At the end of the 19th century, Irish and French-Canadian workers competed fiercely for work on the docks of Québec City. A violent clash broke out in 1879. To ease the tension, the two unions agreed to split the work. Boats arriving in Québec City were henceforth greeted by groups of labourers from both linguistic communities.

1840 - 1889

A partly English-speaking city

Today, the vast majority of Québec City’s population speaks French as their first language. It is hard to imagine that a great part of the city was once English! However, it was the case in the mid-19th century. A large wave of immigration from the British Isles came through Québec City, the point of entry to Canada. The Anglophone presence peaked in Québec City around 1870, when nearly half of the residents, mainly from Ireland, were English-speaking. Come and rediscover Québec City’s English-speaking past!

Clashes between French-Canadian and Irish dock labourers in 1879

Auteur inconnu At the end of the 19th century, Irish and French-Canadian workers competed fiercely for work on the docks of Québec City. A violent clash broke out in 1879. To ease the tension, the two unions agreed to split the work. Boats arriving in Québec City were henceforth greeted by groups of labourers from both linguistic communities.

Chronoscope What do you notice in the photo? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1879

Source: Ville de Québec Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Image taken from the Opinion publique newspaper, September 4, 1879, p. 423. - Date: 1879

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