Lumby settlement were Peter Blssette and George LeBlane, partners i n a Cherry Creek mine, Blssette, who came to Lumby by way of a Massachusetts cotton-mill , pre-empted 320 acres ^ adjoining the present s i te of Lumby on March 6* 1877» The same month (March 27) George LeBlanc pre-empted a similar parcel to th© east of Bissette's and members of both families remain to this day i n th© d i s t r i c t . ^ ° Most of the French-Canadian settlers at Lumby and Okanagan Mission turned to farming, but some became j engaged i n lumbering or trades l i k e carpentry when I mining ventures f e l l ed . When the scene of mining excitement moved to the Kootenays i t was a Joseph Bourgeois who staked a claim j i n the Rossland region i n 1880, In 1889, with his 4 9 Printed i n the Okanagan Hi s tor i ca l Society 3rd Report. 1929, p. 20| ? ° Norris, L . Some Place Barnes In the Okanagah. Okanagan His tor ica l Society Report, 1939, pi 51» 30 partner J . Morris* he discovered the greatest of a l l the Red Mountain mines, the Le Roi .^v By 1901 there was a c i ty of seven thousand and the modern c i ty of Rossland, the "Johannesburg of B r i t i s h Columbia" had become th© pride of th© Province.52 Some idea of the degree of French-Canadian part*^] ic ipat lon In the mining ac t iv i t i e s of the period i n the Kootenays can be obtained from the Voters* l i s t s of 1890, 1894 and 1900.^ In ©ach community of the East ^ and West Kootenay Electoral Dis tr ic ts a smattering of residents classed as laborers, miners or free miners bore French names. French names are common i n the l i s t s for Slocan Riding (Xaslo, Hew Denver, Slocan d i s t r i c t ) and Revelstoke d i s t r i c t including Bfekusp and Comaplix where th© French Canadians were employed more extensively in lumbering; than In mining,^ 4 The Voters* L i s t for Rossland Riding In May, 1898, contains a number of miners* names which are c learly French-Canadian. 55 5 1 Howay and Scholefield, V o l . II , p. 472-473. * 2 IM<|., p . 474. 53 Sessional Papers. B r i t i s h Columbia, 1890| p. 721, 1894s 4 $ i - 4 $ , 477, 495-496, 1900« p . 401,431. 5 4 I b i d . . 1900J p, 1212, 5 * I b i d . . 1900: p. 477-498. 31 A l i s t of names of persons who had moved or i n some way became ine l ig ib le for voting i n the Rossland Riding appears i n the Rossland Miner, October 16, 1909*"^ A similar l i s t i n the ^Fernle Free Press" of A p r i l , 1910, bore out the same e v i d e n c e * S o m e examples among them are Joseph Allegrand, Alphons© Bourgeon, Isadore Beaulieu, Eugene Croteau and Alphonse Dandurand. It would seem that among the flow of laborers who came to mine at each successively productive claim, French-Canadians played as much a part as any other non-Anglo-Saxon element* One occupation that had attracted the French Canadians i n the era of the fur trade and which continued into the mining period was the sale and transport of supplies* In the 1850's. Fort Okanagan i t s e l f was i n charge of four successive French-Canadians, Laprade, Glngras, La Fleur and Duchouquette. Many French-Canadians who settled i n the Okanagan were employed as packers along the supply routes which fed and equipped the mining v i l lages . S imilarly ; the thriving express and freight business up and down the Cariboo t r a i l attracted 56 The Rossland Miner. October 16, 1909. 57 The Fernle Free Press. A p r i l 29* 1910* 3a other Canadiens* Mule trains were the first common means of transport, then camels were introduced as pack animalsj but with the completion of the Cariboo wagon road horse-drawn wagons and stages came into use* In some localities in the Cariboo* however* ox-teams were regularly used for drawing wagons* Shortly after i860 some of the 0 bull-puncher s'V, es the ox-teamsters were called* discovered that the land in the lower Fraser Valley was suitable for stock-raising and began to use the grass around the Harrison River and Hicomen Island for wintering cattle. One of the first to do this was Joseph Deroche who* on the north side of Nleomen Island, had a place to keep his cattle during the season when activity in the Cariboo was slow. Deroche and another freighter called lacDonald gradually gave up their ox-freighting and settled on their farms Perhaps the families of these men tied them down and the opportunity for employment offered later by railroad construction influenced them to stay where they had at first estab-lished only seasonal farms* The railroad point opposite Nicomen Island, later known as Deroche, as J ^aibbsrd, J*E,, Early H s^tor .^ of, the, fm*K Valley* 180&-1885* h Masters thesis, the University of British Columbia, 1937, pp. 185-203» 205* 33 well as Sflcotten, became a miniature French-Canadian-centre as farmers with names like Beaulien, Deneauo Parent9 Rouleau, Tremblay (Joe Deroche's son-in-law) and Caron took up land in the area in the 1890's.^ 9 With the coming of the railroad In the l880's new French-Canadians came into the Lower Fraser Valley either to work on the railroad or to farm the land which the railroad now made accessible. One region where this occurred was at Hatzic Prairie (first called Burton's Prairie after Ralph Burton a bull-puncher who settled there). Here a Michel LaCrois, a former employee of the Hudso# Bay^ Company at Babine and Fort Simpson settled before the railroad came and another La Croix, Gabriel, opened a store when railroad construction had begun.*$0 Within a few years one of the most homogeneous French settlements in the provind had been established at Hatzic Prairie, By 1901 all" but three of twenty s^even names listed In the directory/ 61 for Hatzic Prairie Postal station were French. _ 59 Henderson's Gazetteer and Directory. Vancouver, 1901, p. 128; 1904, p. 134; 1911, p. 1451 and 1470, 6 0 Olhbard. p. 205, 261. 6* Slenderson's Directory. 1901» p. 163« 33A rVEROflHE. DTTRTTTTT A Km SURROTTNnTNfl A R E A S 1 I To follow page 33 34 On© of the key figures In the Hatsic Pra ir i e settlement of French-Canadians (which became known as Bujdeu-named after the beloved priest* la ter bishop) was Almable Lagaee* A native of Rimouski, he home-steaded on "the Prairie** after working by contract on the Canadian Paci f ic Railway construction* Later, he j became postmaster i n the d i s t r i c t as well as a successful farmer* Another early settler was Mesas Bouchfer who came from fhree Rivers after working for a time i n the cotton mil ls of Massachusetts* Up to 1 9 1 0 and 1 9 1 1 the farming community continued to grow. * Some Of the residents carried on logging and lumbering in addition to their farming and some of the Bouchfer family are today engaged i n lumber manufacturing* 6«S prom a conversation with his son Louis Lagaee at Mission on July 22, 1955* See also the Henderson Directories of 1901, If04.t 1911* ^ j-a addition to the many French-Canadians who came to the area were some Frenchmen of Franc© or French-Swiss. On© of these was Louis Garret, born i n Geneva i n 1864. After residing for some years i n Washington where he logged and i n Cal i fornia where he worked i n the orchards he came to McConriell Creek, adjacent to Hsizle Pra ir ie i n 1894. Another sett ler was Jean Seux who came from France where he had been a teacher. In France, Seux had apparently learned well the art of wine*maklng. In B* C. th© i l l e g a l sale of his product brought him into confl ict with the repres-entatives of th© law. A happy l i f e was maintained In Hatzic community where the French language was regularly used i n conversation. From an interview with Mr. Louis Carrat i n Mission, July 22, 1955* 35 Old residents of Hatzic Prairie, the few alive who s t i l l remember, love to tel l of the early days when they took their butter and eggs down to New Westminster on the old Beaver or by rowboat or by train, Usually they went to Mission by rowboat, down Hatzic Slough times a market was found for products at the old store at Dewdney, The great flood of 1894 imposed many hardships on the settlers, but such vicissitudes seemed to strengthen their comradeship. Several of the Lagace died In 19*2 at the age of 87 and Louis Carrat, one of the best authorities on the history of the Durieu settlement, died in February 1956, at the age of 91, 5s the settlement of Durieu took root and grew,-] a few other French Canadians began to farm at Mission j -J nearby. There was a close connection between the two communities because an Oblate father came regularly from St. Mary*s Mission to hold services for the residents. The first of these, and perhaps the most beloved, was Father Leon Fouquet. Theodore Theroux^ who was employed as a lay teacher in the Indian School in Mission in 1901, later was to be a key figure in establishing at Ms111ard-ville in 1909 the largest French-Canadian settlement west 6$ of the Rockies, original pioneers lived to an advanced age. Aimable 64 Henderson*s Gazetteer and Directory, 1901, 35A The o l d Roman C a t h o l i c A dugout canoe b e l o n g i n g Church at Deroche t o t h e Deroche f a m i l y A p i o n e e r ' s c a b i n a t The p r e s e n t Roman C a t h o l i c Deroche. I t i s s a i d t o c h u r c h a t Durieu have been b u i l t by A. B e a u l i e u To f o l l o w page 35 mms. CHAPTER I I TO THE. lulSBR IptiSfRY As writers of the present day begin to real ize that the story of Canada £ is rich with sagas of men's eonfliet against eavironffiental as well as p o l i t i c a l forcesj the completion i n 1885 of the Canadian Paci f ic railway Is seen as a marvel of human accomplishment. The welding of the band of steel across the vast terr i tory produced a sense of national destiny and within a very few years a booming Inter-regional commerce that beggared the wildest dreams of Canadian leaders. One of the remarkable effects of the completion of the rai lroad was the rapid and vast growth of population on the Canadian pra i r i e s . It has been estimated that there were probably not more than 75-000 people between the Gre;at Lakes and the Rockies i n 1071. By 1901 the population had increased to 420,000 and by 1911 when the wave of immigration was at i t s height to 1 ,328 ,000 . 1 One of the major problems for the multitudes of newcomers was obtaining an Census of Canada, 1911, Volume I , p. 522, 3? adequate supply of building materials. Sod bouses ' were very common but as the needs for homes* barns and granaries increased, the supplies of lumber available from eastern or United States mil l s could not keep abreast with the demand* B r i t i s h Columbia coastal lumbermen, ever on the lookout for new outlets, were quick to take advantage of the expanding Pra ir i e market* the lumber mil ls i n the Kootenay d i s t r i c t were even more advantageously situated* Lumbering i n this area had begun as an adjunct to mining which created the customary demand for materials for camps, sluice boxes and mine-props. The building of the Crow 's Nest PassT"\ Railway i n 1895 unlocked an extensive new timber supply\ at the very time when rapid settlement of the Prairies was In progress* fts long as large-scale production was economically pract ica l i n the Interior, the fortunes of the "Mountain Mil l s" rose or f e l l in relat ion to the crop or market conditions on the Pra ir ies . Indeed the timber industry of the entire province could never conceal i t s persistent surveillance of the crop situation* Lumbering Journals l ike the Western Lumberman almost Invariably Interpreted the fluctuations of their trade In terms of the grain s i t u a t i o n . 2 -1 4 - The Western Lumberman, (published from 1903-1907 as the Lumberman and Contractor) Vancouver, B . C . , Hugh C. Maclean Publishing Company. 38 At the time when the B r i t i s h Columbia lumber / industry was developing, the Eastern lumber business had already begun to show decay* Although tota l production figures did not indicate a serious decline u n t i l about 1 9 1 0 the best stands of timber i n Ontario/ and Quebec had been exhausted before the turn of the oehtury. the result of this was that some Eastern / lumber investors began to transfer their interests to the Paci f ic Coast where timber w a s p l ent i fu l , comparatively cheap and readily marketable* 3 As lumber capital cam© westi many of the lumber-Jacks who had deforested the valley of the Ottawa and other eastern pine and spruce areas also moved* As early Y as 1 8 8 2 Eastern lumbermen l i k e Fe l ix Cardinal were making themselves at home i n the company of Douglas f i r s and Western red cedars along the shores of Burrard In le t* 4 Directories of the period 1 8 8 2 - 1 8 9 2 showed an 3 One example o-f this transfer westward of Bastern capital was the construction in 1889 of a large mill near New Westminster by James McLaren, president of the Ottawa bank (also a lumberman at Buckingham, Quebec) and another investor Frank Ross* On January 31st of 188$ the B« pff Oagettf (p. 71) listed McLaren and Ross as applying for a timber license to cut timber on four limits on the shores of Pitt Lake and in other nearby districts. 4 Cardinal was listed in the British Columbia Directory for the year 1882-3 as a logger at Moodyviile. Williams, R.T., Britlah Columbia Directory. 1882-3» R.T. Williams, Victoria, B. C , 1882-3, p. 238. 39 Increasing number of the French-Canadian names which had long been so common on the payrolls of Quebec* Ontario i I and Hew England mills* Professor I*ower has remarked on the significant role of the French Canadian In the exploitation of Canada*s forests* The French-Canadian was the traditional lumberjack* As bushman, river driver and millhand he was reliable, docile, cheerful, efficient and cheap* He had a pride of calling, a low standard of living and an authoritarian type of society behind him to keep him contented with his lot*' As he points out, these men with their esprit de cores* their friendly rivalry between gangs for the best outputs, followed lumbering across Eastern Canada and the prairies and for a long time before the tide of European immigrants provided competition for them, were the labour backbone of the industry. 7 Lower, A.I.M., The fforth American Assault on the Canadian Forest* Toronto, Ryerson, 1938, p» 189. ° Some idea of their early penetration even before the turn of th© century (into the B. C. lumber industry) may be obtained from the following table* Some French-Canadian Karnes listed as Lumber workers in B.C. Directories (1882, 1885* 1891, 1892) Cota, Felipe (Cote Philippe)....Mlllhand, Websters Mil l , Hew Westminster Bruneau, Frank Gulbault, Julius Derrlenne, Henry Mlllhand, Brunette Sawmills, New Westminster Fireman, Royal City Planing Mills Logger, Moodyville 4 0 In places there are numerous hints that early participation by Freneh-Canadlahs in B. C. lumbering was widespread, A representative of the B* G, Govern-ment travel Bureau* collecting Information in th® Sechelt Peninsula recently* found that French-Canadian hand-loggers bed been working there In the lS80> S > ? A Pete Genelle opened a lumber mill at Hakusp in 1892, ft the first in the area, 0 The B. C* Provincial Voters List of 1894 indicated a Scattering of Canadien millmen in the Revelstoke, Nakusp, Rossland, Comaplix areas1 by Cardinal, Felix. . . . . . . . . . .Logger, Ifoodyvllle Gervalse, Louis..,........Teamster, Moodyville Godden (Godin) Henry..*..,Longshoreman, Moodyville Guerin, Idward.*..*.......Logger, Moodyville Lachapell®, Louis.**••*.#.Shingle maker, Hastings Mill L e r a n g e . . • • . , . . . • * « . . , . . • • S h i n g l e maker, Hastings Mill Cote* Francois*•••,*.»••*.Millman, Granville Desbin (Desblen?) Louis...Logger, Granville Gagnon, F * . . . . . . . .Mlllesan, Granville Toulsaint, . . . . . . . . . . . . . M i l l m a n , Granville Williams, R*T. British Columbia Directory. 1882^ 3, Victoria, B,T. Williams, Publisher, 1882, pp. 2079238,240. See also appendix X. 7 Mr. John Buckley, to the writer, February 21, 1956* 8 Johnson, Mrs. Pioneer Pays of ftakusp and the Arrow Lakes. Uakusp, B.C., 1951, p. 13? see also p. 128 regarding the Genelle brothers and other mills. 41 1900 the number had increased.^ Joseph Desehamps, who came from Prescott, Ontario, in 1897 worked in Rossland for a time as mill-foreman, then, became partner of a Louis Blue (Bleu?)c In a few years he was known as a very prominent Kootenay lumber-man, citizen and advocate ( of French-Canadian labor importation. -The phenomenal growth of the Pacific Coast lumber / industry In the first decade of the twentieth century created an unprecedented demand for unskilled or semi-skilled labour in logging, booming and lumber manufacturing. Thousands of Orientals found employment in the lumber industry. The Japanese, adapted themselves to many different tasks; the Chinese were used particularly in shingle manufacturing* and the East Indians, obtained work at a variety of jobs yards. especially in the mills and Opposition to the employment of Asiatics gradually-developed from many sources. White laborers resented th© competition of Orientals whose low standard of living, they claimed, invited payment of low wages. At lumber 9 Voters List. Province of British Columbia. 1894, 1900. 4 1 0 Rossland Miner. February 2, 1910, p. 1,, August 10, 1922, p. 1. Mills in the Rossland and Nelson areas that Desehamps was associated with were th© China Creek Lumber Company, a mill at Birchbank, one at Helson, one at Goat Creek and several In conjunction with American investors. 41 1900 the number had increased»^ Joseph Desehamps, who eaise from Preseo>tf^ Ontario ~ in 1097 worked in Eossland for a titee as mill-foreman, tben^ became partner of a Louis Blue (Bleu?), in a few years he was known as a very prominent Kootenay luiabor-trJn, citizen and advocate of freach-Canadian labor importation* * w / • / / The phenomenal growth of/the Pacific Ooast lumber created an unprecedented demand for unskilled or semi-skilled labour in logging, beaming and lumber manufacturing, thousands of Orientals found|employ©ent in the lumber industry. The Japanese, adapted themselves to many different tasks; the Chines^ were used particularly in shingle manufacturing, and the fast Indians*, obtained } work et a variety of Jobs especially in the mills and yards* / V , ^position to the . B p l o r . t n t of Asiatics gradually ^ developed from many sources. White laborers resented the competition of Orientaljs whose low standard of living, they claimed, Invited payment of low wages* At lumber / \ ^ yoterjs Ll.st*, Province..of British ,Colu$4fu 1894, 1900. *° Rossland Ulner* February 2* 1910* p. X,, August 10* 1922. p. 1* Mills in the Rossland and Nelson areas thai Desehamps was associated with were the China greek Lumber Company, a mill at B c^hbarik*. one at Nelson, one at Goat Creek and several in conjunction American investors* x © I l l s Anti -Asiat ic demonstrations occurred and Incidents of fighting were not uncommon. Merchants cr i t i c i zed industr ia l i s ts who hired Orientals (usually poor store customers) who, they said, sent most of their pay-cheques back to their native land. Sometimes the employers themselves expressed dissatisfaction with the work they obtained from the Asiatics (especially the las t Indians), They re l ied on them, they said, because of the inadequate supply of labor and the inefficiency of some white labor. Many employers agreed that white workers did superior work but irresponsible absenteeism 11 on the part of some caused coisplalBts. Dissatisfaction with Oriental workers led to a decision by the manage-ment of the largest lumber plant in Br i t i sh Columbia to experiment with imported French-Canadian labour. the large m i l l established near lew Westminster i n 1889 J>y Ottawa investors James McLaren and Frank Boss, experienced a long period of idleness following the death of McLaren i n I89I, The closure of the plant was prolonged by a recession in the lumber trade and the suspension of navigation on the Fraser through s i l t i n g In the channel. The Investment of American capital ^ ^ The Western Lumberman. Vancouver, Hugh 0. McLean Publishing Company;, May 1910, pp. 55-56. 43 permitted the mill to resume operation in 1905 and i t soon forged into a position of leadership among the Canadian coast producers. Under a new group ©f owners led by Gen. A. D. McRae, the company had reached a point in production in 1909 where i t rivalled the largest American mills in daily output.*2 The plant now employed about five hundred men. The sales manager, H. J . Macken was quoted as saying about half of these were Orientals.^ Exactly who originated the idea of labour recruit* ment In the lumbering villages ©f Quebec say never be known, but the management of the Fraser River Luraber">f Company decided that a night watchman named Theodore ^ Theroux from the plant would accompany an Oblate Priest, Father William Patrick O'Boyle, on a tour through Eastern lumber camps in an attempt to enlist workers.14 Father 0'-Boyle, and Theroux left for the east in July, 1909. On their arrival in Quebec their method of approaching prospective settlers was to arrange for a place of meeting (usually a home or hall) In a suitable parish and then ask the cur© to announce the place and purpose of the meeting from his pulpit on Sunday morning. When the people gathered, Father O'Boyle M 1 2 Others in the investment group were Edward S. Swift and Louis Swift (of meat packing fame) of Chicago, Col. A.D. Davidson and Senator Peter Jansen of SJebraska. The Western Lumberman. April, 1908, p. 16. ^ ^ The Western Lumberman. August, 1909, p. 13* I 4 Loc. cit. 44 presented the offer Bad© by the lumber company**^ j Besides arranging transportation for the worker®* the / company would provide l i v i n g accommodations for them and make It possible for those who wished, to build their own homes, The lo t and building materials could be paid for over a long period on easy terms,^ SinceV wages i n Quebec at the time were only about 139 per f month the twenty?»five cents hourly wage offered was ^ at tract ive . In addition to promising better working conditions, Father ©'Boyle suggested the agreeableness / of the milder climate on the Paci f ic Coast. The benefits which Father O'Boyle stressed were not easi ly discounted. One feature appealed strongly to the home-loving lumbermen. In the East the men ^ The biography of Father O'Boyle constitutes a fascinating story i n i t s e l f . Born i n Lindsay, Ontario, i n 1875, he won the Idward Blake scholarship from the University of Toronto (upon graduating from Lindsay Collegiate) , Declining the scholarship, he went to Ottawa University, thence to the Gregorian University In Rome and the Academy of S t . Thomas Aquinas where he-obtained his Doctor of Divinity degree. . After another short period at Ottawa University, he was transferred i n 1905 to St . Peter's, Sew Westminster. From then u n t i l his death in 1949 he gave a l l his strength and powers to the furtherance of the aims of the-Soman Catholic ¥phurch i n B . C . For a time he was rector at Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver. He was credited with establishing Vancouver College and held a high reputation both as a public speaker and as a di l igent pastor, 1 6 S r . Jack Thomas to the writer, July 14, 1955, n r . Thomas and John Dicaire to the writer, July 7, 1955* Mr. Dicaire said that wages i n Eastern lumber eamps were often only ninety cents per day. Mr. Lalonde of Rossland gave the figure of % 14.00 to $16.00 per month In Eastern camps where he worked. *5 spent the winter months logging in the woods; in the spring they drove*the logs to the mills; and during the months until the next winter their work was in the mills* In British Columbia there would he steady B i l l work and ' no more months of absence from their families. In'./ reviewing their motives for coming some of the settlers say that th© opportunity for a change - to see a new country and perhaps insure a more prosperous future for their descendants - helped them to decide.'1' / Some idea of the recruiting area visited by Father 0*Boyle and his assistant has been obtained from news-paper reports of the migrations and from interviews with the settlers or their descendants. The first train ofV forty families (about 169 persons) was made up of one carload from the area around Quebec 6 1 t y (Quebec* Levis and Montmagny counties) seven carloads from the Ottawa valley (Ottawa, Hull and Rockland)' on© from the eastern townships and another from the Montreal area. 7 Many of the men were former workers of the J . R. Booth Company in Ottawa and the 8. B. Sddy Company in Hull. The priest himself s a i d he had visited every part of Quebec*20 18 Mr* Thomas to the writer, July 14, 1955* *9 The Nelson Pally Hews. September 28, 1909, p. 1, and interviews with various settlers. Quoted in the British Columbian. Hew Westminster, September 28, 1909, p* 1* 46 When the settlers began to arrive at the Fraser ' River H i l l s on September 27, 1909. they were accommodated i n the new houses and hotel bui l t on the m i l l townsite by the lumber company.2* gstimates of the number who arrived i n what was referred to as the "f irs t contingent" ^ v a , y g r „ « y . tt TOaia that not a l l the « a „ i n the f i r s t contingent arrived simultaneously and figures for th© number of families that arrived on September 27 from various sources do not agree. Mr. John Bicalre , then a boy of seventeen, says only twenty-two families were on the f i r s t t ra in of s ix or seven c a r l o a d s . 2 2 The B r i t i s h Columbian said thirteen cars had l e f t Montreal on September 23, bearing five hundred French Canadians (110 experienced workers). The day of their a r r i v a l The Br i t i sh Columbian said that 250 people had arrived on nine coaches. The same paper next day changed the figure to forty families, eighty-four working men*23 The actual number which arrived i s perhaps not so significant as the fact that the settlers ' 21 Most of the houses then bu i l t are s t i l l i n use today i n the municipality of Fraser Mi l l s (a company townslte). The majority of the settlers soon took advantage of a company plan to build their own homes on y company-held land i n Coquitlam municipality one-half mile away* The rented houses were gradually occupied by non - French Canadian workers i n later years, many of them Scandinavians* 2 2 John Dicalr© to the writer, July 6, 1955* 23 The B r i t i s h Columbian* Sept. 27, 1909, p. 1. Sept. 28, 1909, p. 1. 47 (almost a l l ) proved to be very suitable workers and j made plans to stay. While the lumber company considered further Importations the next spring the f i r s t settlers wrote favourable letters to the East and began to set ^ up a French community for the happiness of themselves j and later arr iva l s . On the company townsite the people enjoyed a happy round of social l i f e . The community centre for square dances and parties was the unoccupied top storey of the general store, a spacious building. The wives , ' . t and daughters of the company o f f i c ia l s helped i n planning the festive gatherings and relations between management and workers was very f r i e n d l y . 2 4 \ ^One of the promises made by the m i l l owners was , that a school and church would be provided for the immigrants, at f i r s t Sisters of the Child Jesus came daily to hold school i n a small building for the children of the i m m i g r a n t s , 2 ^ This was a courageous performance since dense forest bordered the two mile walk from the end of the streetcar l ine at Sapperton. A priest , at 2 4 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas to the writer, 25 Two of the s isters , Sisters St. Augustine and St. Eugenie, who or ig inal ly conducted the school are s t i l l a l ive today at the Convent of the Child Jesus In North Vancouver. Sister St . Augustine spent most Of her l i f e i n Mai l lardv i l l e Convent School, leaving only a few years ago. 48 f i r s t , F a t h e r O'Boyle, end then F a t h e r Edmond M a l l l a r d came weekly to hol d mass f o r the people. Looking forward t o the time soon when they would be a l l l i v i n g t o gether I n t h e i r new French v i l l a g e , the men l o s t no time In beginning the e r e c t i o n o f a spacious 26 y church.*™ APR • 56 The Qhurch of Notre Dame de Lourdes under c o n s t r u c t i o n i n the winter of 1909. • • lUffn. . 1 1 .1 1 • • ..i. • II. • i' ' — mm • I • I . 1 m 2 6 The Western C a t h o l i c , c i t e d i n M i s s i o n s de l a Congregation des Oblats de Marie Imrraculee. r/arch 1911. p. 2P4 g i v e s the dimensions o f the church as t h i r t y - t h r e e metres i n l e n g t h , twelve metres In width and e i g h t metres In h e i g h t . „The s t e e p l e was s a i d t o be twenty-f i v e metres h i g h . 49 By this time Father Hal l iard , a young Oblate frouT^ l \ France was becoming a respected leader i n community j j enterprises* He was often on the scene while the men were working. He organized a bazaar as a social gathering and to help raise funds for the church building* (^ Tery proud were the people when on December i 11, 1910, Monsignor McNeil, the Archbishop, came to /" bless the new church and Father Hal l iard led the grand Mass in his presence. The church building was to serve as the school u n t i l such a time as a separate building could be provided. Soon a number of the people were building or planning to build homes near the church .^ The lumber company subdivided Its block of land i n Coquitlam municipality into quarter-acre l o t s . 2 ? Any of the French-Canadian millworkers could buy a lot (price H50.00) and the lumber to build a house on ! / installment payments of $5.00 a month or more. 2 ? The parcel of land owned by the Fraser Hiver Lumber Company i n Coquitlam municipality adjaeent to the m i l l townsite was known as D .L . 46. A.D. McRae obtained approval of a subdivision plan from Coquitlam council September 11, 1909, even before the sett lers had arrived. Mftnutes of Council. Coquitlam Municipality, September 11, 1909, p. 74. •any of the or ig inal hoses i n the area stir rounding the church are remaining today. The f i r s t home is s t i l l standing but i t s individual style has been altered and i t s exterior covered with asphalt shingles so that the passerby can hardly distinguish i t from any other house. In keeping with the tradit ion established in / Quebec, the Candlens expected to have large families and accordingly bui l t big houses. The writer wall remembers how comcon i t was even twenty-fiva years ago x for families to have twelve to f ifteen children. The B o i l e a u h o m e and some o f the f a m i l y , about 1912. 51 Various diversions from the duties of home and work and church occupied the leisure time of the sett lers . At f i r s t even the new country provided Interest, Groups of the young woodsrcen attired In their "Sunday-best" would go for long walks or sleigh or wagon rides . The massive timbers which were stacked on the docks a t the r i l l ready for leading onto deep-sea freighters were a novelty to each of them. The frequent rains and par t ia l flooding of the swampy land around the R i l l ware the only discouraging features of the new l i f e but the people gradually became accustomed to these incon-veniences. i m Canadien l u m b e r j a c k s on the dock a t F r a s e r M i l l s . (The arouo i n c l u d e s P. Bouthot, L o u i s L a f r a n c e , George Bouthot, John D i c a i r e . J . P a r e n t , C . Bouthot and P h i l i p B e d a r d ) . With the help o f newcomers who a r r i v e d In the next few y e a r s , the m i l l sponsored an ice-hockey team which won the P a c i f i c Coast Championship. Then a band was formed. T h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n was the p r i d e end joy o f the • h a b i t a n t s ' and o f t e n r e p r e s e n t e d the community a t ga t h e r i n g s o u t s i d e the d i s t r i c t . I n the sumirer the m i l l and the French v i l l a g e had a b a s e b a l l team which Journeyed, o f t e n accompanied by the band and ardent s u p p o r t e r s , t o neighbouring d i s t r i c t s as f a r away as Somas. The m i l l c o n s t r u c t e d on© o f th© f i n e s t b a s e b a l l parks i n the lower mainland. 9 5 • UdV The French-Canadian band, 1913. The group i n c l u d e s A l e x . Payer, A l b e r t B e a u l i e u , <T. Payer, A r t h u r D i c a i r e D. Payer, J . P a r e n t , E. Pare, G. Bouthot, J . Coutu, J . D i c a i r e , Emery Pare.and J . Labour. 53 The l i t t le French outpost would never have re- / tained its character i f the first who tore themselves away from their homeland had not been reinforced by <s ~—^1 another contingent In Hay* 1910 and by many others who < came in small groups.2** fhere is a sort of good- / -—* natured "class distinction*' in the community, today. The elite are the few remaining immigrants of the first contingent and their many descendents. Next and almost as revered are those of the second contingent. / Worthy of considerable respect are those who came in ' the few months following the two contingents. Other arrivals and their families, even though they may have come thirty-five years ago, are in a different class. / These levels of prestige are, of course, not relative / to economic or social status. The great industrial promoter of this settlement enterprise seems to have been General A.D. McRae, who was ably assisted by the plant sales manager, Henry J . Macken.2^ Macken often attended to publicity for the scheme. But without a doubt the*project would never *° When the second contingent came accommodations were not ready for them. Some had to stay for a few days In railroad cars. Several families, in some cases, crowded into one small house. As late as May 1912 the press reported arrivals of workers from Quebec. After that many others came unheralded. The, Western Lumberman. May, 1912, p. 31. 1 2 ^ Almost every issue of The Western Lumberman which reported the progress of the Fraser Mills project mentioned one or both of these men. 54 have been possible without the enthusiasm of Father O'Boyle. The Oblate p r i e s t j then about t h l r t y * f i v e years of age, tackled the undertaking with the f i r e and zeal of a crusader. Following his second expedition ^t©Y the Sast i n A p r i l , 1910, (an e f f o r t which brought some \ forty-nine families comprising 166 persons) Father ,—1 O'Boyle gave his views to the press. He pointed put that s t a t i s t i c s gathered by the Dominion government showed that 19,000 people had l e f t r u r a l Quebec i n 1909. Some 5000, i t was estimated, had gone to urban centres l i k e Montreal but 10,000 or more had gone to the United States. "We want" Said Father O'Boyle» to turn these men west instead of south. These are the men e s s e n t i a l to B r i t i s h Columbia. The ordinary Suropean Immigrants come from the Old World c i t i e s . They crowd our Canadian c i t i e s , B. C. ( wants men who w i l l go to her unexplored and uninhabited areas. The French^: ~~ j speaking Canadian Is t h i s man. ^ H e j r l l l 1 camp i n the woods and l i v e on hard tack / u n t i l the railways and c i v i l i z a t i o n ar.riv^C^fle"Is thecoureur-de-boia of J ^ Canada,30 — • ' • He explained that Quebec had plenty of l a b o u r e r s y because the s i l l s i n the l a s t were shutting down f o r want/ of timber. He suggested B r i t i s h Columbia millmen take ' advantage of th i s labour supply by acquainting the workers with the better wages and steady employment t© be ^ Q The Western Lumberman, Ju l y 1910, p, 19, 55 obtained here. He seemed assured that given the / advantage of l iv ing i n communities with his ©wn kind, the domestic, social ly-Inclined Canadien would answer the labour problem i n B. C . m i l l s 0 As the Fraser M i l l s experiment progressed, i t was publicised far and wide across the province* Interior newspapers l i k e the ffelson Daily Hews and the Oolden Star* haHod th© plan as an answer to the labour c r i s i s which was affecting Mountain mil ls even more than those at the coast since their i so lat ion was repugnant to most white workers*3* As favourable reports of the talents of th© Canadien lumberman at Fraser H i l l s reached th© press* Interior lumbermen spoke of importing thousands of Quebec workers for their mills*32 But these plans mooted never materialized* It would seem that beyond advertising i n the east for / labourers, no definite plan for Bastern labour recruitment was undertaken* There Is one exception to this general statement. Some of the Xootenay newspapers make reference to a / \ labour importation programme executed by J . S. Desehamps In the Rossland d i s tr ic t* Actually Desehamps undertook I * Kelson Daily News. May 5, 1910, p. 1. Oojden Star. November 4. 19J1. 32 Secretary W.A. Anstey of the Mountain Lumbermen Association cited i n the Mail Herald (Revelstoke) May 14, 1910, p. 4, and the Dally ffews (kelson)* lay 5, 1910* 56 a project of this kind before the big coast s i l l had ^ any such plans. Deschamps, an ardent French-Canadian who had eome from Ontario, apparently endeavoured to bring considerable numbers to th© Kbotenay mil ls with which he was associated,but he did not succeed In obtaining more than a dozen persons.33 Xt Is impossible to determine how many French-Canadian lumbermen who came to the Kootenays were brought by the advertising efforts of the desperate mill-owners but i t would seem that i n the f i r s t decade of the century almost every l i t t l e milltown had a scattering of Quebeckers. Obscure l i t t l e towns l ike Waldo i n the Fernle d i s t r i c t , had residents l ike Louis Chenler, lumberman; Patrick D'Amour. lumbermanj John Saunier, planerman and Louis Tozler. teamster, working i n the mil ls there.34 Names given i n directory l i s t s for other similar lumbering vi l lages dispersed through the Kootenays amplify the impression bfvFr.ench-1 Canadians being attracted everywhere as loggers, teamsters,' / 33 Pete Lalonde, one of Deschamps* surviving m i l l -men, says that his employer paid the fare for these men but only two stayed. He claims, however, that there were many French-Canadian lumbermen In the West Kootenays from 1900-1910 at mi l l s near Bossland and at Chase, Creston, Hakusp and other points. - to the writer, July 24, 1955. Henderson 3* Henderson1s Oagetteer and^ Directory. Vancouver, Publishing Co . , 1910, p . 664. 57 r i v e r men and mi listen* 3 * j The recruiting of the French Canadians by th© * \ Fraser River m i l l was undertaken principally i n order ^ to supplant the Oriental workers already employed In large numbers. I t was on this account that the project was lauded by the press everywhere i n the province and by no less a figure than the Premier, S i r Richard J HacBrld©*^ But i n attempting to replace Oriental / labour the enterprise was not entirely successful. \ The payroll book at the plant i n October, 1911, indicates fiats' a division by races as follows - French-Canadian 36, last Indian 173, Japanese 77$ Chinese 19, B r i t i s h or European - about 1 7 5 workers. On March, 1 9 1 2 , there ** < $ e J i « ' x * * ' were 1 5 3 l a s t Indians, 8 0 Japanese and 317 of European ancestry {including about 1 0 © French Canadians)*37 the coming of the French-Canadians had merely reduced t o / sos© extent the number of jobs held by Asiatics. 3 £ Henderson's Directory, 1910, p. 6 6 7 * Wardner, B. C , lumber wrorkers Deline, Ouerin, Lachance, Lapoint, St. Jacques, lattsburg *.,.<• Bergeron, Soul©, Lemorgne, ?lger Arrowhead .... B o u t i l l l e r , Cyr, LeCroix These are only a few of the examples cited i n many towns. eit©d i n The Western Lumberman. June 1910, p. 21. ^ Payroll- Books* Fraser River Lumber Company and Canadian Western Lumber Company* 58 Considerable numbers of Orientals continued to be employed at the m i l l for years afterward unt i l some of them were eventually displaced by Scandinavian, Greek and other European immigrants. Two years after the f i r s t Canadiens had come to / the Fraser River M i l l s (now changed to the Canadian Western Lumber Company) the plant management expressed great satisfaction with their qualit ies as workmen. Agents were sent to Quebec to reerult further help and / the company proposed to locate f i f t y or sixty families at i t s large m i l l at Golden. It was suggested also that another settlement might be established at Comox near the logging operations. Neither of these plans materialized but apparently there was some success in persuading / workers to come as family groups.3® The success of the plan must be appraised too, i n terms of the extent to which It satisf ied the desires / of the French-Canadian lumbermen. Almost a l l of them, i t appears, were pleased from the viewpoint of economic / betterment. A few considered that they could locate even greener f ie lds and went to the United States. 38 The Western Lumberman, November 1911» P« 29 59 Several others took employment with other mil ls at Port Moody or nearby Hew Westminster, Settlers who earn© with the early groups say that only a handful were (unhappy and returned to their homeland*39 It was not long after the settlement plan was executed that the clergy i n Quebec began to view the departure of their former parishioners with some misgivings* It had been bad enough to lose the support of some of their people* Fears also grew that the / emigres would become Anglicised i n language* customs / and re l i g ion . These alarms were not without j u s t i f i e d ation* for the quality of French spoken deteriorated ' markedly, and there were some cases of mixed marriages,'' Gradually i t dawned upon the lumbermen that the l i t t l e settlement was l i k e l y to remain the only substantial French-Canadian centre west of the Rockies - a tiny^ splinter of French-Canada afloat i n an English sea*J A few years later the prominent Oblate missionary Father A*G. Moriee commented! For this reason one i s permitted to i wonder from the point of view of language and race whether this j establishment was rea l ly advantageous* ji Drowned i n an English and Protestant John Dicaire.and Jack Thomas to the writer. 60 environment the French-Canadian is f a ta l l y condemned to lose his language and his ancestral customs. His children s t i l l understand the f i r s t but w i l l become ashamed of the second and his grandchildren w i l l be English with French names badly pronounced unless disguised under a ridiculous translat ion. How the experience i s there to demonstrate that an Anglicized Canadien i s easi ly Protestantized by his dai ly contacts and mixed marriages which follow only too often. May i t please God that the children of the founders w i l l make an exception to the rule.40 The various pastors who served as cures at the church named Hotre Dame de Lourdes recognized the dangers present and some more than others fought strongly for the preservation of the language and of the Catholic re l ig ion . The beloved Father Hal l iard was succeeded as cure i n 1911 by a secular priest , Father Pe l l e t i er . There i s a hint i n the records of the time that the change was due to the appointment of a new Archbishop of Vancouver, Mgr. MacNeil to replace Mgr. Dontenwlll. Father Pe l l e t i er , knowing the attachment formed between his predecessor and the people, took up the reins of duty with d i f f i cu l ty and a degree of sadness . 4 1 One priest , Father de Lestre, a Belgian, and member of Morice, A.Q. Histoire de l 'Eg l i s e CathoUaue dans 1*Quest Canadien. Montreal, Granger Freres, 1921, v o l . IV, p. 3 » 2 . 4 1 Codex Hlstorlcus of the Maison St . Charles at New Westminster, entry for 1911. 61 .. • . . . . /the Premontre order is s t i l l spoken of affectionately. by the parishioners as one who laboured hard to keep them true to the Catholic faith and constantly urged them to use good French in their home and daily I 42 ' -|associations. Contact with English speaking settlers came frequently through trade. At first mill employees bought provisions from the company store on the mill townslte or brought them from New Westminster. One of the Canadiens, Jack (Jean) Thomas, drove a mule-team delivery wagon for the mill store. Now an elderly man, he s t i l l talks with a mixture of pride and amusement of the white wagon painted with a red circle enclosing a capital letter "F", the trade mark of the company. Then an enterprising settler named Tellier decided to open an Independent store at the corner of Laval Street and Pitt River Road *hdwas soon doing a sizeable business. J ' \\ 4 2 Mr. J . Dicaire to the writer, July 7, 1955, 43 Jack Thomas to the writer, July 14, 1955• Mr. Thomas has spent most of the remaining years of his employment at his favourite job - on the booms, where he became foreman. 61A SOME SOURCES OF LUMBER WORKERS IN EASTERN CANADA To follow page 6 l 62 A short time after Its founding the l i t t le hamlet on the hillside became known unofficially as ^ Malllard-ville, taking its name from the first cure**' It had no recognized status as a community and was referred to generally by neighbouring settlements in Coquitlam municipality as "Frenchtown"• The period^ of anonymity came to a gratifying end in 1913 when Postmaster General Pelletier, granted the village aj post office under the nam© "Maillardvllle"*4 4 — v The community had taken firm root by 1912* numerous houses had been built and the church* though / unfinished, was in constant use* New Freneh-Canadiana kept augmenting the original numbers.' Ulany were relatives of former arrivals but som© were Canadiens from the Marltimes who, having come to British Columbia, gravitated to a community where they would enjoy the congeniality of French speaking neighbours*4*^ i n this fashion Malllardville kept growing. Some French-Canadians built houses In the area surrounding D . L . 46,/ but so also did a number of non-French immigrants. f 4 4 John Dicaire to the writer, July 7* 1955* 4 5 An interesting example of this kind of immigrant is Dan Atnero. He, a Hova Scotian, had come from Adirondack New York. There, and in Maine and Pennsylvania, he had been a tree-feller. He came to British Columbia in 1911 with thirty-two other Freneh-Canadlans. In 1923, after working at Powell River he and some of his friends moved to Maillardvllle. Dan Amero to the writer* July 25, 1955* 62A T e l l i e r ' s store at P i t t River Road and Laval S t r e e t , 1910. APR • 56 Lumberjacks on a Sunday s l e i g h r i d e at Fraser M i l l s , about 1911. (included are Rene V a l l i e r s , Jack Thomas, Joe Charlebois, Paul Gauthier, P h i l i p Bedore, Joe Parent and Ernest Rochon) To f o l l o w page 62 62B A French-Canadian p i c n i c at Booth's farm, M a i l l a r d v i l l about 1920. To f o l l o w page 62A With this inf lux, the public school on the ^ fringe of the Mai l lardv l l l e settlement was gradually enlarged, {jh© existence of the public school was a~j menace t© the perpetuity of the French eommunity. /J In spite of the disapproval of the pr ies t , some parents sent their children to i t as though to get their "money's worth* i n education i n return for the municipal taxes they were paying. There was also an impression among ^sop© of the parents that the children were taught better i n the public school (called Hi l l s ide school). Some~~~~~ of them were not sure that they wanted their children to remain too French i n a province that was so obviously . English speaking. Only five years after the f i r s t imported lumberj worker arrived at the Fraser River M i l l s , World War X ! broke out. If recruiting figures were obtainable i t would be interesting to see hew the Sfail lardvil le community responded to the c a l l to arms. Old residents say that 'quite a few* went into the army. The only available concrete evidence of public opinion during the war i s the voting In the 1917 Federal election. It suggests opposition to conscription and the other war pol ic ies of the Unionist government, 15hen B r i t i s h Columbians went to the pol ls on December 17th not one Liberal member was elected while Robert Borden's Unionists 64 won thirteen seats. The voters In Maillardvllle, 'however, cast only fifty-one votes for the Unionist candidate, F.B. Stacey, compared to ninety-three for the Liberal, Peter B. Ramsay. Westminster Electoral District, of which Maillardvllle was a part, gave 4,074 and 1.792 votes to the Unionist and Liberal respectively.4** Thus a pattern of pro-Liberal voting reminiscent of old Quebec was established In th© French-Canadian community. In Provincial as well as in ^ ~1 Federal politics the Liberal candidate generally obtained good support in Maillardvllle when he could get l i t t le elsewhere. Hot until the mid-19301s did this pre- J cedent crumble. 47 Even in th© first decade of the settlement a few of the French Canadians showed some ability in politics. In 1917 Amede Allard was elected to the^ Coquitlam municipal council. He was elected again in 1918 but his political career was terminated by death in a logging accident. He and several other workmen were felling one of the last remaining big Canada, Sessional Papers 1920, 4th Session 13th Parliament, Vol. LVI, "Report of the Chief Electoral Officer", p. 275. 4 ? See appendices XII and XII . 6£ trees a t the M a i l l a r d v l l l e settlement when he was struck by a logger's springboard a c c i d e n t a l l y released and suffered a broken neck. Two others of the s e t t l e r s gained some attention i n the community by t h e i r p o l i t i c a l antagonism* Antonio X&noux, native of Sher-brooke, was an ardent L i b e r a l * George ProulXj native of the same town,,was a f a i t h f u l Conservative. For a time Proulx was a Storekeeper and Post Master, and In 1923 he served one term as reeve of Coquitlam. Setweez 1933 ana 1942 there were only five one-yeer periods when there was no French-Canadian holding one of the f i v e municipal council seats. Emanuel Girard served fo r s i x years and Tom a l l a r d , son of Amede, the f i r s t •Canadien' c o u n c i l l o r , held o f f i c e f o r ten* Both men belonged to fam i l i e s of ea r l y s e t t l e r s from the East. 4® When the great depression of the early 1930's set t l e d upon the lumber trade i t s e f f e c t upon the Fraser S f i l l s plant was a series of wage reductions. By September of 1931 there was much discontent among the workers. On September 17th a s t r i k e was c a l l e d 48 Data about c o u n c i l l o r s and reeves and t h e i r terms of o f f i c e from the Hunicipal Records» Municipality of Coquitlam. Other information from an interview with Mr. Jack Thomas. 66 i n which a number of incidents of violence occurred.^ Many policemen were brought i n and billeted at the Were w reefed, plant. On one occasion ten strikers^two of whom were members of pioneer French Canadian families* T " the French-Canadians did not take positions of leader-ship In the s t r i k e movement but a number of them were quite outspoken i n their support of the union demands. The strike imposed severe hardship on a number of the J families, A strike kitchen was operated i n M a i l l a r d v l l l e / by the workers. Some Chinese sympathizers donated vegetables, Fraser River fishermen contributed salmon / and others donated meat,^* Two months passed before labour and management were able to reach an agreement and i t was not u n t i l December 1st that the plant resumed Operations*-^ • ^ 4^ The B r i t i s h Columbian, September 17, 1931* P* 1** September lb", p. 1, September 19, p* 1* *>G B e ? g * t i s h fo^Mfla* September 19* 1931, P* l t September 25, 1931* P* 4* These were Harcel and Henry Sabourin, ,;: ^ The B r i t i s h Columbian. September 24, 1931, P* 1*. V 52 j n e mmgQ? at the plant, H*J* Mackin claimed that the strike was inspired and led by outsiders who had only recently come to the m i l l or were not employed there* The representatives of the union (called the Lumber and Agricultural Workers Industrial Union) said the men had suffered four wage reductions ranging from ten to seven and one half percent and were getting an average wage of only twenty-two cents per hour. Manager Mackin denied this, saying that the plant minimum for boys was twenty-five cents, for men twenty-seven cents and that i n actual practice th i r t y cents was the minimum 67 ^ For two decades after i t s founding t ta i l lardvl l le kept along very much the same path. The or ig inal families multiplied their progeny and new families from the east came in one's or two's. But i t was not u n t i l [the 19.40's that the nature of SSaillardvIlle began to^ al ter drast ica l ly both for better and for worse. ^ wage being paid. The union demanded a general increase of ten percent, immediate union recognition, a closed shop and compliance with a l l demands by four o'clock in the afternoon of their presentation, ihen the str ike ended, men who had been obtaining less than forty cents Eer hour were to be restored to the rate i n effect pr ior , o the l a s t GUt on July 1 s t . Married men were promised a five percent increase and unmarried seven ond one-half percent over pre-strlke rates. Shingle sawyers won an increase amounting to about ten percent. Hone of the other union demands were gained. Actually some of the leading sp ir i t s i n the strike were outsiders and one or two were candid about their Communist background. Three leaders at a public meeting at the New Westminster Legion Ha l l on September 29, 1931 were Comrade Lament, Comrade Bissett and Comrade Tom Ewen, Harold pri tchett , one of the strike leaders was a shingle worker at the Fraser M i l l s plant and later was to play a prominent part i n the operation of the International Woodworkers of America union. - see the B r i t i s h Columbian. September 18, 19, 25, 30, 1931 and November 21, 1931. 67A Rev.Edmond Ma11lard, O . M . I . , founder of the p a r i s h of Notre Dame de Lourdes. To f o l l o w page 67 » 67B Father De Leatre, the teaching s i s t e r s and the p u p i l s at Lourdes school, about 1923. M a i l l a r d v i l l e ' P i t t River Road, i n the 1920'a, The second church at Notre Dame de Lourdes. (The f i r s t b u i l d i n g was destroyed by fire,December,1912) To f o l l o w page67A 68 CHAPTER III RBCEUT FRpffCB-CANABIAft SBTTLMlftTS THE DgVEIiOPMESIT OP FRENCH CANADIAN PARISHES AUD THE BATTLB TO MAIHTAIH A DISTINCT Ct&TDRlj? The change which has taken place i n the population of B r i t i s h Columbia s ine© the 1930' s i s everywhere evident., Pra ir ie farmers "dried out" during th©; years of drought, farm workers, small business men and young people seeking employment have come to the Paci f ic coast in many thousands* The significance of **the great migration" presents a fascinating topic for some gifted writer to evaluate.* There are numerous rsasons given by the immigrants for this mass movement to the coast. Many farmers were determined that their families unequipped with adequate clothing, nourishment and fuel should never again endure th© hardships of Pra ir i e winters, Living In hope of a good crop from year to year and being repeatedly crushed with disappointment was so embittering that many came to the "Coast" i n search of work i n mi l l s , mines or factories . As Canada slowly emerged from the great depression, promising new Industrial enterprises arose in the New 1 A number of times the writer has asked pupils i n Junior or Senior High Schools how. many of them belong to families who had moved from the Pra ir ie provinces. The fraction i n a class has never been l © s s than one^-half ©9 Westminster area. Plants l i k e the Paci f ic Veneer Company (Stay, 1939) began operations i n the manufacture of plywood. As established mil ls l ike the Canadian Western Lumber Company and the Alaska Pine Company commenced to increase production, new shifts were employed. Many coast men who had been on part-time work or on r e l i e f obtained steady jobs. When some of the arrivals from the Prair ies who had come on chance found employment, word spread to others and the trek to the coast accelerated. ^ Developments during the war years brought many others. Shipyards, steel plants and lumber mil ls so often required more men than they could obtain that soldiers on leave were frequently welcomed as temporary help. As the war ended, B r i t i s h Columbia moved rapidly into a business and industr ia l boom which attracted settlers from the Pra ir ie provinces at an even faster r a t e . \ D u r i n g this new era of prosperity res idential lots i n Vancouver and Hew Westminster were bought up rapidly and as desirable lots became scarce, the r u r a l municipalities surrounding the c i t i es attracted the overflow. This settlement pattern continues to the present day. Many thousands from the Prairies and ** elsewhere have chosen the rura l municipalities because they l iked semi-rural l i f e where they could obtain ^ small acreages suitable for gardening and the keeping of l ivestock. Coquitlam, with M a l l l a r d v i l l © as i t s chief centre, Is one of the municipalities which has developed i n this manner. Its attraction arises from; ;>roxlmity to lumbering and plywood operations and to p variety of active industries i n New Westminster. One of the natural results of th© great influx of Immigrants, even before World War II , was a need for more school buildings. U n t i l 1938 the extens ive^ municipality of Coquitlam did not have even one high ^ school. Pupils were able to proceed only as far as the eighth grade i n loca l schools. If they wished to receive secondary education the municipal school board paid their fees for attendance i n on© of th© Hew West-minster high schools^) Pupils who ut i l i zed this arrangement Journeyed four miles to New Westminster ^ a t their own expense. /The construction, i n 1938, I of the f i r s t high schoolr was a great forward step for the young people of Coquitlam^ Eta"^1 this time many of the youths, the French-Canadians especially, did not j continue beyond elementary school^ Frequently they I were able to begin work at Fraser Mi l l s or one of the I other plants when they reached the age of f ifteen or sixteen. (6nee a loca l high school was provided an increasing number of students continued i n school u n t i l they had taken at least some secondary training^/ The 1 change i n attitude was most i n evidence i n the French-Canadian element. From that time an increasing number of the young people of ESalliardville have completed high school training. Many have continued their education and now are established i n professions such as teaching, pharmacy or nursing. Only a very | few have chosen the priesthood or a career as a mm i n j the service of the churchy/ v The advent of a host of 'outsiders* to the ] ' Ha i i l ardv i l l e settlement constituted a threat to the j homogeneity of race, language and r e l i g i o n . Many who bought property within the general area of the or ig inal French Canadian colony were Scandinavian, . Ukrainian or Anglo-Saxon. The erection of a Protestant church i n 1944 was a development which probably none of |the French residents had foreseen. The Protestant jSunday school which had been operating on the Fraser J Mi l l s townsite for many years, generally under Baptist auspices, had obtained most of i t s following from a \ few Protestant families, a number of them Scandinavian, i -U n the m i l l townsite. With the growth of Coquitlam the time seemed to have come to move to a strategic location where the Sunday School would be able to serve more people and where Church services could be held \ for adults. In' the summer of 1944 construction began, and on September 24th an opening ceremony.was held* Although the leaders i n the church were Baptist and . most of them were connected with the Sapperton Baptist Church i n New Westminster, i t was decided to operate under the designation "Fraser M i l l s H a l l . " Later th© nam© was changed toVraser M i l l s Branch of the Sapperton Baptist Church*" It i s now called th© Allard Street Baptist Church* In actual fact , i n spite of a strongly evangelical tone i n the church i t has constituted no serious threat to the Catholic domination of the community. I jfThe factor that protected the French settlement from becoming Protestant-dominated by a process of In f i l t ra t ion was the presence of hundreds of French Canadians who had come from the Prairies during the years of •the great migration'and who had gravitated i n the direct ion of M a i l l a r d v l l l e . ^ / Many of these pur-chased lots In the area to the west of the or ig inal 1 - — - — -Mai l lardv l l l e settlement. <^ In time, the orig inal parish church, Notre Dame de Lourdes, could not properly care A news story i n the Vancouver Sun. November 8, 1950, p. 21, t e l l ing of the many newcomers to Mai l lard-v l l l e said, the French Canadian population had doubled there in eight years. In considering the phenomenal growth of the Mai l lardvl l l e community during World War II a question naturally arises about the attitude of the French Canadians toward the war. Recruiting figures for entries Into the armed forces are not available. The writer knows of one or two isolated cases among c 73 or them. On October 25> 1946, a new parish, Notre J Same d© Fatima, was erected under Father_J?j|f Meanier, O.M.I.j^lit a service held in the basement of nearby alderson Avenue public school. The first building project of the new parish was the construction of a reetory. This was completed by December 1946 and here the first mass was held on December 8th. The construction of a church was begun in May, 1947 and soon completed. C$y September, 1948, a parish school using four rooms at the back of the church was In operation^ 6t present the school (now with its own building) enrolls about three hundred pupils. Seven sisters (Les Religieuses du Bon Pasteur) conduct the school with the help of two lay teachers.-3 The parish priest is Father 0. Leduc, O.H.X., and his assistants are Father? Ernest Denommee and a. Demers, \ Almost every well-known French Canadian district the young men where resentment Of compulsory mil i tary service was demonstrated by feigning chron ic i l lnes s while i n service. On the other hand a number of the young men volunteered for duty i n the forces and i n service won promotions. The voting i n the Federal elections of 1940 and 1945may not be very significant so far as the attitude to war was concerned. In both elections the Mal l lardv i l l e voters gave a majority to the C . G . F . Candidate (C.G. McNeil, then Col in Johnson) although James S inc la ir (Liberal) won a majority in the r id ing . (See Reports, Chief Electoral Offieer, Federal Elections.) 3 Data given to the writer by Father Leduc from the Parish records. I 74 in Saskatchewan and Alberta Is how represented in either of the two parishes of Maillardvllle. Most of th© new-comer8 are from such Saskatchewan communities as Gravelbourg or Suck Lake or Lafleehe. Alberta parishes of St. Paul. St. Albert and Legal are represented. There are a few Manitobans from St. Boniface or Winnipeg. The old parish of Notre Damede Lourdes has also been strengthened by the coming of the Immigrants, and some of its most active leaders like Jean Baptiste Qoulet are comparative newcomers from Saskatchewan. / f /Bach of th© two French^parishes carries on an-* actlve^r^gramme^centred- around th© school and church^ The Church of Notre Dame de Lourdes has been entrusted to t]ie_Fjrancisean^©rder sine© 1953 and Is at present / in the charge of Father Albeqic Frechette. Six Ursullne sisters help Father Frechette and his assistants by / conducting the parish school* Apart from the regular Sunday Mass, there are numerous occasions when the people meet for special parish gatherings, perhaps to honour the cure" on his birthday, or to celebrate St. Jean Baptist© day or the anniversary of the coming of Since his arrival fromdemenceau, Saskatchewan, In 1944 J.B. Goulet has been very active on the Catholic School Board and in other Catholic organisations. The clergy at Lourdes have been: 1909-11 Oblate, 1911-16 Secular, 1916-48 Premontre, 1948-53 Secular, 1953 to the present Franciscan. Father Frechettes assistants are Rev. S. Lajoie and Rev. P. Pare. The school enrolls about 540 pupils (150 secondary, 390 elementary) and has a staff (including secular help) of 16. In December 19^5, Rev. R. Chabot j o i n e d the church and '-school s t a f f . the Franciscans to the parish. At these times the children of the school may present a variety programme or the musical talent of the parish may be called upon to provide entertainment. The clergy and representatives of other French parishes are often invi ted. The young parish of Hotre Batae de Fatima has demonstrated remarkable v i r i l i t y since i t s foundation. Hot a l i t t l e of the credit for this must be attributed to the fa i th fu l pastor, Father Leduc. He Is held i n high esteem. In March 1955 when the children of the parish school under the direct ion of the sisters presented a programme In the loca l theatre, to honour the cure" on his birthday f ive hundred people attended the performance. Last summer (1955) the parishioners gathered to honour the f i f t i e t h anniversary i n the priesthood of Father Alfred Bemers 0*11.1*^ a retired priest who has given much assistance to the cure7. Each parish also has i t s French Canadian club or c i rc l e (Cercle C a m d l e n ^ a loca l chapter' of the province wide Federation Canadienne-Francaise*^ Annually representatives from these two c irc les and from the other thirteen c irc les In the Province gather for a conference* The purpose of the clubs is to foster / and perpetuate French-Canadian culture, language and re l ig ion . 75A , WreVTEBM nnQriTTMM MTTMTriTPAT.T'PV AND MA TT J Aff DVT 0 < 0 Of SULLIVAN :RON COTTONWOOD E B C Q T 3 M IT H C O T T O N W O O D F Q S T C B tyO 41/11* LAM s p n i c e F O S T E R OF BOSS Square,the c e n t r e of the Lourdes p a r i s h sentre of the Fatima p a r i s h To f o l l o w page 75 ^ The two parishes share the problem of conducting their schools without any aid from the municipal and provincial government. Assisting the Church i n the direction of these inst i tut ions, i s a joint Catholic School Board made up of three members from each par ish ,* The board has served i n an advisory capacity to the clergy directing the schools and as an instrument of » negotiation with municipal authorities i n an attempt to obtain r e l i e f from the tax burden or some degree of aid from the Provincial government. In recent years there have been some interesting indications i n the Mal l lardv l l l e parish schools that <? . A . y J the school authorities wish to learn where they can aA^* from the practices followed by the public schools, cJPT*^ There has „ e e n o r g a n i c as a s t a t i c * « . Parents et des Maitree Catholiques (A Catholic Parent-Teachers Association) which endeavours to raise money for, and generally ass ist , the schools i n any possible way. The parish school teachers participate i n the d i s t r i c t conventions of the public school teachers.^ There $ The members of the board are* Lourdes parish! Napoleon Gareau (chairman) Lucien Cote, Mme* S. Hatnelin. Fatima parish* Maurice Lizee, Oscar Cheramy and Leo Comeau. (1955)-° Some of the teachers shared i n the Lower Fraser Valley Teachers' Convention i n 1954. La Llberte et le Patrlote . November 6, 1954, p. 8* 77 have been some amusing concessions to bll lngualism. For example, i n pupils^ programmes of entertainment* children who perform i n a concert give English and French recitations or songs alternately,^ r\ X One important feature of l i f e i n Mai l lardv l l l e i s "la Caisse Populalre" (the Credit Union), Bstablished only In 1947, i n three years i t had assets tota l l ing |$200*000* It has played an important part in helping [newcomers to establish homes* The directors of the Credit Union can t e l l of many Immigrants from other provinces who have bui l t homes for themselves with funds advanced by their organization. ^ The residents i n Mai l lardv i l l e have long been notable for their interest i n p o l i t i c a l meetings, especially in the municipal f i e ld • At the present time (1956) one of the six councillors i n offlee i n Coquitlam municipality Rene Gamache i e French.Canadian*./ This i s Mr, Samache*® eighth consecutive year on the / Counci l* 0 Although comparatively few of their number have run for office through the years, their enjoyment ? e.g. Recitation - "When Grandad Was a Boy", followed by "Marianne s'en va-t-au Moulin" - La Liberte et le Fatriotet July 9, 1955? P* 7* o Other French-Canadians who have served on the council i n recent years are Tom F i l i a t r a u l t (1945,1946), Alfred Payer (1945-59) and E . J . (Bud) Hammond (1950,1951). Payer and Hammond both are sons of the early pioneers. 78 of a good p o l i t i c a l fight i s often a pleasure to watch. This i s especially so i f one of the incumbents has been antagonistic to French and Catholic interests and the aspirant to office gives his opponent an uncomfortable time: during the debates. The issues uhder discussion need not fee v i t a l to French Canadian interests * a meeting i s worth attending i f an unpopular Candidate i s l i k e l y to be embarrassed by his r i v a l . 9 The French Canadians have developed great s k i l l in heckling and i n asking disconcerting questions about municipal administration. A French-Canadian audience often considers this as the best form of entertainment. The voters of l a i l l a r d v l l l e began to show a 1 trend away from their tradi t ional loyalty to the Liberal party f i r s t In the Federal election of 1935 when they supported the C . C . F . candidate, C O . MactJeil who was elected for the d i s t r i c t (North Vancouver), S imi lar ly , In the Provincial election of 1937 the French-Canadian voters preferred E . E . Winch ( C . C . F . ) over W.EU Grieve, the Liberal candidate.* 0 One explanation ^ This was part icularly true during the long period (1924-1941) when R.C. lacDOnald was reeve. The French-Canadians did not l ike HacDonald and demonstrated their antagonism by voting against him i n Provincial elections even when the electoral d i s t r i c t gave MacDonald a majority at the po l l s . See Statement of Votes. B. C. Elections. 1949. 1 0 See appendix X l t j . 79 for this was the growing strength of the union ffiove&eafc / in the lusher industry and the pro-labour policy of the 0.C.F* party. The community, as i t has grown, has lost none of the original enthusiasm for sports i t manifested in the early times. The passion'for baseball which was demonstrated in the days when the lumber company sponsored a team s t i l l exists. The old ball park has long since fallen into disrepair and the company no longer sponsors the gaffie. Nevertheless th© Halliardville community ' f operates teams in its own name in two leagues, both of which have been champions i n their realm. Another source of psaise* is the gymnastic group of the Lady of Lourdes high school which won f i r s t prize in 1954 among a l l the schools competing in a Vancouver contest* This group has won much publicity for th© school and community by presenting brief displays of their talsmts as a prelude to raa^or 3port events in Vancouver and the lower tsainland. Although the French-Canadians in Maillardvllle are constantly aware of their separation from their compatriots in Quebec and from the other large centres of French Canadian population* the people are part-icularly favoured with visits from many prominent / churchmen and other leaders from the east* In speeches delivered to the Cereles Canadien-Francais encouragement i s given to the people* among the v is i tors have been 0 . F i l i o n , managing editor of Le Devoir. Rev. Father Rerve Bla i s , provincial of the Franciscans from Montreal and Jean Bruehesi, the historian. Such men of note i n the east as Gustavo * Lanctot and Jean Bruehesi have sent books for the parish l i b r a r y or scholarship prizes for the students, i n the sehools. \ French Canadians i n Mal l lardv i l l e as well as f the other French parishes receive a form of "mass encouragement" each July and August when scores of v i s i tors from the Quebec, the Maritimes, Ontario and New England arrive In chartered tra in coaches under the •a auspices of the Liason Francaise. These excursions planned by the Eastern organization give the B. C . French-Canadians opportunity to renew acquaintance with relatives whom they have not seen for many years. One of the major problems in the Ha i l l ardv i l l e community as in other similar French settlements i n B r i t i s h Columbia i s maintaining the use of French among the younger people. Although many parents ins i s t on 1 ^ La Llberte et l e P a t r i o t e . Winnipeg, 10 July, 1954, p. 75 20 August, 1955» p.. 7* 81 French as the Bedims of expression i n the hose they know from their own dai ly experience at work how, d i f f i c u l t i t i s for themselves as well as their children to avoid the use of th© English language i n dal ly contacts, Many of the older children do not attend the parish school but go to the municipal Com© Lake High school, Bven those who do attend the Church inst itutions are constantly mixing with English-speaking children, ^e i ther parents nor children can banish the fact that English i s the language of the world ^ about them and that i t s use is so often a matter Of . necessity, while that of French i s a matter of loyalty and a f f e c t i o n ^ When asked about the l ikel ihood of continued and consistent use of French In the community Charles Lafleur, on© of the pioneers, replied after the fashion that many do, with a shrug, RYou know, i t Is di f f icult} using English, that i s th© custom.*' \ Two French newspapers attempt to serve the Mai l lardv l l l e community (and the other French Canadians i n Br i t i sh Columbia) - Lq Survlvance. published i n ^ A '/-w^ Edmonton, and La Liberte et le P a t r i o t © of Winnipeg. ^ v^ * -k e S 0 h \ i de Although La Survlvance Is often recognized as the vz.,r*>».M*. o f f i c i a l organ for the French-Canadians of Br i t i sh .,„ . . Columbia, the representative of the paper v i s i t ing « 4 / 9 ^ i i ^ ( Mai l lardv l l l e i n October, 1954, reported that only twenty-five families were subscribers. He succeeded i n se l l ing seventy-five more subscriptions before his 82 return.** Some families, particularly those from Saskatchewan or Manitoba^ prefer La Llberte et Le Patrlete. but Its reading Is not widespread. A few residents buy Eastern papers like Le Devoir and La Presse. Since the / Vancouver and New Westminster dailies are read everywhere throughout the community, weekly Journals, such as the two Prairie papers are at a great disadvantage. A great source of encouragement to the French ~> Canadians in Halllardvllle has been the formation since World War II of two new parishes, one in Vancouver, the other at Port Albemi. The^ Vancouver parish was-fojindeiL^ii^Jjj^^ services were held temporarily in a rented room at the Good Shepherd Convent. The building was begun in September, 1947 and the hew chureh L'Eglise du Saint-Sacrament was dedicated in June of the following year. The church, led by the cure'Father f Zephlrah Belanger, has grown steadily until there are now some three hundred twenty-five families (nearly a l l French-speaking) served by i t . 3 3 Assisting I 2 M. Eugene Trottier cited in La Llberte et Le Pfitrlote* October 10, 1954, p. 9. *3 The dedication service at the school was very Impressive. In addition to church dignitaries and the pastors from many parishes, tfayor Hume of Vancouver and the French consul attended. Statistics and other data given by the cure. Also La Llberte et Le Patriots August 14, 1954, p. 7» and February 5, 1955, pi 2f 83 Father Belanger are Fathers Philip Mereier, Lueien Goyer* Jean Louis Lesire and Bonald Murphy*** In 1954 a j^tind-raislng campaign to build a school was under-* taken. Considerable help in the campaign was given by j the editors of Le Devoir in Montreal, particularly Pierre Laporte and Gerard Filion. As a result of the paper's appeals some $23 ,000 of the required l 6 3 f 0 0 0 was raised. Subscriptions came from a l l over Eastern Canada and the Prairies in aid of the project. The building was started in June, 1954 and by the end of the September was ready for use. Five sisters (Soeurs du Bon-Pasteur) from Quebec arrived during the summer and held classes for several weeks in temporary quarters until the building was ready. The pupils, divided among four classrooms in the first year, numbered 102. J In addition to the usual organisations which operate to perpetuate French culture and Catholicism In the laillardville parishes, the Vancouver church has the only branch in B. C. of the A.C.J.C. (Association "i ' ' I Catholique de Jeunesse Canadien) a religious-patriotic j organization originating in Quebec, In connection with * 4 In September 1955* another assistant came in the person of the Rev. P, Halo. Trained in English, he was expected to help in the work among the English Catholics. La Llberte et la Patriote. September 24, 1955* p* 8 . Father Goyer was recalled to Quebec for duty there in January, 1956. La Llberte et le Patriote. January 2 1 , 1956, p, 9. 84 th© church there is also a Troupe Moliere, a drama club ) , which has often staged productions to raise money for the I parish. Le Cercle Canadien-Franeais is very active and , participates strongly In the Federation Canadienne- ' Francaiae. Both Maillardvllle and Vancouver have French councils of the Knights of Columbus which work indust-riously for th© furtherance of the church. There Is considerable feeling in the parish that the French language can be maintained in spite of the disadvantages / of a location where there are hundreds of thousands of English-speaking neighbours. Father Belanger states that while some members of the parish have long been resident In Vancouver, the majority of them are from) various points on the Prairies and some are directly' from the East.^5 The three parishes in the Lower Mainland have an additional aid to the survival of Freneh-*Canadian-ism j in their twenty-minute weekly radio programme "Ecoutez-^1/ Hous" broadcast over station C.K.N.W., New Westminster each Sunday night. Largely musical in nature, i t uses local talent and selected recordings either from Eastern Canada or from France, The announcements are made both In French and English* > ' m Father Z. Belanger to the writer augustj 1955* 8 5 The fourth and most recent French-Canadian parish to he established is that at Port_Alberni. The parish was founded on July 2 , 1950 under the name of Uotr«T ] ^ A^Zf Dame des Victoires. Services were held for a time -J ^ In an English Catholic church. Since lay 6, 195l» the congregation has been using a temporary church and rectory, actually part of a building which has been converted to use as a parochial s c h o o l . T h e building thus employed is the one known formerly as Arrowsmith Lodge, which was used as an army hospital during World War II. Since August, 1950, the men of the two Catholic parishes (the Holy Family Church and the French)have laboured to convert this into a parochial school to serve both parishes.*? i t has been difficult to make the building, with five wings? serve the purpose of classrooms, a Sister's Residence and a temporary church. The School was officially opened in September 4, 1951* When i t began the school had 151 children, of whom seventy-five were French. By 1954-1955 the enrollment had grown to two hundred, of whom ninety-five 16 The School has been called the "Father Smith Memorial School" after the Rev. Father A.©. Smith, pastor of the Holy Family church for twenty years. 1 7 ' Father Brazeau to the writer, August 12, 1955* 86 w©re from French families. Th© school offers a l l grades from three to twelve and will add grades one and two as teaching sisters are provided. The founder of the parish, Rev. Father Wilfred ' 18 Brazeau, O.F.St*. is s t i l l cure at th© church. There are six teaching sisters at the school (Sisters of St. Ann) and i t is planned to add more when they become available* Father Brazeau reports th©r© are two hundred forty families on th© parish records. The parents use French widely but the speech of the children is a mixture of English and French, French is usually spoken In the home, but as in many settlements where many Of the people have not had thorough training in good French, the language is often interspersed with English words and idioms. Th© great majority of the members of the parish are from Saskatchewan towns like Laventure and Victoir©*^ %vm have tjom© from Manitoba and a few from ©astern centres like Montreal and Valleyfield* Recent reports from Port Albernl indicate that plans are underway to begin a new church building very soon*0^ 1 9 From August 3 0 , 1951 to August 7, 1952 Father Fidele Chlcolne 0*F.M. was serving at the church. 19 T o loiter from Rev. Father W. Brazeau* August 12. 1955* Father Brazeau was most courteous and co-operative in supplying a l l the information given here about the Port Albernl parish* 2 0 La Libert© et Le Patriot© November 19, 1955* p . 8* 87 another coffiffiunity which expects to have a / V Freneh-Canadian parish established soon is Victoria* There, a French-Canadian group registered under the Societies Act in 1941 as "Le Club Canadien-francais de la Colombia Brltannlque", has been raising a special fund toward the establishment of a church for the French-Canadian group.2* The Gerele Ganadien-franeals In the capital city is one of the most active in the p r o v i n c e . 2 2 One r e s i d e n t r e p o r t s there a r e numerous French-Canadian immigrants from a l l parts of Canada, especially from the three Prairie provinces.2^ In October of 1954, the Cercle of Victoria was host to representatives from a l l the others in British Columbia, at the tenth annual congress of the Federation Canadienne-franpaise. Some eighty delegates listened to speeches from various leaders and discussed various methods of facilitating the survival of the French-2 1 The annual gatherings of the club during the war were mjieh publicized in Victoria and were attended by Frenchjfa^fians from a l l over the island, including some personwIK'T&m the armed forces. The Victoria Colonist. ^ & M f 1941, p. 6.} July 14, 1942, p. 7. *»'"'-**. r*4^*' 2 2xTke^inb raised over #540.00 on one occasion^ alone by j^bilaa* toward a church building. La Llberte et Le Pataioxe.'.October 16, 1954, p. 11. 2 ?^Mie^ . Terrlen to the writer, February 25, 1956. She says a|Ti§§i£0st of the arrivals came after the war. 68 Canadian race and language* The president, Dr. teen ^s. Beaudoing, a physician from Maillardvllle, encouraged * the members by reference to the example of the Aeadlans "now on the point of constituting, only two hundred years after their near annihilation in 1755, the second province with a French majority*"^* In Victoria the French-Canadians are fortunate in having a social centre, the large home of Mr. and Irs. George iTerrien on Joan Crescent, dedicated to their ^ gatherings. Fro© December 2, 1946, the ilerrlens have called their home "Au Vleux Quebec."2? Here meetings, conferences, recreational programmes, evenings of enjoying folklore are frequent and official receptions are held for visitors from the East. Victoria has also a very active branch of the Alliance Francaise which some of the French-Canadians attend although i t is usually regarded as an organization representing French culture rather than French-Canadian.*0 Like the French-Canadians in Vancouver and Maillardvllle, the Victorians 3^La Libert® et Le Patriote (hereinafter referred to as La MberteJ. November 6. 1954* p. 8. 25 When asked i f more French-Canadian settlers continue*to come to Victoria Mme. Terrion*s reply was "Oh, ottif Principal faeteur - le climat doux," 2 £ In the early days Victoria attracted "Freaeais i de France" who had first come to California. Some immigrants s t i l l come there from France and their arrivals are often^included in the Victoria news printed in La Liberte. 89 are often visited by prominent French-Canadians from the east who generally address meetings of the Cercle and encourage the people* The principal organization in the province as a"] whole for building morale among the French-Canadians / is the Cercle Canadien-franpais. Generally during thai past several years fourteen or fifteen of these cercles have been in operation at eentres like KalHardville (2), Vancouverf Victoria* Fort Alberni* Hew Westminster. Sapperton* Kennedy* Cloverdale, Steveston, Kelowna* Penticton, Duncan and Nanaimo. In addition there are unorganized groups at Mission, port Moody, Langley Prairie, Kamloops, Nelson, Trail , Prince Rupert, Prince George, Vernon, lerritt , Terrace, Ghemainus and Ladysmith. The circles and the annual Congress of the French Canadian Federation seem valuable rallying forces among the people*27 ^ — Within the general organization of the Federation there is an Education Committee (Comite d*Education) which seeks to assist the four French parochial schools. One illustration of the committee's work was its sponsorship of a meeting on October 24, 1954 of a l l the 2 ? Report of Donat Savole at La Troisleme Coneres de la Lanpne^Franealse in Quebec, June 18-26, 1952. Quebec, Les Editions Ferland, 1953, P« 67-68. At the 11th annual provincial congress of the French Canadian Federation held October 9-11* 1955 at Notre French teachers of the four parish schools. When the teachers met, a Council for the teaching of French in B, C. (Conseil de I'&nseigneaeht du Francais en Colombia) was formed. The principal work assumed by this body was to plan a uniform programme for teaching French in the schools and to hold an Interschool competition of French students (Concours de Francais Interseolaire) for pupils of the first three grades in the four parish 28 ' institutions, Leaders in the French Canadian Federation are well aware that there are many clusters of their com-patriots, many recently arrived, scattered throughout Dame de Fatima parish in Maillardville the president, Dr. Leon Beaudoing reminded the delegates (about one hundred from seven communities) of the need of deter-mined effort to preserve French culture. He reminded his audience of the association motto "Dieu et Nos Droits - Hons Saintiendrons"• He spoke of the "re-FrenehizatI©nn (refrancisation) of children at school and at the family hearth. Among other matters a motion wa~s_pa~ssed that BIn view of British Columbia celebrating in 1958 Its one hundredth (50eme /sic/) anniversary and the French-Canadian element having, played a premier role among the pioneers that the Federation participate in the celebrations"as their compatriots had Just done in the Alberta and Saskatchewan centenariesi (from the Report Of the Eleventh Annual French-Canadian Federation of British Columbia, October 30, 1955,) 2® La Llberte. November 6, 1954, p. 9, 91 the province who could he organized into Gardes Francais-Ganadlens If responsible leaders were available. Even a casual glance at the Prince George Directory for 1 9 5 4 indicates that numerous French-Canadians are located in the l i t t le mill-towns in that area. An influx of about forty French-Canadians in the past six years is reported in the Gherryvill© district about fifteen miles east of Lumby. They have been described as eoming mostly from around Montreal and Quebec. Most of them were lumbermen before they came, and here a l l are engaged in logging or lumbering.^ Instances like this may be found in many areae.3® A number of factors :s determine whether the newcomers will remain French-Canadian - their own will to survive culturally, the nature of their environment and th© degree of effort exerted by organizations such as th© French Canadian / Federation to influence them. [ 2 9 Mrs. Ann Bourcetft to the writer, August 10, 1955, and Mr. T . J . Tull to th© writer, October 4, 1955» 3® F. l a son Wade when in Vancouver in July, 1954, mentioned to the writer a report of French-Canadians Immigrating to the Kitlmat project. The writer found over two hundred French-Canadian names listed under Kitlmat in the directory. Many apparently had worked at Arylda and were trained in technical Jobs as "cranemen," "pot operators," "crust breakers" and "foremen." prince Rupert Directory 1955, B. C, Directories Ltd., Vancouver, B, C.j 1955» 92 C H A P T I R iv f i t FRENSa-CAIA&iaH IH BRITISH COLuHglA tOMf -" THE. STATISTICAL •PJCT8R8- ABB ITS ItPLIC&f In the foregoing pages the: story of the coming of the Freheh-Canadians has been related and a des-cr ipt ion given of their settlements and efforts to survive i n a cultural sense* It seems necessary at this point to pause for a moment and analyze so far as available s tat i s t ics w i l l permit the position of the French-Canadians i n re lat ion to the other elements of the province. Proportionately the number of French-Canadians i n B r i t i s h Columbia has never been very Impressive. The following table shows their number and their position i n terms of percentage i n re lat ion to the total population of B r i t i s h Columbia. : J TABLE I The Proportion of B. C . Residents of French Orig in .* fear Total t o t a l of Percent of ^dpulation French Origin French Origin 1881 44,459 916 2.6 Census of Canada. 1881, V o l . I, pp. 298-299$ Census of Canada. 1901, p. 2845 Census of Canada. 19il» V o l . II , p. 168} Census of Canada. 1921, V o l . I , pp. 358-359? Census of Canada. 1931| V o l . II , pp. 482-498$ Census of Canada, 1941, V o l . IV, p . 204; Census Of Canada, i f f l , V o l . I , Table 34. TABLE I (continued) 93 tear Total Total of; Percent of ^ P$P&*Mm S E M l l French Origin 1891 Figures not given in Census 1901 178,659 4,924 2.7 1911 392,480 8,907 2.3 1921 524,582 11*246 2.1 1931 694,263 15,028 2.2 1941 817,861 21,876 2. | 1951 1,165,210 41,919 3.6 It may be noted here that the higher percentage in 1881 and 1901 than in the following forty years can (be explained by the fact that up to 1901 French-Canadians were not competing In numbers with the hosts of British and European immigrants that soonV began to invade the province. The larger proportion reflected in the census reports following 1931 reflects principally the influx from the Prairie Provinces during and after the depression period. The number of Quebec-born in relation to the total population and number of residents Of French origin can be seen from the table given below. t 94 y Number of B. C, Residents, Quebec Born, 1881-1951*' Year f e t a l Bv<?. Population Total of / M I S $e,bec \^'v j?< 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 44,459 98,173 178,659 392,480 524*582 694,263 817,861 1,165,210 916 4,924 8,907 11,246 15*028 21,876 41,919 torn 396 2,567 4,329 7,496 8,24© 9 ,226 9 ,627 14,968 Quebec Born .89 2.6 2.4 1.9 1.6 1.3 1.2 .90 Although i t i s not necessarily true that the Quebec-born are of French origin, i t i s probable they nearly a l l are. : I t should be noted that notwithstanding the great decline i n the percentage of Quebec-born i n 1951 about one-third of the people of French origin In B r i t i s h Columbia at that time had come from Quebec. A comparison of the number of Quebec-born resident i n the province i n 1941 with the number i n 1951 indicates that some 5,341 bom i n Quebec entered the province i n th® tenryear period. I t Is probable that many of the immigrants who came from the Pra i r i e provinces i n 2 Figures for number of Quebec born taken from Census of Canada, 1931, Vol. I , Table 23, p. 524 (a review table); 1921, Vol. I I , p. 246: 1931> Vol. I, Table 475 1941, Vol. IV, p. 816; 1951, Vol. I, Table 47. 95 this decade had originally resided in Quebec. Some persons in Maillardville who have come in the last ten or fifteen years say that they were born in Quebec, moved to Saskatchewan or alberta many years ago to farm, and then came to .theUGoast. The following tabulation shows the comparative distribution of the people of French origin throughout the province according to the censuses from 1881 to 1951* y III \ ^ G ^ A Geographical Distribution of Residents of French Origln.3 Year Pop. Of Chief Centres or Areas S 3 * 1881 916 New Westminster (218). Yale, (including Cariboo and Okanagan) (270), Victoria District (159). Vancouver, and Nanaimo (139) 18§l Io figures available 1901 4,924 Vancouver City (598), New Westminster District ( 4 8 8 ) , Victoria City ( 3 0 7 ) , Kootenay, southjriding (387)-Kootenay, Nelson riding ( 3 5 o ; , Kootenay West, Hossland ( 7 5 4 ) , KOotenay West, Slocan (255)» Yale 1911 8 , 9 0 7 Comox (248), Skeena (249), Cranbrook ( 2 0 3 ) , Fernle ( 2 3 9 ) , Kamloops ( 3 1 8 ) , Victoria City (340), YmlrK(277)» D^ewdney. including Maillardvllle (295)» New Westminster city ( 2 B 5 ) , Vancouver city ( 2 , 2 5 0 ) , Okanagan (414) 3 prom the Census of Canada Reports, 1881, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931» 1941, 1951. TABLg III {continued) EPP.„ Pf Chief Centres or Areas S I S 1921 11,246 Vancouver Burrard (949), Fort George (323),.Kaialoops (4X7),£omVx (373), Eewdne^ (374), Port Coquitlam (438), Victoria" City (359)* Kootenay East (665),Kootenay West (841), Skee'na (380).Delta (316), New Westminster City (321), Vancouver South C582), Yale (185) 1931 15,028 Kootenay River Upper ( 4 9 0 ) , Colombia* S. South (403), Okanagan and Shuswap 3 Upper (656), Port Alberni S I(59), Coquitlam municipality (872New Westminster^^), Burnabyu450), Vancouver *(4,480), Victoria (496)^ 1941 21,876 Kootenay Ro Upper (556), Columbia R.K South (624), footenay arid Slocan (534)/ Okanagan Shuswap (937), Coquitlam s(1,573)j Port Albernl (209)? Prince nGeorge {263). Surrey^(374), New Westminster^C788)r Burnaby^(635), Vancouver (6303)v 1951 41,919 Division 1 (Cranbrook, Fernie, Kim-herley and district) 1,366; )L Division 2 (Revelstoke, Rossland, Trai l , Castlegar, Salmo, Kaslo, Nelson, Slocan, Creston and district) 2,098; ,^ Division 3 (Vernon, Armstrong, Inderby, Summerland, &elowna, Oliver, Penticton and district) 2,473; Division 4 (Lower 1 , .f-i Fraser Valley, New Westminster, Vancouver and district) 22,862; Division 5 (South Vancouver Island-N> Victoria, Albernl, Campbell River, Cotaox, Alert Bay, Gulf Islands) 6,260; Division 6 (North Thompson, Kamloops, ^ Herrltt, Salmon Arm, Lytton, Lillooet) 1,834; Division 7 (Bella Coola Knight C Inlet, Coast, Powell River, Westview) 774; Division 8 (Nechako-Fraser-Parsnip, c.e{4 Prince George, McBride, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Burns Lake and district) 2,402; Division 9 (Atlin, Portland Canal, ^ Prince Rupert, Skeena, Queen Charlotte Islands) B19 and Division 10 (Fort ^ St. John, Pouce Coupe and district) 1,031. 97 It is regrettable that the use, for the tabulation of returns, of large census divisions which comprise many communities does not permit observation of the number of residents of a part* icular racial origin located in each individual district or municipality. It is however, of some value to be able to see the distribution according to general areas, MOre important than the total number of persons of French origin in the province are the statistics which Indicate the degree to which the French language and the RomanCatholicfaith are being retained by these persons* An analysis of these phases is attempted in the subsequent tables. The 1951 Census showed that 39-433 people of British Columbia spoke both English and French^ The following table shows the contributions of the people of French origin and of English origin to the bilingual groups., „ 98 J TABLE I? The Racial Origins of Bilingual.Residents and the Percent of Bilinguals in the two Principal Ethnic Groupst4 ffo.fal % -c-e, Total,, ^ G , f Percent contribution Residents Bilinguals to bilingual group Speaking both languages 39 ,433 100$ French origin bilingual 18,72? 47 .5# British origin bilingual 14.725 37 .3$ Other origins bilingual 5 |981 1 5 . An analysis such as the following shows clearly the tendency of British Columbia residents to adopt English as their mother tongue and hence become assimilated in terms of language used.5 J TABLE V Racial origin 766,189 41,919 Mother Tongue 963.920 Surplus 197,731 <25.8$0 Deficit 22,553 (J**)' 4 For the data given in Tables IV-XI utilized from the Census report of 1951 the writer is indebted to the article of Richard Ares S .J , , "Le Position du Franqais" en Colombia Brltannlque" Relations. July 1954, p. I95-. This article hereinafter referred io as Are's, Relations. July, 1954. Ares, also,; points out that in comparison with other Censuses the French contribution to billngualism in B. C. has never been so low and the British never so high and that there are almost as many British bilinguals in B. C. alone as In the three Prairie provinces combined: 14,725 as against 16,254 for the three together* 5 Ares, Relations, July 1954. 99 While the English language id being used by 25.8$ mere residents than there are people of British origin, 54$ of thejpesjldents^ oj? Jteench origin refer to English as their mother tongue, Also more important than the factor of the numerical strength of the French-Canadian element Is the statistical evidence on the survival of French as a mother tongue and the relation between the number of residents acknowledging French as their mother tongue and the number of residents giving French as their racial origin* The following table shows the position of the two official languages as used by the people of British Columbia according to the 1951 census. <S TABLE H French only English only 1,113,937 39,433 12,113 Percentage using 95.% ,06# Both Neither 3.4g From this table i t is clear that the environment Ares, Relations. July 1954, 100 of B r i t i s h Columbia has almost eliminated the importance of French as the sole language of residents inth<» \ province* Surprisingly, the number of those able to speak French (40,160) approximates the number of B r i t i s h Columbia of French origin. In actual fact, however, some 22,852 of the residents of French origin declare that they have a knowledge of English only. This i s revealed i n the succeeding 'tables / TABLE VII Canadians of Freneh Origin knowing only Inglish (1941,195!)? ^ber.knowjnK Ifumfter of' 'timtJm ^ng^lsh onlg fftfifttiifc H M ! M l 1941 11,276 of 21,876 * 51.% 1951 22,852 of 41,919 > 54.5$ Growth i n Ten years 11,576 20,043 The increase i n the number of anglicised persons by the number of 11,576 i n a ten-year period i s r e a l l y more than a quarter of a l l the group i t s e l f ( 4 1 , 9 1 9 ) % ihen i t i s realized further that 2 3 , 8 5 1 ( 5 6 . 9 $ ) of the people of French origin have now come to acknowledge English as their mother tongue th© situation appears very disconcerting.. ^ Ares, Relations. July, 1954* 101 Some impression of the extent of s u r v i v a l of the French language may he obtained from the following s t a t i s t i c s based on three census reports.® ^ TABLE VIII I § 2 £ lrm$h fffenqh frafoWMf Percentage M S ^o^her, t o n j ^ I of Retention 1931 1 5 , 0 2 8 7 , 7 6 8 5 1 . 5 $ 1941 2 1 , 8 7 6 1 1 , 0 5 8 51*8$ 1951 41 ,919 1 9 , 3 6 6 4 6 . 0 $ If one compares the discrepancy between o r i g i n and language ( 7 , 2 6 0 - 193H 1 0 , 8 1 8 - 1941| 22,553 - 195D s t r i c t l y In terms of numbers, I t may be noted t h i s discrepancy has t r i p l e d i n the twenty-year period. A more encouraging picture i s that shown by a table i n d i c a t i n g growth i n the number of residents of French o r i g i n an<3 growth t i n ; termstof the number of residents who c a l l French t h e i r maternal language. (Comparison of figures i n Table VIII) TABLE IX Period growth-according fopwth. qccordjng, to o r i g i n to, language 1931 -1941 6 , 8 4 8 3 , 2 9 0 1941-1951 20,043 8 , 3 0 9 9 8 Ares, Relations. J u l y 1 9 5 4 . 9 Loc. c i t . 102 The growth under the first head is more than double that under the second * an indication of th© heavy losses in th© acknowledgement of French as a mother tongue* S t i l l there is considerable growth in the number of residents of French origin* If one examines the situation of the French group in terms of percentage of the total population under the following heading there is a noteworthy advancement, especially with respect to the increase in the number of residents in British Columbia of French Origin* TABLE X 10 1931 1941 1951 British^pjjigibia. fres^ent^ g£ Frenc^oHlIri 15,028 (2 .16JO of total population 2I,8?6 (2*55$) 41 ,919 (3*! resides its witfr French lansuaff© as mot* i©r tongue 7*768 (1.12$) 11,058 (1*35$) 19,366 (1*66<0 Of Fronch Qy W n . and Languafi;© 7 ,290 (1.0550 9,932 (1*2150 17,721 ( 1 . 4 6 $ ) Yet. th© mor© significant conclusions arise from th© second and third comparisons, th© percentages of the people who acknowledge French as mother tongue and who give both their origin and maternal language as French* Ares, Relations* July 1954* 103 It is these residents who may be instrumental in perpetuating French language and culture, They amount to only one and one-half percent of the total population in the province. To summarize the salient Items of the foregoing tables i t is important to stress these facts: of the 41,919 British Columbia residents of French origin in 1951, 23,851 (56.9$) now name English as their maternal languagej 22,852 (54.5$) disclose that they have no working knowledge Of French} and only 17,271 (41.2$) profess French as their mother tongue. As compared with the other Western provinces, N British Columbia has the worst record for losses in the French language between 1941 and 1951.** •-/— Province Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta B. C. : In the four western provinces there is a rapid increase in the acceptance of English as the maternal language and a marked decrease in the use of French. >J TABLE XI French 1941 1951 84.8$ 76.©$ 75.4$ 64,9$ 68.0$ 56.9$ 45.4$ 41,2$ v*0 ' English . 1941 1951 14.6$ 22.4$ 23.4$ 32.7$ 29,9$ 39.5$ 55.6$ 56.9$ 1 1 ares, Relations. July 1954, The picture becomes gradually worse the further west one travels, the only really gratifying observation | that can be made is that the absolute number of jresidents of Franch origin has nearly doubled in ten j years (21,876 in 1941, 41,9X9 in I95i) end that this j represents a rise from 2.7$ to 3.6$ in spite of an overall population growth of tremendous proportions. In this sense, then, there is an enlarged potential for the fostering of French Canadian nationalism. Keeping in mind that the culture which French-Canadians wish to nourish is Roman Catholic in religion as well as French in language, It Is important to examine the degree of survival In this respect so far as British Columbia is concerned. Leaders in the movement to preserve French-Canadian nationalism in British Columbia are painfully aware of the various threats to their culture. Mixed marriages are con-stantly referred to as a major instrument in facilitating absorption by the English speaking and Protestant majority. Statistics of mixed marriages in terms of loss to the Catholic faith are very difficult to obtain. The annual reports from each parish give always the total of mixed marriages which have taken place during the year. But these marriages may not result in the actual loss of the French and Catholic individual to his (or her) religious and ethnic group, ft study made 105 by abb© Limoges and reported at th© 2nd French Language Congress did not show British Columbia French-Canadians to be special offenders in numbers of mixed marriages,12 On the other hand Leonidas Joubert,' in another analysis placed the number of mixed marriages at 5,312 among the 15,028 French residents in B. C, In the 1931 census Whatever the actual number of these matrimonial alliances; may be they Cannot be overlooked as a serious contributing factor in the assimilative process. They were mentioned by Donat Savoie, on© of the British Columbia delegates to the 3rd French Language Congress in 1952 as a grave problem threatening the French* Canadian in British Columbia, attendance at public schools was given by M, Savoie as another undermining influence, although the data on mixed marriages does not permit definite conclusions to be made regarding their significance in leading to cultural assimilation, there is ample evidence that the abandonment of th© 1 2 peuxleme Coheres de la Lan^ ua FrancaIse anCanada, Quebec, Imprfe©6rle du Soleil Lt§e*, 1938, Tome III, p, 154, *3 p©s Groupements Canadlens-frsnqais au Canada," Etudes Economlques. Montreal, Editions Beauchemin, 1935, p, 116, 10© Catholic faith by residents of French origin In British Columbia has reached a point where alarm is more than justified. The following table shows that > losses among the French-Canadians to the Soman Catholic faith in British Columbia far exceed proportionately those in any other province* ^ TABLE XII People of Canadian Provinces and Territories of French Origin - Boman Catholic and Non-Roman Catholic. i 4 Province or Total Fr. Total Roman Non-Roman * Loss Territory Catholic Catholic Newfoundland 9,841 8,570 1,471 13.9 Prince Ed. Island 15,47? 15,040 437 2*3 Nova Scotia 73,760 61,229 12,531 16*9 New Brunswick 197,031 192,530 5*101 2*6 Quebec 3,327,128 3,302,094 25,034 •75 Ontario 477,6?? 417,570 60,10? 12*8 Manitoba 66,020 6.424 9*9 Saskatchewan 51,930 44,400 7,530 14.4 Alberta 56,185 44,924 11,261 19.9 B. C. 41,919 27,421 14,498 (34.6 fukon 645 484 161 24.9 I, W. Territories 954 880 74 7.9 Here we see that the losses to the Catholic faith i n the Western provinces p a r a l l e l the decrease i n the use 1 4 Statistics €©r totals of residents French origin and Roman Catholic faith taken from Census of Canada, 1951, Vol* I, Table 35* 107 of French as maternal language « the picture worsens progressively the farther one travels from the "mother-land, 0 Quebec. It may be noted also that the percentage of loss in British Columbia Is almost double that in any other province.1 ? From almost any viewpoint i t can be seen that in British Columbia the prospects for the continuance of French-Canadian nationalism do not warrant buoyant hope. It is the realization of this fact that has spurred ardent Canadiens to promote organizations like the Federation Canadlenne-Franfaise with its local "cercles" and to labour and sacrifice toward the goal of establishing of French-Canadian parishes with a l l possible speed. In the light of the situation as des-cribed in the foregoing pages i t Is not difficult to understand why British Columbia Canadiens visiting in Quebec have been moved many times to make Impassioned pleas for help and why Quebec 'patriots' have given many thousands of dollars to aid the French-Canadians here. *5 it is interesting that the common statement that losses of faith and language are far greater in the urban areas does not prove true in British Columbia* Of the provinces 41,919 people of French origin, 27,839 are given as urban and 18,411 or 66.5$ of these are Soman Catholic. Of the 14,080 rural residents of French origin 9,010 or 64.7$ have remained Catholic* The 14,498 non-Catholic French Canadians are given as Church of England 3,996, Baptist 670, Greek Orthodox 23, Greek Catholic 10, United Church 6077> iothers 2056* Census of Canada, 1951* Vol. I, Table 35. 108 CHAPTER V FRSICH-CA!?Al?lAlg..IS. BRITISH COLUMBIA AHB THE S1PABAT1 SCHOOL, QUBST^ Ol? When 850 pupils In Haillardville's Catholic schools went "on strike" bn April 1, 1951 to support / their parents* demand for some relief from the burden \ of "double" school taxes^ the story made the headlines of British Columbia papers and was published far beyond the limits of the Pacific Coast province. To many readers this was simply the feeble resurrection of a battle fought on a much larger scale years before in Manitoba and Ontario. To a degree this impression was true,but few realized that the Separate School question in Maillardvllle had some facets peculiar to the community alone. The demonstration in Maillardvllle was th© "boiling-over" of a broth of grievances accumulated over a long period. Before describing the school problem as It pre-vails in Maillardvllle, i t would be profitable to analyse briefly the convictions underlying Roman Catholic education. Father Henri St, Bonis, speaking in a symposium at Queen's University in 1945 emphasized that French Canada does not conceive education divorced from religion. Religion must be at the very base of a l l conscious living 109 and must form the soul of a l l thinking, Al l education accordingly is a study of God and there is no such thing as secular education, though of course, there can he secular instruction, but then instruc-. tlon and education are not synonymous,1 Father St, Denis explained further that to his church "edueation must be based upon man's spiritual nature and eternal destiny. It is not confined to man's mere physical ethical and Intellectual development. It should educate him for eternity as well as for time." For this reason* he said French Canada has confessional schools permeated with religion. In commenting on acknowledgments by educationalists outside the Church of the importance of religious Instruction and the reasons they offered for banishing religion from the curriculum, he charged that the public schools were attempting to retain the ethical superstructure of Christian Ideals while rejecting the religious foundation underlying these Ideals, In view of the conflict of religious creeds, textbooks and methods were purged of religious content until in the children*s minds has been formed a system of knowledge leaving no room for God or religion. Under the public school system, St. Denis said, young people see religion * St. Denis, Henri, Rev., French Canadian Back- grounds, a Symposium. "French Canadian Ideals in Education," Toronto, Ryerson, 1940, p. 2 5 * 110 treated as "a more or less superfluous appendage to p modern civilization," This complaint Is expressed everywhere by the defenders of th© parochial school. One of the pastors in Maillardvllle expressed his opinion that the lack of religious instruction is a major cause of juvenile delinquency. He spoke of one father of his acquaintance, distraught with a worry over a rebellious teen-age son who told him "to go to Hell" whenever any question or order was given which seemed to invade the realm of his affairs. The priest felt that the absence of teaching about God and human responsibility before Him was the cause of situations of this kind. The general feeling among the Catholic clergy and other advocates of parish schools is that High School eourses such as "Effective Living" (now called "Personal Development") may have their merits in attempting to promote desirable character growth but are a poor substitute for a programme of character training based on religious principles. Th© basic Roman Catholic criticism of secular education is Its neglect of religion. To the Catholic educator, the school is candidly an adjunct to the d St, Denis, p. 35. Father Ledue, Notre Dame de Lourdes parish, July 17, 1955, church and assist i t i n the formation of Christian character* The fundamental difference i n outlook between state systems and Roman Catholie education has produced parochial sehools i n B r i t i s h Columbia and i n many other provinces or states whether or not govern-ment financial aid was forthcoming. So far as B r i t i s h Columbia i s concerned, the policy of the provincial government i s not to give parish schools financial assistance for school buildings, teachers* salaries or operating expenses. I t may be wondered then why Mai l l a r d v i l l e , where the burdens imposed are no greater than i n other communities* should be the scene of angry disputes over school costs. The incessant complaint of the Roman Catholic i parents i n M a i l l a r d v i l l e i s that i n comparison with i Protestant taxpayers and users of the public schools, j they rea l l y pay a " t r i p l e " tax.3 F i r s t , as property ! owners i n Coquitlam municipality, they pay taxes upon i their land and buildings or businesses, and a large i part of the sum thus raised i s used for the construction ; and operation of school© which their own children do .1 not use. Then, i n order to give their children a Stevenson, Miss Janet, "Le Probleme de Haillard-v i l l e " . Relations. Montreal, January, 1952, p. 11-12. M a i l l a r d v i l l e School Question, printed text of a radio broadcast over few"Westminster Radio Station C.K.N.W* Apra^l951* 112 jCatholic education, the people contribute another sum | for the building and maintenance of their parish i j j schools* Once the school i s erected, the building and, of course, the land where i t i s situated become subject to the usual municipal tax charged on property. The parents have real ized, too, that their children are going without a number of benefits which non-Catholic children enjoy regularly (thanks to municipal and provincial aid) - free medical and dental inspection, free textbooks up to Grade 7I§ books on a rental plan for Junior and Senior High school students, and free bus transportation for pupils l iv ing beyond a certain l i m i t . One factor that seems to have caused deeper resentment (of these handicaps) i n Mai l lardv l l l e than ^ In other parishes i s the French-Canadian nationalism of some of the parish leaders* In the speech by Father St . Denis mentioned ear l i er , a remark was made to the effect that "the greatest obstacle to national unity has been th© repeated attempts through most of Canada to ostracize the French and the Implication that they / have no r ight to remain French-Canadian outside of / Quebec." He said further, "Any ©ducat lona l policy that does not make them fee l at home anywhere i n the country Is a source of national s t r i f e and discontent."4" L * St . Denis, H . Rev., French-Canadian Backgrounds. P. 3 5 , 113 la June 1952, Father Alherle Meunier, founder of the Hotre Dame de Fatima parish is Maillardville, was speaking to a Richelieu Club luncheon in Montreal and echoed the same sentiment when he said: If French speaking Canadians in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have certain constitutional and scholastic liberties the same situation does not exist in British Columbia, The French-speaking minority in that province must fight ostracism on the part of the majority of English-speaking Canadians. l e added the French-speaking Canadians in that province must fight continually to preserve their faith, their language and their racial characteristics•5 So far as the French-Canadian Soman Catholics in Malllardville are concerned, any limitations upon their freedom to foster their religion through the schools affect also the survival of their language and customs. Where a non-French-Ganadian Catholic sees only a danger to his faith in secular education, the ardent Canadian sees a triple threat to his cultural existence. Another grievance exists la Maillardviile, The belief, has been fostered by the pioneers that the ^ cited In the Vancouver Sun. June 1 9 » 1 9 5 2 , p | 2 . 114 I lumber company management which brought them to B. C. promised to provide free schools. It seems quite possible that promises of this nature were made by the company. Press reports at that time of the settlers' coming spoke of a church to be erected and of the enlargement of the original school in the mill townsite. In view of the French-Canadian's love for his traditional community l ife, i t seems feasible that the original settlers asked for assurances that the same school privileges be granted as they had been accustomed to have in Quebec. At any rate, i t is Impossible to prove now what verbal agreement was made with the lumbermen almost forty-six years ago. Th© Issue that provoked the strike of th© children of the two parish schools was the failure o f th© local and provincial authorities to provide bus transportation to the parish schools as was don© for the public school pupils. Demands were also made for free medical and dental inspections and f o r free text books. Th® provincial government agreed to provide text books on the same basis as In the case of public schools but remained adamant on the other requests. In retaliation the parish schools closed Text of broadcast on Maillardvllle School Question, the Vancouver Sun. April 2,. 195>1> p# !• 125 immediately after the Baster vacation and the pupils j were sent to be enrolled at the public schools. Since i there were over eight hundred pupils, the confusion may well be imagined. Although some of the overcrowded schools were already on a double shift, th® school board members said that they would accommodate a l l the new pupils. The Catholic leaders, on the other hand, believed that th© school board was "bluffing" and wished to coerce the municipal and provincial authorities by precipitating a problem of accommodation that was impossible of solution. The difficulty caused for the school board was a staggering one, but by double shifting and hiring some fifteen additional teachers (most of them former teachers turned housewives) the situation was handled. Spokesmen for the Joint Catholic Sehool Board said that they would keep their schools closed until they obtained rights equal with those of the publle schools and the system prevailing in Quebec where Catholic, Wrot©stant and Jewish schools a i l participate in government grants* The children, of course, enjoyed : the disruption in their school routine. Some of them were assembled to march along the street carrying signs such as "W® Want Justice," "Maillardvllle Collects Taxes for the Maillardvllle Schools."? In the press, J,:B. Goulet ? Vancouver Sun. April 2, 1951, P* 1 « , April 3, 1951, p. 2. presented the Maillardville complaint concerning payment of school taxes to the municipality as well, as fees for parish schools. Ooulet calculated that i f the Catholic school hoard received the provincial government grant of $209.00 annually per pupil, i t would have over $175*000.00 annually to operate the parochial schools. He added that the Catholic instit-utions would cost over one-half million dollars to replace and that they were accommodating pupils for whom the government would otherwise need to build schools.** The Catholic School Board members on April 7, 1951 broadcast a statement of their complaints over New Westminster's radio station C.K.N.W. setting forth the philosophy of Soman Catholic education and enumerating the "penalties" or handicaps which British Columbia Catholics in general, but Maillardvill© Catholics in particular, were labouring under when they wished to guarantee their children Christian education. The broadcast sought to provoke wider public action by suggesting that with the unusual crowding in the public schools Protestant children would suffer in their dally Instruction. It stressed the fact also that the Catholic parents were only now beginning to use the schools which they had been supporting for years past. Vancouver Sun, April 3, 1951, ?• 2, 117 The Saskatchewan law on the establishment of separate schools was referred to as providing a democratic method to deal with the problem* The strike did not accomplish its purpose* The parochial schools reopened in September of the following year* The Catholic pupils, parents and school board simply continued to make the best of a distasteful situation* The outcry in Halliardville demanding government aid for the Catholic schools created an embarrassing situation for the provincial Coalition government, since it as much as the School Board was considered responsible for the situation. The school Issue also had an interesting political result in Maillardville. In the community Liberal Association there was some question after the government refused any assistance to parochial schools as to whether the membership would support the provincial Liberal executive. The publicity chairman of the Joint Catholic School Board and a member of the Association had predicted that a majority of the eleven-man provincial party executive would resign*^ The threatened split did not materialize* In the year or two following the strike, the Joint Catholic School Board in alliance with other Roman Catholics approached the Provincial government 9 Vancouver Sun. September 6 , 1951» p* 2* 118 with appeals for relief from the tax burden or at least 10 for some form of assistance. The appeals have borne no fruit and the only result seems to have been the „ provoking of some vehement opposition on the part of ardent Protestants to any form of aid to separate schools .2.1 Since then the protest of the Church and the people against the situation has taken a different form. i , With the declared policy of the Social Credit govern-I ment to make no special provision for separate schools, resentment has been demonstrated within the municipality by refusing to pay tax bills on the school property. This matter case to an impasse in December of last year (1955) when three years* taxes totalling $8f338*07 remained unpaid and the two schools had become liable to sale* Appeals t© Victoria for tax relief had proved of no avail since the School Board In District #43 had refused to give the necessary assent to exemption for the Catholic schools. Th© situation was further The British Columbia Cstholie Education Association presented a brief to the Premier and Provincial Cabinet, October 20, 1953* 1 1 Examples of Protestant opposition are cited in the Vancouver Sun. June 19, 1952, p* 2., (A Resolution from the Women's Missionary Branch of the Regular Baptists of B* C.) and in La Survlvance. Idmonton, December 8, 1954, p. 1; a Protestant Committee headed by Rev. W.M. Robertson of Vancouver presenting a memorial of opposition to the Provincial Government* complicated by the confusion surrounding Section *>8, subsection 24, of the Municipal Act which sight make possible a tax exemption.*^ Comments from four cabinet ministers on the Interpretation of the Act were not precise enough to spur the Reeve and Council to take definite action on the matter. Of course,the whole issue has political aspects and any political office-holder is wary on the matter since the municipality is divided along religious lines. With over $ 8 0 0 © owing in unpaid taxes, a moment of crisis came when a former reeve (and a Protestant) offered to purchase the two schools for the value of 13 the unpaid taxes and interest. The offer was rejected by the Municipal Council but the incident made Council, School Board and the French parishes realise that the matter could not remain In abeyance Indefinitely. 3 £ La Llberte et Le Patriote. December 10 , 1955* p. January 7» W o » P«" l?'' January 21 , 1956, p. ?• The clause under discussion speaks of the municipality "granting aid for educational ends i f such aid is first of a l l approved by the School board." *3 ironically this prospective purchaser was Protestant'!• C.-'~lacBonald, former. Coquitlam-reeve for many years and once Provincial Cabinet member in the Coalition government. He had always been considered a fee of the French-Canadians and Catholics. Mr. MacDonald' offer was made December 20, 1955 at a counc i l meeting. 119A A P R . 5 6 The P a r i s h school (Elementary) at Notre Darae de Fatima p a r i s h , M a i l l a r d v i l l e . The high school of Notre Dame de Lourdes P a r i s h , M a i l l a r d v i l l e . To f o l l o w page 119 120 CHAPTER ? I CONCktfSIOH Th© situation as i t has been described in the foregoing pages depicts no rosy prospect for the survival of French-Canadian nationalism on Canada's Pacific coast. Of the thousands who have com© to British Columbia as fur traders, prospectors, railroad builders, miners, loggers, and mlllmen through the past century and a half many have lost a l l kinship with their former relatives. The names of some have become distorted in the speech-of English-speaking neighbours, the language of Quebec awakens no response of under-standing and the lass has become a ritual of th© fore-fathers. Scattered everywhere across the province are men and women whose names and appearance betray their family origin as old Quebec. French-Canadians, like r . other Canadians, come t© British Columbia in ever- j Increasing numbers, but there is an unhappy tendency j for these, often bilingual already, to use French less and less until i t disappears from the family hearth. _J. The tendency in race, language and religion is a l l too.j evidently toward assimilation. S t i l l there is a beacon of hope appearing here and there amid the darkness. It centers in a French-Canadian parish church and a parish school. fhere is "^j also the earnest gleam of the French Canadian federation' surrounded by numerous miniature flames, the French* Canadian circles• which may yet flash forth to ignite some of clusters of unburning faggots. the strides which have been taken to preserve French-Canadlanis© in the last few years are remarkable and in some respects encouraging. It is no easy assign-ment this, to keep the loyalties t© French Canada alive when Anglicizing influences are on ©very hand and material prosperity encourages religious indifference. French-Canadian leaders await with apprehension the coming Census (1956) to see whether the trend towards assimilation evident In the last few decades will show any sign of abatement. the separate SGhool question, more vital to the French-Canadian than to other Roman Catholics, remains unsolved. Only a government with a rare passion for justice i s likely to attempt tocevolve a formula which could give some aid to the separate schools without enraging the Protestant majority.- There is always a tendency for politicians to postpone issues involving principle or justice when political expedience is not to be served, the French-Canadian feels he is entitled to special consideration on th© separate school question 4 because his forefathers in 186? entered Confederation on the understanding of equal partnership. He con-stantly argues that Quebec would have never have agreed to Confederation had it been thought that equality of .ra .ee, language and religion was to prevail only in Quebec, /" s Although the French-Canadian may not often; •/ say so, he feels that the British Columbia government / has never given fair consideration to the question of parochial schools because i t could very safely ignore i t . After a l l , the only minority really pressing for action is and has been almost negligible in political importance. The Canadien, whose flare for logic makes law a popular profession in Quebec, despatches quickly the stock-in-trade argument against tax support for separate schools - the claim that such a policy would destroy the public school system by inviting numerous sects to operate state-supported institutions. He points to Saskatchewan as one province which has solved the seemingly insoluble problem in an amicable way and to Quebec that allows Protestants and Jews (without any equivocation) tax support for their schools* APPENDIX I McLOBSRLIN ON THE INEFFICIENCY OF CANADIAN RECRUITS FOB THB FUR TRADE (in a letter to the Company Oovemor in London, November 18, 1843.) ...these sis years we have got only one man, fit to make a feoute,3" he went out last spring and re-engaged at York and returned this fa l l , one of the great causes in my ©pinion of our having poor men is that the offiee for hiring them is at Lachlne Instead of Montreal as formerly when we used to get first rate men. g j s i g / Rich* S.S. (with an Introduction by W* Kay© Lamb) ffcLouffhlln's Fort Vancouver Letters* 2nd Series 1839-44, Toronto, Champlain Society, 1943, p^ 167* 1 A bout, was a bow»a„ or . * * * » . of . boat crew, the aristocrat of the crew. 124 APPENDIX II fffB FBENGB1-CANADIAN SETTLEMENT IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLUff The development of the French-Canadian settlement in Oregon provides in itself a fascinating narrative* James Douglas, who had become chief trader for the Company In 1835* reported the total male population at Willamette In I838 as fifty-one, of whom twenty~three were French-Canadians* The other twenty-eight were staff members of the Methodist Mission established there or other American settlers** Simpson estimated there were five hundred persons in the settlement by the autumn of 1841 (sixty-five Americans and others, sixty-one Canadians ex-servants of the Company and wives 2 and families of these men. The French-Canadians were established in a region known as French Prairie, some fifty miles up the Willamette Valley. Two French-Canadians, Etienne Lucier and Joseph Servais, had settled there quite early, Lucier as early as 1828 or 1829* Although the terms of service of the ©en with the company had been completed and the relationship continued only on a commercial basis, the farmers * Benort of Douglas to the Governor and Committee of the Hudson*s Bay CO.,' October 18, 1838 cited in introduction to ffeLouehlln»g Fort Vancouver Letters 3rd series, Toronto, Champlain Society 1944, p*. XXXVII* 2 leport of Simpson to Governor and Committee, November 25, 1841, loc. cit . 125 purchasing goods or exporting produce through Fort Vancouver, the tie between the Canadians and the Company remained quite. strong*..... By the Summer of 1844 thousands of Americans were pouring into the district and the Company* realising the imminent possibility of American envelop-ment tried to promote a counter immigration scheme by importing settlers from the Bed River and establishing them at Fort Hlsqually and at Cowlitz farm, both north of Fort Vancouver* However, a series of crop failures, and the attraction of better land south, of the Columbia wrecked this enterprise* As It became obvious that organization was necessary to maintain peace and order, with Br. McliOughlln's blessing the French-Canadians lent their support to th© formation of a provisional government. They did not do so, however, without presenting a document setting forth their views and their rights. Their spokesman was a French-Canadian priest - Father Anthony Langlois*^ 3 The index volume to the Oregon Historical Quarterlies (Vols, I - J & ) , 1939, p* 243, lists numerous articles about or relative to the French-Canadians in Oregon,-126 APPENDIX III FRENGH-GANADIANS. MENTIONED W DR. JOHN McLQTKfflLIN IN GOMNSCf ION WITH THE THOMPSON RIVER POST QR OTHER INTERIOR SSTABLISHMjBNTS.* Jos. C l a i m ont ) Joachim LaFleur ) Thompson River Andre Ptcard ) Antoine Rocquelbrune ) Narcisse Portelanee Ant. Plouffe J . Be. (Jean Baptiste) Lajois Jos. Lapierre Pierre Lacourse Antoine Felix Letter to A.R. McLeod, Chief Trader 2Gth March 1831, cited in Barker, B. - Letters of Dr. John HoLoughiln. Oregon Historical Society, 1948, p. 193* 127 APPMBIX IV TWO OF gppSOSMg PERSONNEL REPORTS OH GOBS3ANY ESTABLISHMENTS 1. Fort Alexandria, Western Caledonia$ GolimMe Elver District Outfit^ 1827. Officers and Sen « Their Conduct and Character 1. Campbell. Awasteap 2. Desloge, Hyacinth© 3. Gregolre, Itienne 4 . MeGlllivray, Joseph $• MeBougall, George 6 . Majeau, A&brolse 7. McBonell, Ineau Excessively nervous Generally Improper Steady Unexception-able Indifferent Obedient Speaks th© Carrier language Notoriously bad a good horsekeepei? an efficient trader inclined to be troublesome a good lad from Rich, B.I* (ed.) Simpson's 1828 Journey to the Columbia. Toronto, Champlain Society, 1947. Appendix A. p, 200. 2 . Thompson River District Report 1827 - officers and men attached to the district with their conduct and character, as well as the family belonging to each. 128 Women Annanee, Francis N. Ermatiriger, i Francis Beslard, Joseph Bourdignon, Antoine 1 Oingrais, Jean 1 Karonhitikigo, Laurent Laprade, Alexis Leculre, Francois Moreau,. Joseph HeDonald, Archibald Picard, Andre Shoegaskatsta, Louis Satarakass, Pierre Lafentasie, 1 2 Jacques 1 1 Clerk Clerk at Okanakan /sic/ An able, good steersman and a most active hand with horses A good careful man bat weak A handy man, move interested for the service in the absence than before his superior A good foreman and obed-ient In other respects, not adapted for horse driving An obedient good man Slow and awkward. He is this year from Bed River Active and knows his duty well but careless and has l i t t le Inclination for /Illegibly/Jobs Clerk in charge of district Ingenious - speaks the Okanagan well - is weak as a voyageur A most submissive man but not adapted for the duty of this place Another good quiet Iroquois but the same defect with the last Interpreter, but not sufficiently resolute with the Indians - very thoughtless LaCourse, Pierre ?omen Boys Girls ' 1 ' / 3 129 A good pan * steersman and boat builder - is now gone back to Spokan to make boats from Simpson's 1@28 Journey to the (iol^ neibla. Appendix A* p*229, Rotes It is impossible In most cases to distinguish between French-Canadians and French-Canadian half-breeds* Most of th© men with French names were French-Canadianswho-had taken Indian wives. A few of the most useful men like Annance were haIf-breeds* / 130 A P P E N D I X V Simpson's attitude toward the request of the Catholic mission to import farther help was the cause of much dismay on the part of Bishop Signay and the missionaciesnBlanehet andDemers. He had been friendly and helpful in arranging for the transport of the original missionaries to the Columbia but for some reason his attitude changed. Some blame has been placed on the reports of th© Anglican chaplain the Bev* Herbert Beaver who was sent to Fort Vancouver by the London office of the Company but returned after a brief stay and described conditions at FOrt Vancouver as being in a. deplorable state. In contrast| the warm attitude of Dr, ffeLoughlin, th© 'governor* of the Columbia district was on© which called forth many expressions of thanks from the Catholic missionaries and their superior in Quebec, James Douglas, Chief Factor, to®, showed a friendly spirit toward them and wrote to Governor Simpson telling him that he thought he (Simpson)"did wrong in throwing obstacles in the way of the Canadian Catholic missionaries'** The Jesuits, led by Father De Smet, a -Belgian,/ Douglas regarded as: foreigners* H © said "T prefer Mr, Blanchet's people to them". Douglas said the Canadians "instead of being restrained, ought to be encouraged and allowed 331 a free passage in the Company's inland craft to any 1 part of the district they may wish to visit**. McI»Qughlin*s Letters Fort Vancouver, (ed. 1.1. Rich, with an Introduction by W. Kaye Lamb), Toronto, Champlain Society, 3rd series, 1944 • a private letter of James Douglas to Sir George Simpson, !?th March 1845, p. 184-185-132 APPENDIX VI LIST, OF CONTRIBUTORS PROM THE PERSONAL OF THE NORT^ERlf POSTS (UNDER SITORINTB1DSNT PETER SKENE GGBEN) TO THE MISSION OF BLANCHET A N D DEMERS. NOVEMBER 1841. £ 3. a. William KcBean 3 0 0 Louis Gagnon 2 0 0 Jean-Baptist© Boucher Cc) 2 0 0 Jean Baptiste Boucher (d) 1 0 0 P. Gun 1 0 0 W. F. Lane 2 0 0 Pierre Letendre 2 0 0 William Norwlck 1 0 0 P. S. Ogden 2 0 0 William Thew 1 10 0 Joseph Brunette 0 - 10 o Jean Couturier 1 0 9 Paul Fraser 2 0 0 0, LaFerte 2 0 0 J . Tubault (Thlbault?) 1 0 0 Pierre Roy 1 0 0 Cited In Moriee, History of the Catholic Church in Western Canada« vol. I I , p. 2~86~. APPENDIX ¥11 LISTS OF FR1NGB*CA N APIAN NAMES APPEARING BHDBR TBff HEADINGS DIROCBB AND NIGOMSI IN REISERS ON »S GAZETTEER AND BIRBOTOftY, 2m Deroche Nleomen Beaulieu, Arthur - farmer Caron, Simeon - farmer Beaulieu, Hypolite ° Chartres, Edward " Beneau, Antoine Rouleau, George ° Deroche. Joseph • farmer fremblay, Emery ° Parent. Felix n Rouleau, Adolph M Tremblay, Amede " In the ten years subsequent there were few changes. By 1911 two more members of the Deroche family, Isadora and Oliver, were listed as farmers. 234 APPENDIX TOI LISTSj^.mmm.mmm mmmim B N D E R "gifzic" oa $ ^ ] & m m * m . ^ Gmwsmm A I D DiRgCf CRY. M©rin» E. - farmer Leduc, Baptlste • farmer Martin. Theophil© - " Pigeon, P. » " Rouleau, ©©org© • " Seux, J . R. - a Durieu Lagaee, A. - postmaster Bergevin, Oliver - farmer Bernler, Joseph - " Boucher, Moise -Carrat, Louis -Chomat, Xavier -Cote, Octave - " Cyr, Alfred • farmer and logger Cyr, Eoel " Dion, Albert " lor-e^u, F-. - • 1904 l itt le changes except that names Brisson and Fontaine added and three of th© above names had gone. 1910 By this time Fred Cyr was listed as a "logger" only. Hew names added were Regis Hudon, farmer} Michel Laeroix, fisherman; Jean Boucher, farmer; Bellor Fontaine, lumber-man; J . Lagaee,- baker; Xavier Landry, farmer; Urn... Lihon, farmer, Wm. Marquette, farmer and three faillards, a l l farmers. i 9 i , i & few more arrivals had enlarged the ranks, Newcomers were George Paul, farmers HIchard Emanuels, logger and Xavier Lagsae^?farmer. APPENDIX IX NAME* PLACE OF ORIGIN* APFROXIMATl TIHE OF ARRIVAL. " L E N G T H OF S f AY AND OTHER PARTICULARS REGARDING EARLY DURIEU RESIDENTS - according to Louis Lagaee, son of the first homesteader* 136 Name Bergevin, 0. Bernler, J . Bouchier, Cyr, A. Cyr, J . Cyr, Zm Dion, Albert Place of Origin #PJP^„,ftip® and occupation other tnan farming Three Rivers, 1886 was in California, then Nevada Quebec, then North Battleford 1890-2 Three Rivers, 1885 cotton mills in Massach-usetts ChOmat, France X» Cote, 0, Quebec Campbell-town, N.B* To Vancouver in I880»s Logged In Mt* Pleasant district of Vancouver Montreal district 1886 1880*s Logged for Brunette Saw Mills early days of stay Until death Until very old Until death other particulars Died in old people's home, Kamloops Moved to Washington State Until death Moved to New Westminster Moved to Shuswap Hudon, D. Quebec 13? P l a c e of Origin loreau, F. Leduc, B, Quebec Quebec* Logged for Cyr at Durieu ^jrox* time 6Y arrival' andoccupation pther\thart f arming first to settle at Allan's Lake Durieu very early irtln T. Quebec Pigeon, P* Ontario EOuleaUjG* Quebec Seux, J.E. France Brisson, Montreal J.. district Fontaine Michigan A* LaGroix, qusrterbreed Indian Landry, X* Manitoba Marquette from lasterri Canada Taillard, from France *T. Taillard, » • H. Taillard, " " P. earn© with A* Lagace, homesteaded at McConnell Creek, logged here farmed and logged before 1900 was farming partner to L. Carrat at first drove shingle bolts down creek to Stave Falls sti did not stay long until "near" • death death of T*B. t i l l death about 1940 particulars died at Kamloops old people's home lived at Hatzic Prairie t i l l death stayed only a .few years 138 Place of Landreville Lowell* Mass. Approx. time Length other Ofaarriyal^and of ' Wrtleulars, occupation Stay other than farming''.**""'"* • • • moved to Vancouver Garneau, X. Quebec Roberge Cardinal, F . Montreal d i s t r i c t Quebec-became section foreman for 1894 1890 APPENDIX X SOME OTHER NAMES OP FRENCH-CANADIAN LUMBi EARLY DIRECTORIES M 139 Laurea, Noel 18Q1 Gharbonneau, John Dlone, Joseph Dubois, Frank LabellcOs (?) Joseph Lafreniere, B, Lebarge Louise, J* 1892 Glroux, Victor Julian, E. Labree, E . Laduke, Joseph Lagendre, Edward Laplant, J . Lavelle, M. Logger, ifoodyville Slllhand, Brunette Sawmills « tt If Labourer, New Westminster Logger, Hillside, New Westminster Labourer, New Westminster Royal City Planing Mills Millhand, " " tt » Sash and Door Maker, New Westminster Hillhand, Brunette Sawmills Labourer, New Westminster Labourer, New Westminster tt Lumberman, New Westminster Williams, R.T., Brlftlsh Columbia, Directory* Victoria, B. C , 1885, 18&L, 18^2. 140 y APPENDIX XI BJAILLARDTOLE yof t m . IN THE m m m u % m j s & s i c m A 1912-1953 Bate Government Elected B.C, MgJrJi?j| l l a H l a ^ d v ^ l e , , elected voting: • 1912 Conservative (MacBrlde) W. J . Manson (Conservative.) no distinct lalllardville polling division Sept, 15 1916 Liberal (Brewster) John Oliver (Liberal) Oliver 100 Hanson (Cons.) 30 Bee, 2 1920 Liberal (Oliver) Catherwood (Cons,) Catherwood 39 iartyn (Lib.) 105 1924 Liberal (Oliver) Catherwood (Cons,) Catherwood (Cons.) 15 Smith (Lib.) 184 1928 Conservative (Tolmle) Lougheed (Cons.) Lougheed (Cons.) 114 Whiteside (Lib.) 283 ' 1933 Liberal (Patullo) E. Winch ( C C F . ) finch (C.C.F.) 148 Use 1 . Johnson 257 • 1937 Liberal (Patullo) 1 . finch (G,C.I.) 1 , wineh (&&P*> 367 Grieve (Lib.) 315 1945 Coalition E. Winch (CO.F.) Winch supported no Liberal candidate • Data .from The British Columbian, Harch 29, 1912| September 15, 19l6| December 2, 1920} June 21, 19441 July 19, 1928; November 3, 1933? Statement of Votes, Provincial Elections, 1937. 1945, 1949, 1^ 52, 1953- _ Parliamentary Guide (1911-54) Montreal, Gazette P r i n t i n g Company. i4i Date 1949 1952 Government Elected B>C. District Maillardvllle Candidate elected voting Coalition Social Credit B.C.• MacBonaldMacBonald 500, 247 Hartley (C.C.F.) 809• 297 (Coal.) ricks ( S . G . ) 1953 Social Credit Wicks (S.C. Wicks- - 640,,:!i2#2 Ainley (C.C.F.) 487. 188 Cox (Lib.) 329, I83 Wicks 474, 204 Pattern (C.C.F.) 627, 245 Emery (Life*) 325, 161 It may Be noted that the Maillardvllle voters supported the Liberal party candidate until after 1933• The Liberal candidate at that time was a New Westminster business woman, Miss S * Johnson. In spite of the pre» judiee of some voters against women In politics Hiss Johnson won a substantial majority in the Malllardvili© polling division. Beginning in 1937 Maillardvllle consistently supported the C.C.F. candidate except at the 1952 election. It is interesting to net© that although the Social Credit party was re-elected and Lyl© Wicks was returned as Dewdney member in the 1953 £ The reason the above table gives two totals for Maillardvllle beginning in 1949 is that by this time another polling division had become necessary, parallel to the development of the second French-Canadian parish in Maillardvllle. Th© first figure given In each case above is for laiHardville, the second for Alderson Avenue. From 1949 Maillardvllle was included in Dewdney Electoral District instead of in Buraaby.) 143 election, the Halll&rdville electors had changed t h e i r Binds about Social Credit and resumed the support of the C*C*F. party* Malllardviile's loyalty to the C*C*F. is probably related to the strength of the trade unions (particularly the International Woodworkers of America) in th© district* 143 • ^APPENDIX XII ' \ • : . MAILLARBTOLE .VOTIRG IB FEDERAL ELECTIONS3 MM $m*wm*. mtimrin i.e. Eleeted (Membeys elects 1911 Liberal- Gens. (Lib. Conservatives Cons.) 7 (Robert Borden) Liberal 0 District Elected J.B. Taylor (Cons.) i Hard ville y.Qtjng 191? Unionist (Borden) 1921 Liberals (King) 1925 L i b e r a l ^ ( K l n g ) ; r .. (no c l e a r m a j o r i t y ) 1926 Liberals (King) 1930 Conservatives (Bennett) 1935 Liberals (King;) Unionist 13 Liberals 0 Liberals 3 Cons. 7 Progressive 2 Liberals 3 Cons. 10 Cons. 12 Liberals 1 Cons. Liberals 7 5 Liberals 6 Cons. 5 C.C.F. 3 Staeey (Unionist) Munro (Lib.) Barber (Cons.) Barber (Cons.) Barber (Cons.) G.Saelell (C.C.F.) Ho district polling division Stacey 51 Ramsay (Lib.) 93 Munro (Lib.) 204 Stacey (Cons.) 47 Barber (Cons.) 81 Munro (Lib.) 295 Barber (Cons.)129 Manuel (Lib.) 330 Barber (Cons.)188 G.G. McGeer (Liberal-Farmer -Freight Rates) 603 l&icNell led in a l l four polling divisions 330 votes against Munn (Lib.) 265 Data from the British Columbian* September 21, 19115 December 6, 1921| October 6, 1925 and September 14, 1926. Also the reports of the Chief Electoral Officer, 1930, 1935, 1945, il949j 1953. Parliamentary Guide (1911 - 5 4 ' ) Montreal, Gazette P r in t i ng Company. 144 1940 Liberals (King) Vetlag In B.C» SIstrict (Member s elected) Member 1945 Liberals (King) 1949 Liberals (St. Laurent) 1953 Liberals (St, Laurent) Liberals 10 National Government (Gens,) 4 C.C.F. 1 Liberals 5 frog. Cons. 5 c e . F . 4 Liberals 11 Cons, 3 G.G.I?, 3 Liberals 8 Prog, Cons. 3 CG.P, 7 Soc. Gred, 4 • Elected. Sinclair (Liberal) Sinclair (Liberal) Good© (Liberal) Regie? (C.C.F.) jp^m •Macleills-•-total for four polling divisions well exceeded that of Sinclair lacNell 3B7 Sinclair 290 Sinclair (Lib.) 356 Johnson (C.C.F.)379 D.6. Steeves (C.C.F.) led in 15 of 2.6 Halliard* vi l l® polling stations Bene Gamache, Soelal Credit, led in 15 of 27 polling stations The Maillardville voters consistently supported the L i b e r a l party i n Federal voting until after 1930 even when their electoral district, the province or the nation voted against the Liberals. This reflected strongly the Quebec background of the people. Following the Fraser Mills strike in 1931 end paralleling the growth of unionism i n the lumber Industry the electorate has supported the C..G-.P* party, Gnly when Rene Gateache, one of their own number ran as a Social Credit candidate did a majority of the French-Canadians turn somewhat dubiously against the C.C.F. candidate. 14? BiBLI#GRAPH¥ X. Manuscript Sources 1. Municipal, Ecclesiastical and Employment Records 2. Theses and Graduating Essays 3. Periodicals II. Printed Sources 1. Government Reports or fublieations 2. Newspapers 3. Periodicals 4. Pamphlets 5. Books - General 6. Books Relevant to the British Columbia Field 7. Directories and Genealogical Dictionaries 8. Reports and Briefs 9. Published Letters or Journals III. laps IV. Photographs 1. From the Collection of Irs. W, Bouthot 2. From the Collection of Mrs, J . Thomas 3.-. Photographs taken by the Writer V. Personal Communication 1, Letters 2 4 Interviews 146 dXB&XOGRAiPHXC ICfE The pain interest In this thesis Is in French-Canadian settlement after 1900 and particularly in relation to the lusher industry. Good sources of information are sadly lacking. For the story of JfesiXXard-vil le, the writer was dependent largely on Interviews with old residents and descriptive accounts given in the Brltllsfe,;ffo,^ iumMaB (Hew Westminster) a n d the-fa^lSim Lumberman (Vancouver) in the period 1909-1912• Some scattered references were mad© to the settlement project is other newspapers. For information on the current picture th© writer made extensive us© of Interviews or correspondence with residents and his own files of news-paper clippings from th© Winnipeg weekly. MMMjrM. et- Le fotrfote or La, Survlvanc© (Edmonton). The Jesuit publication* gelations was found helpful because of Its occasional reports on the French-Canadians In British.Columbia and their problems. ' 147 Manuscript Sources 1, Municipal, Ecclesiastical and Employment Records Codex Historlcus de la Unison St, Charles at Hew Westminster <1889-1913) , Parish- Records, Our Lady of Fatima Pariah , (Maillardville) the Church of tb4 Blessed Sacrament (Vancouver), Notre Dame dee Vletoires (Port Alberai) Payroll Records, the Fraser River Lumber Gompany and the Canadian Western Lumber Company, 1909-1914, Minutes of the Council Meetings, Coquitlam Municipality, 1909-1913. 2 , Theses and Graduating Essays y Bilsiand, William W,, A History of Reyelstoke and the Big Bend. A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History. The University of British Columbia, 1955. Although this thesis furnished no information relative to the Fren©h<»Canadlans its orderly technique and arrangement were helpful as a guide to the writer. s Gibbard, J . E . , Early History of the Fraser Valley. 1808-1885, A thesis submitted in partial ful-fllment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, in the Department of History. The University of British Columbia, 1937. This thesis provided much useful data not found elsewhere about settlement in the Lower Fraser Valley, It Is a thorough piece of work, »v ormsbyr H* A,, A History Of the Okanagan Valley, a graduating essay submitted as a partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Department of History, University of B. C , April, 1929. , A Study of the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, a thesis submitted as partial requirement for. the degree of Master of Arts~ in the Department of History, University of British Columbia, April 1931-148 v White, G. B * , A History of the Eastern Fraser Valley since 1885, A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts. Th© Department of History, The University of British Columbia 1937. This proved useful as a survey of the general growth of the municipalities in the Fraser Valley since the coming of the C.P.R, II. Printed Sources 1. Government Reports or Publications B. C. Gazette, 1889 Census Reports* Dominion of.Canada. 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931, 1941, 1951* Statement of Votes. British Columbia Elections " 1912-53. Reports* Chief Electoral Officer, Dominion of Canada 1911-1953* Voters Lists. Province of Brltlsfo Columbia* 1876-1913. 2* Newspapers British Columbian, New Westminster, B. C. 1909-1913, October 13, 1938* Numerous other issues consulted 1920-1953 * This paper is a very fruitful source of infor-mation on the city of New Westminster and surrounding areas* Le Devoir* Montreal, July 31, 1954* page 4$ 5 August 1954, p. 1 - news articles on the progress of the French parish school in Vancouver urging continued support for this group and other groups of "compatriots" needing "help both moral and financial" from Quebec. Fernie Free Press* Fernie B. C. 1909-1913. -This Journal, which In the days of its greatness hailed Fernie as "th© Pittsburgh of Canada" is replete with data useful to th© social historian and the student of mihihg histbry. 149 Golden Star* Golden, B. C. 1910-1912 From this publication the reader obtains a good picture of the vicissitudes Of a small town, whose destiny seamed linked to the lumbering industry* Sail,'Herald*- Revelstoke, B* C. • 1910' • Weison, Ball? Stews. Kelson* B. 0. 1910, 1911 This paper In the early part of the century gave specially good news coverage not only of the Kootenay district but of the Province at large, J Rossland liner, Rossland, B. C. 1909*1913 This journal more than any other of the Kootenay area demonstrated to the writer the variety of historieal material which may be obtained in the files of a seemingly commonplace newspaper. The economic history of the community* the social and cultural l ife, the religious interests of the time, the hopes and aspirations of people living in a boom economy, the Very "flavour" of the era a l l are here* Vancouver Daily Province* March 21, 1939? June 26, 1945f June 19, 1952, Vancouver Hews Herald* October 13t 1938, Vancouver gun* February 21, 1946$ November 17, 1949} April 2, 3, 6, 1951} September 6, 10, 12, 1951? June 19, 1952$ August 18, 30, 1952, VIctorla Geloni%t* June 24, 1941s July 14, 1942a • :.iTune '2Vl9*>* • Victoria Times* June 23t 1941; August 11, 1942$ . • Be'cember''3t 1947* ••' • La.:Llberte et Le Patriote* Winnipeg, Manitoba, ' January 1954 February 1956* A Catholic publication of long standing, this paper works for the maintenance of the better aspects of French-Canadian culture in Western Canada. Its emphasis is French, not only French-Canadian. The literary quality is high. Most useful to. the writer were the weekly reports from the parishes In British Columbia* 150 La Survlvance. Edmonton, Alberta, (Issues consulted only at random 1954-56, ^ o p comparison with laLiberte et Le Patrlote) This Is a useful source of Information On the French-Canadians of Alberta and British Columbia* The scop© of the paper is much more narrow than that of La Libert© et Le Patrlote and its cultural quality is Inferior. Periodicals, Special Articles or Published Studies B. C. Historical Quarterly. W. E. Ireland, "The French in British Columbia", B.C.H.R. XIII, Ho. 2 (April 1949) pp. 67-91* Canadian Historical Association Annual Reports* Toronto, Bnlverslty of Toronto. Lower, A*R*S., "Two Ways of Life - "The Primary Antithesis of Canadian History" 1943, pp. 5-18. laheux. Abbe Arthur, "A Dilemma for our Culture," 1949, pp. 1-6. Bonenfant, Jean C. and Falardeaux, Jean C , "Cultural and Political Implications of French Canadian Rationalism" 1946, pp. 57-73* Culture. L*Association de Secherches sur les Sciences Religieuses ©t Profanes au Quebec, Canada Feltau, C , "Les Minorites FrancaIses dans l*0uest Canadien," December, 1953, PP* 435-9* Etudes Economlaues (Publications des Hautes Etudes Commerciales d© Montreal) Joubert. Lsonidos, "Des Groupements Canadiens franca is au Canada," Editions Beauchemin, Montreal, 1935, pp. 112-116* an Historical Society Reports* Vernon* B. C* orris, L*, "The Rise and Fall of Roek Creek," 2nd Report, 1927, pp. 37-40 Nelson, D*, "Father Pandosy O.M.I.," 2nd Report, 1927, pp* 12-16. Buckland, F . M*, "The Settlement at Anse au Sable, 1st Report, 1926, pp. 13-18, Lequlme, Leon, "Mr. and Mrs. Lequim©," 5th Report, 1931, pp. 12-13. 151 Wood, Mrs..'!., "f. 0. Young's Report on th© Mines at Cherry Creek," 6th Report, 1 9 3 5 , .pp.. 57-60. SItems, C. .O*,- wOhaod©t»s Report on the.Silver Mines at Cherry Creek," 6th Report, 1935, pp. 61-2. Tasale, G« C , "The Cherry Creek Silver Mining Company," 6th Report, 1 9 3 5 , pp. 7 4 - 5 . Morris, L . , "Some Place Names In the Okanagan," 8th Report, 1 9 3 9 * pp. 51-52. "Okanagan Place Names," 12th Report, 1948, pp. 198-209. "Luc Girouard," 13th Report, 1949, ...pp. '90-92. . ' ' . a "The Glllard Golden Wedding," 14tn Report, 1 9 5 0 , p. 151. "The Establishment of the Okanagan Mission," 17th Report, 1 9 5 3 , PP. 6 7 - 9 1 . Relations (A Jesuit Publication), Montreal, -&r£eole Soelale Populaire. "Du Francais a Vancouver," May, 1949, p. 132. De la Glroday, I. B., "L'Bxpansion Francaise en Colombia," June 1 9 4 9 , pp. 164-165. Stevenson, Janet, u%@ Probleme de Maillardvllle," January, 1952, pp. 11-12. Ares, Richard, "Position du Franeals an Canada," a statistical study, April 1954, pp. 111 - 1 1 6 . "Position du Francais dans 1'Guest," July, 1954, pp. 191^195. "Position du Francais au Canadas Bllan General," September 1954? pp. 260-264. News items of Interest on Vancouver and other British Columbia points, January 1 9 4 9 , p. 76; August, 1949, p. 216] August, 1 9 5 0 , p. 235; November, 1950, p. 330; February, 1952, p. 44; June, 1 9 5 2 , p. 141. 152 Revue De L'Pnlversite Laval. Quebec, L unlverslte Laval. Giraud, 1., "Les Canadiens-Francais dans les Provinces de L*Quest" ftovember, 1948, pp. 215-232. Poznanski, T . 9 "Quelques ponnees Humerlaues Sur L»Element Francais au Canada," May 19531 pp. 810*82. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada Fremont, D. 9 "Les Franeels dans L'Quest Canadian." series 3* Vol. 41, Section 1, 1947» pp. 15-3o. "Les Etablissements Francais a l*0uest du Lac Superieur," Series 3» Vol. 18, Section 1, 1954., pp» 7*12. Stanley, 0* F. G., "French Settlement West of Lake Superior," Series 3» vol. 18, Series 3* 1954* pp. 107*115. •J Western Lumberman, (published as the Lumberman and Contractor from 1904-1907) Vancouver, B« C. Hugh G. MacLean Publishing Go., (1905-1914) For a student of the history of lumbering in B. G* this is one of the most useful sources available. It shows most clearly the relation-ship of lumbering to the Prairie economy from 1395 to 1914. 4. Pamphlets Bourassa, Henri, Conscription. Montreal, Le Devoir 1917. This publication sets forth clearly Bourassa^ reasons for opposing .conscription.- Though the reader may not always agree with the arguments presented here or in the two other pamphlets cited below he is Impressed with Bourassa's sincerity and breadth. Bourassa seems really to have been a "Canada-flrster," not a mere promoter of Laurentianism. Bourassa, Henri, La Gonference l E o e r i a l e et le Role de M. Laurier. Montreal, Xsmrimerle Le Devoir, 1911. : In this pamphlet the writer condemns Canadian Involvement in any schemes designed to promote Imperial interests and says Laurier's role at the 1911 conference was ineffectual because his policy there had been neither Imperialist nor nationalist. 153 Bourassa, Henri*le Devoir at La Guerre*La confllt des races, llontreal, Imprimerie Le Devoir, 1916. Here Bourassa expresses the conviction that further and more Intensive Canadian effort in the war should await the protection of French-Canadian rights in the homeland* Bourassa, Henri, The French Canadian_ln the British Empire* London, John Murray, 1902* This pamphlet demonstrates BOUTSs8a 1 s opposition to an Imperial Federation plan. Groulx, Canon L* A*, Hos Positions* Quebec, L*Action Catholique, 1935* In this pamphlet (an address to the young lawyers of Quebec) Groulx argues that French Canada did not surrender any of her sovereignty in 186? nor agree to a position inferior to that Of inglish Canada* Groulx, Canon L. A., thy We Are Divided (translated from the French by Gordon 0* Bothney) Montreal, L1Action Hatienale, 1943* This pamphlet is an answer to Abbe Maheux' "Pourquoi Sommes-Hous Bivisel1" It condemns "bonne-entente" history as unrealistic and Anglo-Canadian arrogance a s the chief cause of dis-union* Books - General Background Ares, Richard* Ilotre Question National©* Editions de L Action latiohale, Montreal, 1947, 7 volumes. Rather a careful analysis of th© problems facing th© survival of a French-Canadian culture in forth America* Bovey, Wilfred, Canadiens A Study of the French Canadians, London, Toronto J.M. Dent and Sons, 1933, 243 P* A sympathetic study Of the French-Canadian and his way of life* Bovey, Wilfred, Th© French Canadians Today* A people on the larch. Toronto, J.M. Dent and Sons, 1938. A study of the people of Quebec In the trans-ition to an industrial economy. 154 French Canadian Backgrounds. A symposium by Wonsignor Olivier Maurault, Father Henri Saint-Denis, Jean Bruchesi, larlus Barbeau et Leon-lereter Gouin, Toronto, Byerson'Press, 1940* V" Originally a series of lectures given at Queen's University in 1940 for the purpose of acquainting English Canadians with the contributions to Canadian l ife, of their French compatriot this l i t t le book'is well worth reading. Groulx, L* A., Histoire du Canada francais depuis sa decouverte Montreal, L'Action National© 1950, Vol. 1. 1534-1713! Vol. 2, 1713-1760? Vol. 3, I76O-I8485 Vol* 4, 1848 - present. This history overeolodPfe the glories of the^ French regime, exaggerates the virtues of the French-Canadian race and interprets the train of ©vents since 1760 with th© very partisan spirit Groulx condemns in Anglo-Canadian historians. Groulx, L. A.* La Halssanee drun© Bace* Llbralrl© d fAction Canadi©nn©-Frahfals©,-Limit©®, Montreal, 1930. This propounds Groulx1s favorite theory of the development of a distinct and pur© Canadian race from the early French immigrants| a theory often attacked - not without cause. Hughes, Everett C*, French Canada in Transition* Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1943* A sociological study which shows the revolutionary effect of industrialism on th© once pastoral Quebec. It is an admirable effort to bring our picture Of French Canada up to date. Innls, H. A., The Fur Trade in Canada * New Haven, Yale University Press, 1930. Besides being a careful survey of the problems of the fur industry under th© French regime this volume describes the battle for control of the fur trade after th© conquest. It is an accurate economic study* Lanetot, Oustaye, Situation Politique d© l»Bglls© Canadienne. Montreal, G. Ducharme, 1942. •fhla volume is useful for the study of the political relationship of the church only in the pre-British era* Maheux, Abbs Arthur, Problems of Canadian Unity* Les Editions des Bols-Francs, Quebec. In contrast with Groulx who emphasizes the elements which promote disunity, Haheux advocates effort on the part of both major elements in Canada to erase misunderstanding and suspicion. Maheux, Abbe Arthur, Problems of Canadian Unity. Les Editions des Bois-Francs, Quebec, 1944... Like many of Maheux* books of addresses delivered during the war of 1939*45 the objective is to promote mutual understanding and respect. A good example of "bonne-entente*1 ism on the part of a French-Canadian writer. Maheux, Abbe Arthur, What Keeps Us Apart. Les Editions de Bois-Francs, Quebec* 1944•"• fhe principal usefulness of this and other laheus' writings on the question of unity is to show a "middle of the road policy" in contrast with that o f Groulx. Miner, Herace, St. Bonis.. -A French Canadian Parish. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1939. 4 sociological study o f a very rural parish in old Quebec, It does not portray at a l l the new Quebec of the 20th century. Moore, William Rehry, The Clash, & Study In nationalities, for onto* J.Bf. Bent, 1913* • This is really a treatise endeavouring to correct mistaken attitudes of the Anglo-Canadian - toward the French-Canadian and much of its reasoning is skilfully presented. Sandwell, B.K., The Canadian Peoples. Hew York, Oxford University Press, 194T* Although not particularly about the French-Canadians, where this book does refer to them i t shows the author possessed a keen insight into their feelings and convictions. Siegfried, Andre, Canada* London, Jonathan Gape, 1937» The chapter "The French Element" in Section II Demography'attempts to explain French-Canadian survival and evaluates the future prospects, Urbanis© is held to be the chief threat. Siegfried, Andre, The Pace Question In Canada. London, Eveleigh Wash, 1907. A very useful and interesting discussion of the race problem in Canada. 156 Weir, G.H., The Separate School Question in Canada. Toronto, Ryerson Press, 1934. - -.-r. This hook has long been the standard "textbook* on separate school question. It is of l i t t le - - use' in the fl* C> field. Wade, F. Masons The French Canadian Outlook. New York, Viking Press, 1946. This is really an epitope of the author's later work "The French Canadians"* For the average reader who wants a concise statement of the French-Canadian's point of view this is an excellent help. Wade* F. la son, ffhe yy cnf h jfona^liiy, • 1760-1945, Toronto, Maemillan, 19 5 5 - . This scholarly and imposing work is by far the most thorough history of the Frehch*Ganadlan people yet written. The book has been pre-pared with a reasonable impartiality - as much as is possible when the author's sym-pathies uhave been aroused in favour of the French-Canadians, Its great value Is lessened by the absence of a bibliography. 6. Books Relevant to the British Columbia Field. Barker, B. G., Letters of Br. John, ifeLouehlin. Oregon Historical Society, 1948. In the correspondence printed In this volume there is some interesting data regarding the personnel in the forts of the Hudson Bay Company. Begin, Joseph, LfAblme de lHaslmllation. Les Avants-COureursj Montreal, 1942, ' This volume, unfortunately based on the 1931 census, gives statistical evidence to support the author's opinion that French-Canadians outside Quebec, especially in the cities are gradually being assimilated, Broulllette, Benoit, La Penetration du Continent , Americain par les Canadiens Francais. Montreal. Librairie Granger Freres^ 1939V For any seeker of information onthe role played by the Canadiens in the early;exploration Of every part of Horth America from; Florida to the Arctic this is a very helpful source. It tells also of their role in the fur trade and early missions. 157 Burpee,. L« J , , The, Search., for the. Western.-Sea-p for ©rite, Ma'cltliaar^ B'?''' • '.' — ^ - . . •. A work of a very general nature, Crelghton, D. G , , Th© Commercial Empire of th© St . Lawrence* Toronto, Ryeraon, 1937. A clever economic interpretation of the develop-ment of Canada after the Peace of 1763. ^Howay, F* W*, and Scholefieid, i . 0,« Br i t i sh Columbia? from th© earl iest times to the present. Vancouver, S. J , Clark© Publishing Company, 1914, v o l . I I . This book i n spite of Its pre-oceupation with p o l i t i c a l events and constant tendency to recount without Interpreting i s s t i l l a very valuable source, the best available up to this time, on the history of the province. Johnson, Mrs. K . , Pioneer Days of Jfakusp and the Arrow Lakes. Nakusp, B. C., 1951. Lanetot, Gustave, Les Canadiens Francais e t Leurs Volsins £u Sud» Montreal. Edlteurs Valiquette, 1941. As the t i t l e suggests It deals with French-Canadian influence i n the United States and American influence in French Canada. ^ Lower, A .R .M. , The North American Assault on the Canadian Forest (section on the "Forest Industries of B". Gv by ?/. A. Carrothers) Toronto, Byerson, 1938. Since few books have been written about the history of lumbering In North America, Professor Lower's book supplies a real need. The most informative ana carefully-written part of the book is the B. C. section by Dr. W, A, Carrothers. Lyons, Sister L. H«, Pracls Norbert Blanchet, (A Doctoral Thesis) Washington, D. GY, Catholic University of AsBerlca, 1940. This Is a very carefully written history of B l a n c h e t » s work and the founding of the Oregon mission. It i s the most valuable work available i n t h i s f i e l d , Masson, L . I . , Les Bourgeois de la CosriPagnle du Herd-QuestQuebec* A. CoW, 1889-90. This volume includes stories of voyages and letters and reports relat ive to the early fur traders and explorers of the North West Company. 158 Maurault, Olivier* Au Berpeau de la Colombia Brltannlcue. Montreal* Les Editions des Dlx» 1948! this l i t t le book, a summary of French-Canadian participation in B. C. history p a s t and present* has some useful data but is lacking In important documentation. ioriee, Adrlen Gabriel, History of the Catholic . Ohurch Indies tern Panada* from Lake to the""Paeiflc <1659-lo95) foronto, Musson Book Company Ltd., 1910, 2 vols. Morlce did not usually give the sources of his information but his history is an attempt to meet a need overlooked by other writers._ Morlce, Adrian Gabriel, Histoire d© I'ggllse Cathollqu^ .dans L/Ooest Canadien. du Lac, Superieur au Pacificue (1659-1915)* Montreal. Granger Freres, 1921, 4 v o l s . An enlargement of the two volume work published in 1910 and much more useful in the B* C« field. Morlce, Adrlen Gabriel, 1859*1938. The History of the Northern Interior of British Columbia* 11660 to 1880) Toronto* » . Brlggs. 1904. This volume reflects strongly Father loriee ,s Interest in the anthropology of the Indian tribes and presents much data on the lorthern Interior not available in other books. Morlce, Adrian Gabriel, Souvenirs d'un MissionsIre en Colcmble Britanniaue. St. Boniface, Juniorat des O.i.1. 1933. Among the missionary's remial«1eene^d^aier. historical references of some V a l u e . Nelson, Benys, Fort Langley. 1827-1927* Fort Langley, 1927> This l i t t le book written In fort Langley's centenary use was prepared for popular use rather than for historical study but i t is use-ful for background reading. / Nute. Grace L . , The Voyageur. New York, Appleton, 1931. This volume undertakes to portray the character of the voyageur as seen by his contemporaries, particularly his furrtrading employers and in this i t succeeds reasonably well. 159 Sage, W* N., Sir James Douglas and British Columbia. Toronto, Toronto Bnivorsitytross* 1930. This book, carefully documented, is a help to understanding the role played by Douglas in the days of B. C. 1s infancy. 7. Directories and Genealogical Dictionaries Williams, R. T. , The British Columbia Directory, 1882-3, 1884-5, 1891, Victoria, B. C. *• Henderson*s British Columbia Gazetteer and Directory. Vancouver, B* C , 1901, 1904, 1908, 1909, I9i6> 1911, 1912, 1913. Prince Rupert Directory. B. C. Directories Ltd., Vancouver, B. C. 1955. 411 the directories mentioned above are extremely useful in giving names and occupations of residents. It seems probable, however, that some residents* names have not been listed and ' i t Is obvious that the spelling of names In early directories was often inaccurate and misleading* Tanguay, C. Abbe, Dletionnalre. Genealoglcue de Families Capadiennes* BusebeSenecal and Fi l s . Imprlmeurs-Bditeurs, Quebec, 1871-1889, 6 vols. This publication Is useful for checking French-Canadian names common In B. C* Nearly a l l such names appear among the Immigrants In the earliest days of Hew France. 8. Reports and Briefs Brlefr Presented to the Prime Minister and Other Ministers of Her Majesty's Government of the Province of British Columbia on behalf of the Catholic Parents of British Columbia. October 20, Deuxleme Congres de la Langue Francalse au Canada 1937 (A survey "Les Mariages Mixtes" par I. L'Abbe R. Limoges) Quebec, Imprimerie du Solell Ltee*, 1938. Trolsieme Congres de la Langue francalse au Canada* (the report "La Vie Francsise eh Golomble Brltaunique" par Donat Savoie) (Quebec, 1952) Quebec, Les Editions Ferland,1953* 160 Maillardvllle School Question Radio Broadcast to the Pe©ul© of th© Lower MaInland. The printed text of a radio broadcast given fro© radio station C.K,f»W. at Hew Westminster, B. C , April 1951. 9. Published Letters or Journals ^ Harmon, D . W.. A Journal of the Voyages and travels ' ifti the Interior of North America. Toronto. -Courier Press, 1911. There are many interesting passages in this Journal relative to the Indians and th© voyageurs. y Mackenzie, Sir Alexander, Voyages from Montreal through the Continent ofNorth America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceani* Toronto. Courier Press, 1911. This is a volume that everyone who is interested in the exploration of Western Canada should read. Rich, E. S., (with an introduction by W. Kay© Lamb) McLaughlin's Fort Vancouver Letters. 3rd Series. Toronto, Champlain Society, 1944. This collection is an invaluable source for anyone studying the fur trade and th© general history of the first half ©f the 19th century on the Pacific Coast of North America. r / Rich, E. 1., (with an introduction by W. Chester Martin) Simpson's Athabaska Reports. Toronto, Champlain - Society, 1938." This is a priceless aid for the student of the history of Western Canada and like the collection of letters relating to th© Columbia voyage in 1828 gives insight into Simpson's character and policiest Rich, B. B.% (with an introduction by W. Stewart Wallace) Simpson's 1828 Journey to the Columbia. Toronto, Champlain Society, 1947. I I I . Maps 1. Map showing the Durieu District - based on a map of the Lower Fraser Valley printed by th© B, C. Government Travel Bureau. 161 2, Map shewing the Stalllardvllle District - based on a map of Hew Westminster prepared by the lew- Westminster- Board of. Trade, 3- Map of Quebec showing the sources of lumber workers, prepared by the writer, 4 , Sap of the Okanagan prepared by the writer from a map by Br, ii, A. Ormsby. _ 5, Map showing the distribution of French-Canadian settlers in south western B. C, IV. Photographs 1. From the Collection of Mrs. W. Bouthpt Father Edmund Halliard, first cure of the- parish named •after-; him. The first store in Ifaillardville, at Laval and Brunette Streets. Meeting of Lower Mainland French-Canadians, a French-Canadian picnic at Booth's farm. The French^Canadian band. 2. From the Collection of Mrs. J . Thomas .Joseph' Boileattee^ ' hauling .firewood from the mill to the townsite. Lumberjacks on the Docks at Fraser Mills shortly after their arrival, 1909. (The Pitt liver Hoad) Brunette Street in the Early Days. The First church at Notre Dame de Lourdes, Maillardville under construction, 1909, The Bolleau home, 1910. The second church of Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish. Pupils of L'Ecole Hotre Dame de Lourdes with Father de Lestre and Sisters of the Child Jesus, fin early Corpus Christ! procession. French-Canadian Lumberjacks going for a Sunday slelgbride near Maillardville, 1909. 3. Photographs taken by the Writer. The school at WOtre Dame de Fatima parish, Maillardville. The present Catholic church at Durieu. The old Catholic Church at Deroche, erected for work among the Indians and early settlers. Log cabin of an early settler, reported to have been constructed by Arthur Beaulieu, Isadora Deroche*s dugout canoe, The parish high school at the Notre Dame de Lourdes, 162: V. Personal Communication 1. Letters Boureet, Irs, Ann, Letter to the writer from Lusby, B. C , in reply to a questionnaire August 10, 1955* Bra^eau, lev. W*j letter to the writer, from Port albernif';BY C , August 12, .1955* Lalonde, Peter, letter to the writer (reply to a questionnaire) from Rossland, 8. C , July 28, 1955* Stacey, C. P. Colonel, to the writer, larch 27» 1956, reporting the impossibility of obtaining data on army recruiting In tiaillardville, Terr!eh, Irs. Yvonne, letter to the writer* February 25? 1956. fu l l , X. J . , letter from Lumby, B. C , to the writer, October 4, 1955. White, F. E . , Editor* the Rossland Miners letter to the writer, July 23," 1955*' : •'" ' 2. Interviews Amero, Daniel, interview with the writer, in Ifelllardville, July 25* 1955. Bouthot, Mrs. Ernestine, interview with the writer in laillardville, July 20, 1955. Cooper, 0. J . , interview with the writer* at White Rock, B. C , February 15» 1956. DietIre, John, Interview with the writer in Maillardville, July 6, 1955. Qoulet, J . B., interview with the writer, In laillardville, July 21, 1955. La Fleur, Charles, interview with the writer at laillardviile, B. C.:, July 6, 1955. Pare* Arcade, interview with the writer at Maillardville, July 7, 1955'* Lagace, Louis, interviews with the writer at Mission, B. C , July 15 and 22, 1955. Roy, Oscar, interview with the writer at Durieu, ' J u l y 15, 1955. Saoftas* Mr, Interview with-, the writer a t Fraser ;fillss..©,--C..r July i 4 r If5% '
Thesis/Dissertation
eng
History
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French Canadian settlement in British Columbia
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