Industrialization on the St. Lawrence, 1867-1950
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The population increased considerably between 1850-1950.Previously unoccupied regions were being settledMore settlers were remaining in urban areas. |
In Quebec, demographic growth has always been heavily concentrated in the St. Lawrence region. Access to the waterway and trade has attracted settlers for many years, as it was the case for the Seigniorial system. Nonetheless, the period after Confederation saw a shift in demography. In 1850, the population was approximately 680,000. By 1900, it reached one and a half million, and attained five million in 1950. The growth was still not as large as seen in the U.S. In addition to population growth, people were beginning to move into areas previously uninhabited such as: Bois-Francs, Temiscamingue, Saguenay-Lac St. Jean, and Temiscouata, located on the St. Lawrence lowlands. Although the expansion of settled regions were increasing, another new phenomenon was occurring in the St. Lawrence: urbanization. Between 1871 and 1901, urbanization increased by 140%. Hence, the St. Lawrence region had more people living in urban areas rather than rural areas for the first time in its history. For a more detailed overview about the population of the St. Lawrence, please go to the Economy Theme, Population Section.
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Canada was becoming industrialized after confederation.Farmers were diversifying their market to meet the needs of urban dwellers. |
The St. Lawrence saw a large expansion of its market following Confederation for four main reasons. First, Confederation centralized the economy and extended the role of the government in economic decisions. Second, it improved quality and speed of communications (mainly canals and railways) and contributed in unifying the domestic market. Third, the large waves of immigrants between 1840 an1857 increased the number of consumers and provided industry with cheap and abundant labour. Fourth, the Lachine Canal in Montreal provided enough energy to fuel the industries. The industrialization created four sectors: milling, iron and iron products, wood and wood products, and a variety of textile industries. In addition to these industries, the agricultural market was growing as well. Farmers were diversifying their market to supply the urban dwellers. In the past, mostly wheat and peas were sold on the market. By late nineteenth century, farmers were growing oats, hay, and tobacco; and raising livestock, for beef and dairy-products.
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The first railways were portage lines used to support the waterway system.
By 1853, the Grand Trunk Railway provided an unified network over the region. |
The population around the St. Lawrence depended on its waterway as the fastest mode of transportation until the late-nineteenth century, when trains and automobiles were becoming alternative modes of travel. Nevertheless, the railway was used to harmonize trade between land and sea instead of competing. In fact, the first railway lines were used as portage lines. Canada's first railway trunk was built in 1836 between Montreal's South Shore and St. Jean-sur-Richelieu. This 26 km long link was a considerable shortcut since the initial waterway route (St. Jean - Sorel - Montreal) was more than 150 km long. Another important portage line was the Montreal and Lachine Railroad which offered a rail link adjacent to the Lachine Canal. In 1853, the Grand Trunk Railway was formed from an amalgamation of several smaller rail companies. The first part of this line extended from Sarnia to Toronto and then Montreal. The second part ran from Montreal to Levis (on the South Shore of Quebec City) and then to the border of New Brunswick (then a separate British colony) where it met with the Intercolonial Railway. One of the most significant achievement of this company was the construction of the Victoria Bridge, a 2 km long structure between Montreal and the South Shore, which was opened in 1859. Railways were intensified after Confederation for two reasons. Firstly, the British North America Act obligated the federal government to build a railway linking the Maritimes to Quebec. Secondly, the government wanted to improve land transport so that more rural regions could be settled. The Quebec-Maritimes link was completed in 1876, with two other links were almost completed: a Montreal-Hull link (1877) and a Montreal-Quebec (1879). Finally, in 1885 the first pan-Canadian rail link was finished, linking "one ocean to another". During this same period, little attention was given to road construction, except nearby cities. Automobiles became a dominant form of transportation only after the First World War. Until then, emphasis was always placed on major waterway and railway arteries. Ironically, the St. Lawrence region had better communications with the outside world than with the interior until the Second World War.
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By 1901 a network of waterways linking the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes was established. The port of Montreal was however facing competition from the Erie Canal in the United States.
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In 1825 the Lachine Canal, linking Lake St. François to Montreal was opened. It started a new era of waterway development along the St. Lawrence. The first canal built after Confederation joined Lake Erie with Lake Huron (1875) by clearing the Detroit and St. Claire rivers. The Sault St. Marie Canal (1895) opened to traffic between Lakes Huron and Superior, while the Soulanges Canal (1899) opened a route between Lakes St. Louis and St. François. By 1901, the St. Lawrence River Canals System was completed. All these canals and waterways reinforced the importance of Montreal as a transshipment center for the traffic coming upstream. The establishment of waterways along the St. Lawrence had a sense of urgency as the Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and enabled the port of New York to have access to the Great Lakes. Competition between Canada and the US for grain shipments became important and by 1922-27 Montreal exported 995.7 million bushels of wheat while New York exported 763.3 million bushels.
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Copyright 1997, Department of Geography, Concordia University.
