Search for "New France"

Robert Charbonneau, journalist, writer (b at Montréal 3 Feb 1911; d at St-Jovite, Qué 26 June 1967). Because of Charbonneau's work, French Canadian literature, particularly the novel, underwent a profound transformation.

Jean-Pierre Pinson. Musicologist, teacher, flutist, b Orléans, France, 12 Dec 1943; L LITT (Poitiers) 1967; Certificate in musicology (Poitiers) 1977, MA musicology (Montreal) 1977, PH D musicology (Montreal) 1981.

Hortense Gordon, painter (born 24 November 1886 in Hamilton, ON; died 6 November 1961 in Hamilton). Hortense Gordon was one of two female founding members of the Ontario-based group of abstract artists known as Painters Eleven.

Marie-Joseph Angélique (born circa 1705 in Madeira, Portugal; died 21 June 1734 in Montréal, QC). Angélique was an enslaved Black woman owned by Thérèse de Couagne de Francheville in Montréal. In 1734, she was charged with arson after a fire leveled Montréal’s merchants' quarter. It was alleged that Angélique committed the act while attempting to flee her bondage. She was convicted, tortured and hanged. While it remains unknown whether or not she set the fire, Angélique’s story has come to symbolize Black resistance and freedom.

François de Laval, first bishop of Québec (born François-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval de Montigny on 30 April 1623 in Montigny-sur-Avre, France; died 6 May 1708 in Québec).

Robert Arthur Douglas Ford, diplomat, poet (b at Ottawa 8 Jan 1915; d at Vichy, France 12 Apr 1998).

Charles Philippe Leblond, anatomist, cell biologist (born at Lille, France 5 Feb 1910; died at Montréal, 10 Apr 2007).

Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane, naval officer (b at Scotland 23 Apr 1758; d at Paris, France 26 Jan 1832).

French is one of Canada’s two official languages. Although every province in Canada has people whose mother tongue is French, Québec is the only province where speakers of French are in the majority. In 2011, 7,054,975 people in Canada (21 per cent of the country’s population) had French as their mother tongue.

Jacques Marquette, Jesuit priest, missionary, explorer (b at Laon, France 10 June 1637; d at the mouth of a river later called the Père Marquette R, Mich 18 May 1675).

"It’s hard to forget. In dreams I keep on coming back. Some nights even now, I dream at night. I mean, it’s a long time ago that this war is over. But I still dream sometimes."

See below for Mr. Vicaire's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Tales of swashbuckling pirates have captured audiences from around the globe for centuries. Among them is the story of Eric Cobham and his wife Maria Lindsay. Legend has it that the couple established a base in St. George’s Bay, Newfoundland, from which they attacked ships in the Gulf of St. Lawrence from 1740 to 1760. The couple is then said to have moved to France where they lived in a lavish estate. Cobham became a magistrate and judge while still occasionally committing acts of piracy. Lindsay died under mysterious circumstances and Cobham died in 1780 after allegedly dictating the story of his exploits. However, his memoirs were lost and therefore, the adventures of Cobham and Lindsay can’t be proven. This has led some experts to contend that the couple are nothing more than characters in a pirate tale.

Richard Verreau (Verreault). Tenor, b Château-Richer, near Québec City, 1 Jan 1926, d 6 Jul 2005. Verreau began singing in his parish church. After winning a Québec Symphony Orchestra competition for young artists he decided in 1945 to enter Laval University.

Kenneth Gilbert, OC, RSC,  harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, teacher (born 16 December 1931 in Montreal, QC; died 15 April 2020 in Quebec City, QC). Hon D MUS (McGill) 1981. 

During the Cold War, Canada stationed army and air force units abroad for the first time during peacetime. Soldiers and airmen began to arrive in the early 1950s, shortly after the Cold War began, and remained until 1993, after it ended. In total, more than 100,000 Canadian military personnel served in France and West Germany in that period.

William Tritt. Pianist, teacher, b Pointe-Claire (Montreal) 27 Dec 1951, d Montreal 23 Oct 1992; B MUS (Montreal) 1969, M MUS (Montreal) 1969.

Charles Dutoit, conductor (b at Lausanne, Switzerland, 7 Oct 1936). He received his musical education (in violin, viola, piano, percussion, composition and orchestral conducting) at the conservatories of Lausanne and Geneva, where he obtained a premier prix in conducting in 1958.

Sarah Fischer, soprano, teacher (b at Paris, France 23 Feb 1896; Canadian citizen 1912; d at Montréal 3 May 1975).

Paul Letondal. Pianist, organist, cellist, teacher, composer, b Montbenoît, near Besançon, France, 25 Jan 1831, d Montreal 24 Jul 1894.