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!
Originally from Pennsylvania, Horace Jansen Beemer was one of the many English-speaking entrepreneurs who transformed Québec City in the 19th century. He is credited with many major public works, including the aqueduct, the Kent and Saint-Louis gates and the railroads linking Québec City to neighbouring regions. This locomotive bears the initials of this businessman who arrived in Québec City in 1870.
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